Panhandle Pulse
“Real issues. Real people. No filters.”
Welcome to Panhandle Pulse — the podcast that gives North Florida a voice.
Hosted by Chuck Asbury, Panhandle Pulse dives into the real challenges and real conversations shaping our communities. From small business owners, farmers to veterans, healthcare workers, and defense professionals, we talk with the people who keep our region moving.
Every week, we bring you candid interviews, frontline stories, and unfiltered insight on the issues that matter most — including agriculture, national defense, healthcare access, deregulation, and the fight to keep rural America strong.
Panhandle Pulse
Faith, Freedom & Young Republicans in Walton County | Gordon Porter
In this episode, Chuck sits down with Walton County conservative leader Gordon Porter for a wide–ranging conversation on faith, politics, and raising up the next generation of leaders in the Florida Panhandle. Gordon shares his deep roots in local politics, from tagging along with his grandparents to Tea Party meetings as a teenager, to leading the North Walton Republican Club, to nearly unseating an incumbent in a local school board race. He and Chuck dig into whether school board races should be partisan, the problem of “RINOs” in deep–red counties, and why being honest about your party and principles matters now more than ever.
Gordon also explains his new role as state committeeman for Walton County, what actually happens inside the Republican Executive Committee (REC), and how endorsements—from Donald Trump to local power brokers—do and don’t shape real voters. From there, the conversation turns to faith and politics: Gordon talks about serving as faith mobilization chair, why he believes the GOP must stop being shy about its Christian foundations, and how the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk sparked a powerful prayer vigil and public witness in DeFuniak Springs.
The episode closes with a hopeful look forward: Gordon outlines plans to launch a Walton County Young Republicanschapter, support Turning Point USA / Club America in local schools (including homeschool families), and build Turning Point Faith connections in local churches. He makes a direct appeal to young conservatives across the Panhandle—especially men 18–25—to stop sitting on the sidelines, get into a Bible-believing church, and then step into the arena through their local REC, precinct slots, and youth clubs.
In this conversation, you’ll hear about:
- Gordon’s journey from Tea Party kid to state committeeman
- Why he believes Florida school board races should be openly partisan
- The real impact (and limits) of big-name political endorsements
- How faith, not personality, should anchor conservative politics
- The Charlie Kirk memorial vigil in DeFuniak Springs and lives changed there
- Young Republicans, Club America, and Turning Point Faith opportunities in Walton County
- A candid challenge to end GOP infighting and put America First in practice, not just as a slogan