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Politics

Possible 2012 Republican Candidates Testing Waters in Florida

September 21, 2010 - 6:00pm

Tampa will be hosting the 2012 Republican National Convention, and that fact hasn't escaped a bevy of potential presidential candidates who are eyeing the Sunshine State two years ahead of time.

With Florida featuring some of the most intriguing and competitive races in the November elections, Republican presidential-minded candidates are doubling down their bets in Florida, hoping their efforts in 2010 will reap rewards in 2012.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who placed second in the Florida presidential primary in 2008, and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, two of the leaders in the pack of Republican presidential hopefuls, will be heading to the Sunshine State in the first week of October. Romney, who backed Attorney General Bill McCollum in the Republican gubernatorial primary, will go first to The Villages on Oct. 1, to back GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott. Palin will head to the American Airlines Center in Miami Oct. 6 to speak at an event backed by the Liberty and Freedom Foundation.

Romney heads into 2012 with a solid base in Florida. He pulled 31 percent of the vote in the primary, placing second behind U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who claimed all the 57 delegates by winning 36 percent of the vote. Romney carried 18 counties, mostly on the First Coast and in north Central Florida, though he also carried four counties in the southern part of the state and one in the Panhandle.

Looking to improve on his second-place showing, Romney has been busy in Florida. Besides backing McCollum and now Scott for governor, he endorsed former House Speaker Marco Rubio and the Republicans representing Florida in the U.S. House. He has also given his blessing to eight Republican hopefuls looking to win election to Congress for the first time.

Besides supporting candidates for federal office, Romney has backed Republicans running for the Cabinet and for the Legislature. He backed U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, the Republican candidate for state commissioner of agriculture and consumer services, and the GOPs nominee in the state CFO race, Senate President Jeff Atwater of North Palm Beach.

Romney also backed a large number of members of the House and Senate -- including Sen. John Thrasher of Jacksonville, the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. With Thrasher facing a tough challenge for re-election from Democratic candidate Deborah Gianoulis, Romney hopes to solidify his base in Jacksonville, which he won in 2008 by backing the RPOF chairman.

John Thrasher has proven that he is a principled leader with strong conservative values, said Romney when he spoke at Thrashers campaign kickoff in June. Florida needs leaders in the Legislature right now, like John, who will get the economy moving again and are committed to keeping taxes low and fostering a pro-business environment.

While Romneys Free and Strong America PAC has endorsed a host of Republicans in the Legislature, Thrasher is the only member to be profiled on the PACs website.

Palin, best known for being McCains running mate in 2008, has also tested the Florida waters to some extent through the activities of SarahPAC.

Palin offered former Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi a last-minute endorsement in the Republican attorney general primary.

Pam Bondi and Brenna Findley are running for attorney general in their states Pam in Florida, and Brenna in Iowa, wrote Palin. These are both bold, sharp, selfless women who will respect our Constitution, defend their states, protect our rights, and push back against any overreach of the federal government. We desperately need these conservative leaders who wont kowtow to the Obama administrations big government overreach into our states, small businesses, families, and individual lives.

Bondi won the nomination, defeating Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp and former Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Holly Benson who had the backing of former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, yet another possible 2012 hopeful.

While Gingrich endorsed McCollum and Benson, who both went on to lose Republican primaries, he has been somewhat active in standing behind candidates for federal office in Florida, giving the nod to Rubio for the Senate and former Rep. Dennis Ross for the congressional seat that Putnam is vacating.

Dennis Ross is the only candidate in District 12 who knows what it is like to meet a private-sector payroll, provide health insurance for employees, and deal with the crushing burden of government on America's entrepreneurs, said Gingrich when he endorsed Ross earlier in the month.Now, more than ever, Congress needs leaders who have lived in the real world where you can't print more money or borrow your way to prosperity. Congress also needs leaders, like Dennis, who have acted on our shared principles, and not simply talked about them.

Ross and Rubio also won the support of yet another possible presidential hopeful -- former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Huckabee ran in 2008 and came in fourth place in the Florida primary with 13 percent of the vote, winning four counties in the northern part of the state.

Earlier in the year, the former Arkansas governor packed his bags and moved to Fort Walton Beach and he has played an active role in the Sunshine State. Besides being an early backer of Rubio and Ross, Huckabee helped former House Speaker Daniel Webster prevail in the Republican primary to take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson. Huckabee also backed members of the Legislature -- including incoming Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, and Rep. Mike Horner, R-Kissimmee, who blew out former Osceola County School Board Member Thomas Chalifoux in what was expected to be a tough primary.

As a pro-life legislator, Senator Haridopolos also believes in low taxes and in tax simplification, wrote Huckabee in his endorsement. Lowering taxes was not just a campaign slogan or an empty promise.

Still, while his team has opened a state chapter of HuckPAC, Huckabee had some missteps -- offering McCollum a last-minute endorsement over Scott, and backing Karen Diebel over eventual winner Rep. Sandy Adams of Oviedo in the Republican primary to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas.

The Campaign for Liberty, which is affiliated with U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, has state officers who have been active sending out questionnaires to candidates in Florida. Paul came in fifth in Florida in the 2008 primary, taking 3 percent of the vote.

Other possible presidential candidates are backing Sunshine State Republicans and making appearances in Florida.

Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi, in his role as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, has been active in backing Scott and trying to unify the GOP after the bitter primary with McCollum. Barbour has formed Haleys PAC to back Republican candidates across the nation. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindall toured the state with Scott last week.

Quite a few possible presidential candidates have jumped on the Rubio bandwagon. Two members of Congress who may be considering presidential campaigns -- U.S. Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, who won the Value Voters Summit presidential straw poll last week, and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin -- have backed Rubio. So has former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, whose Americas Foundation is behind Rubio. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlentys Freedom First PAC has also endorsed Rubio.

Still other possible presidential candidates have focused on Florida for its standing as the political front line on health care. Former New York Gov. George Pataki formed Revere America to push for repeal of new federal health care laws backed by President Barack Obama. Pataki has lavished praise on McCollums legal challenge to those measures.

Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.

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