Three of the Republican hopefuls came to Tallahassee on Wednesday, making their cases as they vie to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in 2016. Currently running for the Republican presidential nomination, Rubio has said he will not seek a second term Senate.
Florida Republican U.S. Reps. Ron DeSantis and David Jolly and Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera spoke at the 2015 AP Florida Legislative Planning Session in Tallahassee while businessman Todd Wilcox, who was not at the event, unveiled a new Web video, introducing himself to GOP primary voters.
DeSantis came out swinging at President Barack Obama’s deal with Iran over its nuclear program while praising states like Florida which continued to support sanctions against that Middle Eastern nation.
“Florida has been a leader on this and states will play an important role,” DeSantis said, insisting this was a “major issue.”
DeSantis also called for supporting higher education assessment at the state level to compete with the regional accreditation organizations before turning his focus to transportation.
Weighing in on the Highway Trust fund, DeSantis said Florida was paying more than it was getting from federal gasoline taxes and called for sending more of those funds to state and local governments. “It’s not working for our state,” DeSantis said.
Noting he was backing U.S. Rep. Dan Webster, R-Fla., to replace U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, as speaker of the House, DeSantis noted Republicans across the nation were “dissatisfied with the leadership they were getting in Congress.” But DeSantis also noted a good deal of respect for U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who some Republicans are urging to make a leadership bid.
“I get the sense he doesn’t want the job," DeSantis said about Ryan. Noting Webster had around 50 votes, including the support of the House Freedom Caucus, DeSantis said Ryan had frozen the contest for the moment. “The race is in a holding pattern until Paul decides one way or the other.”
Asked about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, DeSantis said he had not seen the final product and would not commit one way or another until he had, though he supports free-trade options. DeSantis also urged Republicans to reach out to more African-American voters.
The two-term congressman ended by insisting there was a gap between elites based in Washington and average voters, including conservative Republicans. “They don’t feel that leadership has followed through on promises they have made,” DeSantis said about Republican voters’ growing discontent with the GOP leadership in Washington.
Jolly spoke at the event later in the morning, pointing to his win over Democratic candidate former state CFO Alex Sink in a special election last year for an open Tampa Bay congressional seat. Insisting the GOP establishment “did everything they could to stop me,” Jolly said he focused on the voters and had a simple mission.
“I ran to win it for Pinellas County,” Jolly said. Turning his focus to the Senate race, Jolly said he would take that message to the state level. “This is about winning it for the state of Florida.”
Jolly stressed his conservatism and tried to contrast his record with the Democratic presidential candidates. The Pinellas County congressman focused on that theme, calling himself a “conservative who gets results” and a “conservative who puts policy over politics.” Jolly noted he was leading the charge on Capitol Hill to repeal the individual mandate included in Obama’s federal health-care law. Turning to immigration, Jolly pointed out that he teamed up with U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., to push back against Obama’s executive actions giving illegal immigrants more time in the U.S. Jolly also ripped into Race to the Top, comparing it to Common Core, and noted his efforts to make sure the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base remained open even as normalization with Cuba continued.
Turning to Planned Parenthood, Jolly said he supported defunding it until the investigation of it was concluded, but also noted he was the only Republican to vote against the latest committee looking into the matter.
“We don’t need a fourth committee to do the job Congress is already doing,” Jolly said. “I do want to see Planned Parenthood defunded ... .until the investigation is completed.”
On the campaign trail, Jolly promised to “call out the dishonesty of Washington” and noted many politicians vowed to change it but failed to do so.
“It’s too easy to give the speeches and not give the results,” Jolly said, highlighting his proposal to ensure members of Congress work 40 hours a week.
Asked about his support for same-sex marriage and how that would impact conservatives in the Republican primary, Jolly said he had a life-changing religious experience when he was 5 and considered himself a social and religious conservative. But he also stressed he believed in a limited role for government and thinks states should be able to recognize both traditional and same-sex marriage.
Jolly said he supported the Second Amendment but also said he supported seeking common ground with Democrats on gun issues and, like DeSantis, was not ready to commit to TPP until he read all of the details.
“I’m calling it like I see it with great political risk,” Jolly said.
Lopez-Cantera made the case on Wednesday afternoon that he is an outsider to Washington and can bring changes to the Senate.
Contrasting the “no action” in Washington to Florida’s economic resurgence, Lopez-Cantera praised the record of the GOP in Tallahassee.
“Over the last four and a half years, we have turned the state around,” Lopez-Cantera said before pointing to his record in the Florida House and as Miami-Dade County property appraiser. “I am proud of the things I actually accomplished.”
Lopez-Cantera slammed Washington politicians as out-of-touch. “I believe Washington, D.C., is completely disconnected ... from what is happening in Florida and around the country,” Lopez-Cantera said before throwing a jab at his rivals. “Every other candidate in this race, the only experience they have is in Washington.”
Noting that he slashed his current office’s budget, Lopez-Cantera, like the others, said he was not sure about TPP since he did not have all the details but he generally backed increased commerce. “I’m a big believer in trade, especially for Florida,” he said.
Lopez-Cantera also said he backed the Second Amendment and entitlement reform. If elected, Lopez-Cantera promised to hold monthly town hall meetings in the state. While he opposed federal funding of Planned Parenthood, Lopez-Cantera said Republicans in Congress should not back a federal shutdown over it.
Turning to Cuba, Lopez-Cantera defended the embargo and opposed Obama’s efforts to normalize relations with that nation.
“They’re playing the United States of America, they’re playing President Obama,” Lopez-Cantera insisted about the Castro regime. “The Castros are not dumb. They’re just evil.”
In the meantime, Wilcox, who was not at the event in Tallahassee, released a new video, looking to introduce the veteran and businessman to GOP primary voters. The Wilcox campaign noted on Wednesday it had brought in more than $258,400 in the third quarter while the candidate chipped in $500,000 from his own funds. Wilcox had more than $683,500 on hand at the end of September.
“I am encouraged by the support we are receiving and couldn’t be more proud of the groundwork we have laid for our campaign in these first few months,” said Wilcox. “As I have traveled around the state, I am hearing over and over that Floridians are tired of sending professional politicians to Washington who simply refuse to stand up for what’s important. I’ve got 26 years of real world experience and real leadership. I have served on the front lines in the global war on terror, I’ve built successful businesses, put people to work and I’ve made payroll.”
The DeSantis camp announced on Wednesday it raised $750,000 and almost $2.5 million in the bank while a super-PAC backing him had $1.2 million.
“I’m honored that so many Floridians are supporting my efforts to rekindle the American dream. The campaign is in a great position to grow our financial support over the next few months,” DeSantis said. “I'm confident that the campaign will have the resources it needs to fight back against the special interests and liberal attack-dogs who will stop at nothing to stop a conservative reformer like myself.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
