With 2016 around the corner, the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) will be hosting the Sunshine Summit in Orlando from Nov. 12-Nov. 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.
Continuing over the next two weeks, Sunshine State News will look at the presidential hopefuls who will be on stage at the Sunshine Summit and what is at stake as they take their messages to Republicans across Florida.
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When he takes the stage at the Sunshine Summit, Chris Christie hopes to revive some of the high hopes conservatives once had for him.
Some Republicans have never forgiven Christie for working closely with Barack Obama in late October 2012, right before the election, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The New Jersey governor has also been damaged by the Bridegate scandals.
But, after struggling for much of 2015, Christie is starting to show signs of life. He had solid performances in the second and third debates despite not getting much time from the moderators. Christie has also benefited as fellow governors or former ones stumble. Scott Walker and Rick Perry are out of the race; Bobby Jindal and George Pataki are struggling; Jeb Bush has faded considerably. Christie is using his current perch as governor of the Garden State to find some middle ground between Beltway senators on one end and outsiders with no political experience on the other. John Kasich and Mike Huckabee have the same advantage but Christie is trying to find a space between them.
Christie’s “tell it like it is” persona has helped him rebound to some extent but there have been other factors helping him. In the 2014 election cycle, Christie was chairman of the Republican Governors Association and put in some herculanean work to ensure GOP candidates, including Rick Scott in Florida, were successful. That work has helped Christie weather various storms though he is still in the second tier of Republican candidates.
At the Sunshine Summit, Christie is one of a series of speakers taking the stage on the afternoon of Sat. Nov 14. Christie’s persona and jabs at the Obama administration can help him stand out a good deal. So can his focus on criminal justice. So far, Christie has made more of an issue of crime than the other Republican hopefuls, even calling out the left and the Obama administration for waging a war against police officers. Christie will find many Florida Republicans agree with that assessment and focusing on it could help him stand out in the crowded field.
Still, even with some strong debate showings, Christie is not likely to take the step up to the top tier any time soon. Plenty of Republicans remain suspicious of him due to Bridgegate and Hurricane Sandy. But Christie has a chance to shine and his persona is one of the better weapons in his arsenal. It will be on display as the New Jersey governor makes his case to Florida Republicans at the Sunshine Summit.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
