Floridas Republican leaders -- including former Gov. Jeb Bush and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio -- will be on center stage in July when Maverick PAC (MavPAC) hosts its annual conference in Miami.
Led by Texas-based George P. Bush, son of the former governor and the nephew, grandson and namesake of two former presidents, MavPAC looks to support conservative candidates and bring young professionals into the political process. The group claims to have more than 3,500 in chapters across the nation, including four based in Florida.
Jeb Bush, Rubio and Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, will be speaking at MavPACs annual conference in Miami on July 12-13. Jeb Bush will be keynoting the conference, but eyes will on Rubio, who is considered a more likely possibility to enter the 2016 presidential race than the former governor.
For his part, on Tuesday, Rubio praised the organization. Im excited to join MavPAC for their annual conference, and in support of their mission to cultivate the future leaders of our movement, Rubio said on Tuesday. Through MavPAC, we have an opportunity to bring together young reform-minded conservatives who dont just want change, but are willing to put the work in to achieve change.
While the Bush connections make Miami a natural place to stage the conference, MavPAC has been active in Florida. During the 2012 election cycle, MavPAC supported Florida Republican congressional candidates Vern Buchanan, Ron DeSantis, Mario Diaz-Balart, Karen Harrington, Adam Hasner, Trey Radel, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Steve Southerland, Daniel Webster and Allen West and Connie Macks bid to topple U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. The results proved mixed. DeSantis and Radel went on to win open seats in Republican-leaning districts while Diaz-Balart and Ros-Lehtinen cruised to re-election and Buchanan, Southerland and Webster went on to win close races. Nelson routed Mack at the polls and Harrington, Hasner and West all lost in November.
Unlike his brother George, Jeb Bush Jr. is based in Florida, but he is also active with the group. On Tuesday the namesake of the former governor said the Miami conference will help Republicans reach out to younger voters -- an area in which the GOP has lagged behind in recent election cycles.
Were expecting this years conference to be bigger and better than ever, with an all-star line-up of speakers and presenters, said Jeb Bush Jr. Its exciting to see these leaders of the GOP so willing to get involved and motivate our young membership to take action.
Tallahassee political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this story exclusively for Sunshine State News.
