With 2016 around the corner, the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) will be hosting the Sunshine Summit in Orlando from Nov. 12-14 and the stakes will be high. The presidential hopefuls will take most of the spotlight but there’s another important race already taking shape as Rubio has said he will not run for a second Senate term. Florida Republicans Ron DeSantis, David Jolly, Carlos Lopez-Cantera and Todd Wilcox are already off and running and they will be at the Sunshine Summit trying to win support for their Senate bids.
Over the next few weeks, Sunshine State News will look at the presidential and Senate candidates who will be on stage at the Sunshine Summit and what is at stake as they take their messages to Republicans across Florida. Starting today, Sunshine State News will turn its attention to the Senate hopefuls. Sunshine State News will focus on the presidential candidates who will be at the Sunshine Summit starting on Monday, Oct. 26.
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Carlos Lopez-Cantera heads to the Sunshine Summit with an excellent chance to boost his bid to replace Marco Rubio in the Senate.
Moving up the ranks of the Florida House, eventually becoming majority leader, Lopez-Cantera was elected Miami-Dade County property appraiser in 2012. He did not serve in the post long as Rick Scott selected him to become lieutenant governor in 2014 after Jennifer Carroll was forced out.
Being lieutenant governor is a double-edged sword. Lopez-Cantera has used the post to raise his profile and, unlike some past lieutenant governors, can often be found at his boss’ side at events, including Scott’s education budget announcement on Monday. But there’s a reason most politicians who have held the post have gone nowhere afterward. The position simply doesn’t have much stature and voters have shown it little respect over the years.
To his credit, Lopez-Cantera has made the most of the low profile office even as he cut away at its budget. Scott utilized Lopez-Cantera during last year’s campaign and the lieutenant governor went on the attack against Charlie Crist and appeared frequently at GOP events to rally the troops.
Lopez-Cantera should be able to use that experience as he runs for Senate and conservative primary voters will find much to appreciate as he calls the federal government and Washington, D.C., broken. The lieutenant governor will also be able to rally primary votes on other issues, including how Tallahassee offers a sharp contrast to Washington when it comes to fiscal primary. That’s a message Lopez-Cantera honed on the campaign trail and it’s one he is still comfortable delivering. Lopez-Cantera is also passionate in his opposition to the Obama White House’s efforts to normalize relations with the Castro regime in Cuba which should play well with Republican primary voters in South Florida.
Even with his current post -- and perhaps in part because of it -- Lopez-Cantera remains largely unknown to many voters even if Republican activists remember him from last year’s campaign. He’ll have his chance to get his message out there and, after getting in the race back in July, raised more than $462,000 and kept $380,000 of that in the bank.
At the Sunshine Summit, Lopez-Cantera will be able to reintroduce himself to plenty of Republicans while showcasing his Senate bid. Of course there will be a natural comparison to Rubio with their South Florida Cuban background, their time in the Florida House. That’s not a bad thing for Lopez-Cantera though, admittedly, he isn’t quite in Rubio’s league as a speaker or in presenting a vision of American exceptionalism.
Above all, Lopez-Cantera will be able to share his message that Washington is broken. With plenty of the Republican presidential candidates saying much the same thing, Lopez-Cantera will have the chance to tap into the large conservative discontent with Congress -- and the politicians sitting in it.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
