Ex-Proud Boy Once Again Secures Miami-Dade GOP Executive Committee Seat

A former Proud Boy has once again secured a seat on Miami-Dade County's GOP Executive Committee.

While Chris Barcenas was defeated in yesterday's election for a state committeeman post by current Miami-Dade commissioner Kevin Cabrera, he won a committeeman seat to represent District 12, which covers parts of Little Havana.

Barcenas received more than 32 percent of the vote in the district race. Cabrera prevailed in the higher-ranking state committeeman contest with 33 percent.

A real estate agent from Cooper City, Barcenas was one of several members of the far-right extremist group previously revealed to have infiltrated the Republican Party's local governing body.

He identified himself as a onetime member of the Proud Boys while voluntarily testifying to a congressional committee on the January 6 Capitol assault but claims he is no longer a member of the group.

In June 2022, a New York Times story revealed that at least a half-dozen current and former Proud Boys, some of whom were later convicted of storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, had secured seats within the 125-member Miami-Dade Republican Executive Committee. The reporting highlighted how the Proud Boys tried to shape local politics from the inside and "destabilized and dramatically reshaped" a once-conservative Miami-Dade Republican Party.

A Miami-Dade GOP member roster previously obtained by New Times listed the names of several members of the extremist group once led by Miami's own Enrique Tarrio, including Barcenas.

Barcenas, who protested at the Capitol on January 6, reportedly did not enter the building and has not been charged with a crime. However, he testified to the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 attack about his understanding of the Proud Boys' role in the events, explaining how he first got involved with the organization and detailing his involvement with another local right-wing group, Floridians First.

In response to the news of Barcenas and other ex-Proud Boys joining the local GOP, then-chairman Rene Garcia vowed to fix the committee's vetting process.

If Barcenas had won the state committeeman seat, he would have locked in a high-ranking role in local Republican leadership. State committee members have several roles in the Republican Party of Florida, including acting as a liaison between the GOP State Executive Committee and county committees, electing the party's congressional district chair, and distributing news and bulletins to local members.

To be eligible to serve on the Miami-Dade GOP Executive Committee, a candidate must be a registered Republican voter, a resident of the district, and a registered member of the Republican party for at least 365 days before the beginning of qualifying, according to county election documents.

There are a total of 80 committeemen and 80 committeewomen, as well as one state committeeman and one state committeewoman elected at-large countywide. Their terms are each four years, starting on the first day of the month following the presidential general election, or December 1.