Suspended Palm Beach County Clerk Mike Caruso will remain on the November election ballot despite efforts by local Republican leaders to replace him.
Appointed to the post by Gov. Ron DeSantis in August 2025, Caruso announced in February his intention to win a full term in this year's election. The Republican and former state legislator drew a Democratic opponent but no GOP rival, ensuring his spot in the general election.
Police arrested Caruso, 67, on child molestation charges on Aug. 18, the morning of the primary election. The disturbing allegations and his subsequent suspension from county constitutional office created a scramble among members of the Republican Party of Palm Beach County to find a candidate to take his place.
However, the
party chapter lacked authority to remove Caruso from the ballot automatically. He needed to make the decision himself before county elections officials certified the primary voting results on Thursday.
He didn't. State and local officials certified the primary election results, which, according to a spokesperson for the county elections office, means Caruso's window to withdraw from the race has closed.
"He unfortunately is on the ballot, and we don't have an option to put forward another candidate," said Jodi Schwartz, a Palm Beach County GOP committee member.
Palm Beach County Republicans sought replacement at emergency meeting
Days before the certification deadline, the county Republican Executive Committee, the local party’s governing board, convened a last-minute meeting to choose a candidate in Caruso's place in the event the former Florida legislator withdrew.
A person who attended the meeting and spoke to The Palm Beach Post on the condition of anonymity said about half of the executive committee's 248 members gathered at the Palm Beach Kennel Club on the evening of Aug. 25. Carl Cascio, chair of the GOP party, was out of the country but appeared via Zoom.
The attendee said talk of Caruso's candidacy was brief and limited to predictions the suspended clerk of courts would exit the race, as well as "the anodyne line 'innocent until proven guilty.' "
"Obviously he is, but that's a courtroom standard," the committee member said. "When you go into the ballot box, you don't ask whether he's guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."
He continued: "The thought was, how would Mike Caruso possibly think that he can win an election? He's in jail, and he certainly won't be exonerated before November."
There was no talk of the allegations against Caruso that evening, the committeeman said, nor of the Democratic opponent, Yvette Drucker.
Instead, the committeeman said organizers gave three contenders a chance to pitch themselves as Caruso's replacement: Forrest Freeman, a lawyer who once ran for State Attorney; Tom Sutterfield, an IT bureau chief at the South Florida Water Management District and David Lovett, an accountant.
The group voted on slips of paper, eliminating Freeman in the first round and Lovett in the second. The committeeman said the mood by the end of the hourlong meeting was positive and even hopeful.
In the wake of Caruso's decision to remain in the race, it's morphed into disappointment.
"It's not looking good for the Republicans," the committeeman said. "I mean, I'm a Republican, I'm 100% MAGA and I'm demoralized."
Al Cacace, an executive committee member who also attended the meeting, said some have floated the idea of Sutterfield running as a write-in candidate, though hopes of success are dim. Cacace said Cascio has told constituents he's exploring options with the state Republican Party, searching for a way to put forth another candidate.
"We're all looking at the statutes and can't find anything," Cacace said.
He suggested that, if Caruso were to win in November, DeSantis could then remove him from the position and appoint a replacement, but he doubts voters will think that way.
"He'll lose," Cacace said. "The public's not going to want to check that box."
Caruso remains jailed in Orange County, where investigators say he groomed and molested an elementary-aged relative. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. Reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Suspended courts clerk Mike Caruso to remain on November ballot
