The American Conservative Unions (ACU) Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) kicks off Thursday and a number of prominent figures from the Sunshine State will be on center stage at the event even as presidential candidates focus on a 2016 straw poll held on Saturday afternoon.
Dr. Ben Carson will kick off CPAC with a speech on Thursday morning. Carson is a neurosurgeon who retired from Johns Hopkins Hospital and moved to South Florida. After taking aim at President Barack Obamas federal health-care law at the National Prayer Breakfast back in 2013, Carson has become a favorite of conservatives and is expected to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. Carson will also hold a coffee reception on Thursday morning as he continues to line up for the presidential race.
Another potential Republican presidential candidate will be speaking on Friday morning as U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., addresses CPAC. Rubio looks increasingly like a presidential candidate in 2016 with the New York Times reporting on Tuesday that he is telling supporters he will opt for running for the White House instead of a second term in the U.S. Senate.
Rubio wont be the only possible presidential candidate from Florida speaking on Friday. Former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., is scheduled to address CPAC on Friday afternoon.
While the presidential candidates will be keeping their eyes on the presidential straw poll on Saturday afternoon, the days agenda will showcase other Floridians in the spotlight at CPAC. On Saturday, conservative blogger Javier Manjarres from the Shark Tank site will be signing his new book Brown People on the growing Hispanic voting population. Walid Phares from Florida International University will take part in a panel discussion on The Middle East: the 30 Years War on Saturday afternoon.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
