Next week’s Republican convention in Cleveland will have a Florida flavor as the GOP gets ready to nominate Donald Trump for president.
Governor Rick Scott, who praised Trump at the start of the year and officially endorsed him right after the Florida primary in March, will talk on Thursday, the last night of the convention, about jobs. Scott made job creation the staple of his first gubernatorial campaign in 2010 and has showcased new jobs during his time in Tallahassee.
State Attorney General Pam Bondi is scheduled to speak on Wednesday night on law enforcement. Bondi threw her support to Trump before the Florida primary. Recently, Bondi has been under fire for not pursuing complaints about Trump University after the presumptive GOP presidential nominee contributed $25,000 to her reelection effort.
Florida Gator legend Tim Tebow had been rumored to be speaking at the convention. Reports emerged that Tebow was to speak on the last day of the convention. But Tebow insisted on Thursday night those reports were just rumors. Tebow, who has showcased his faith during his time with the Gators and his short roller coaster ride in the NFL, is a favorite of evangelical Christians.
Now running for a second term in the Senate after being routed by Trump in the Florida primary, Marco Rubio will be addressing the convention in a video. Rubio has generally avoided his former rival in recent weeks though they were scheduled to attend an event in South Florida earlier this month which Trump did not attend due to the shooting deaths of police officers in Dallas.
Florida Republican leader Sharon Day, a co-chairwoman of the RNC, is also scheduled to speak in Cleveland.
Other scheduled speakers will include some of Trump’s defeated rivals including Ted Cruz, Ben Carson and Scott Walker; Rudy Giuliani; members of the Trump family; and congressional leaders Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan.
