A complaint of election fraud, filed in September 2024 against Rhonda Rebman-Lopez, chair of the county’s Republican Executive Committee, and Sherri Hodies, who was then a candidate for supervisor of elections, has been dismissed by the state attorney who investigated the complaint.
There is insufficient evidence to prove Rhonda Rebman-Lopez or Sherri Hodies had the requisite criminal intent to misappropriate or make an unlawful expenditure of Monroe County Republican Executive Committee funds,” states the document concluding the investigation.
The issue started in the summer of 2024, when the REC, under Rebman-Lopez’s chairmanship, voted to endorse Hodies for the supervisor of elections position, despite the presence of another Republican candidate in that race. That endorsement came with a $20,000 campaign donation. But some members of the REC and other county Republicans, claimed the vote to endorse did not clear the required threshold for an endorsement.
Key West resident and Republican voter Phyllis May filed a complaint with State Attorney Dennie Ward.
“Endorsements require approval of at least 60% of the executive committee members present and voting,” May wrote in her complaint. “At the time of the vote there were 63 members of the REC. A majority of the full committee would have been 32 members voting to endorse.The vote was 20 to endorse; 18 not to endorse. The vote fell short by 12 to endorse.”
When asked by the Keys Weekly in in the summer of 2024 about the votes not meeting the required threshold, and some REC members’ complaints about the endorsement, Lopez said, “The vote tallies and total were taken to the highest levels of the Republican Party of Florida by me and they told me that as chair, to make the call, and I did.”
State Attorney Dennis Ward, who represents Monroe County’s 16th Judicial Circuit, transferred the complaint for investigation by another district’s state attorney because he is a member of the local REC.
State Attorney Amira Fox, in the 20th Judicial Circuit, investigated the matter and this week released her office’s findings of no wrongdoing.
In the conclusion, clearing Lopez and Hodies, investigators write, “Monroe County REC membership had distinct and opposing interpretations of (the rule governing votes for endorsement). Witnesses interviewed provided evidence that the Executive Board articulated their interpretation and planned use of (the rule) prior to the vote held on April 20, 2024. No members of the MCREC questioned, argued, or debated the Executive Board’s interpretation of or use of (the rule) until the ballots were counted and results of the vote announced. The evidence is clear that different members of the MCREC had different interpretations of (the rule) and members had little to no experience with (it).
“(The rule) controls Republican Executive Committees endorsements of candidates. It does not govern financial contributions to campaigns of candidates. Financial expenditures only require a simple majority vote,” the conclusion states. “The MCREC did not need to comply with (the rule) for a financial contribution to Sherri Hodies’ campaign. Had the MCREC simply proceeded with a majority vote for the financial distribution, as the organization had always done in the past, the allegation of misappropriation of funds may have been avoided.
“Based on the totality of the evidence, the conflicts in the evidence and circumstances pertaining to this complaint, the state attorney’s office cannot prove a violation of criminal law beyond a reasonable doubt. …There is no basis for further action by this office. This matter is closed.”
In a press release announcing the ruling this week, Lopez writes, “Today brings vindication. On Sept. 20, 2025, the Office of the State Attorney officially cleared Republican Supervisor of Elections Sherri Hodies and Monroe County Republican Chairwoman Rhonda Rebman-Lopez of all allegations associated with the politically motivated complaint.
She says, “the complaint — pushed by State Attorney Dennis Ward and his political allies — was a transparent attempt to confuse voters and give Democrat Ron Saunders an unfair advantage. …
“This was a political attack from the start,” Lopez writes. “Ward’s efforts to slander loyal Republicans failed. …
“Despite Ward’s interference, Monroe County voters elected Sherri Hodies as their Supervisor of Elections — choosing accountability and integrity over partisan smear tactics.
“The record is now clear: Dennis Ward’s smear campaign collapsed, Ron Saunders was defeated, and the truth prevailed,” Lopez writes.
