The Republican presidential hopefuls who spoke at the Republican Party of Florida’s (RPOF) Sunshine Summit in November made the ballot for Florida's March 15 primary.
The list of Republican candidates -- submitted by RPOF Chairman Blaise Ingoglia to Florida Sec. of State Ken Detzner -- includes former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, Dr. Ben Carson, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, businesswoman Carly Fiorina, former Gov. Jim Gilmore of Virginia, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and businessman Donald Trump.
All of the 13 active candidates spoke at the Sunshine Summit in Orlando in November. So did Jindal but he dropped his bid for the Republican nomination shortly thereafter.
While the event did not have the high-profile straw poll of past RPOF presidency events, the stakes were high at the Sunshine Summit. In September, the RPOF voted on a new rule ensuring GOP presidential hopefuls can appear on March's presidential primary ballot by appearing at the Sunshine Summit, paying a fee or filing a petition and gathering signatures to make the ballot.
The only major Republican presidential candidate who did not make the ballot in Florida was former Gov. George Pataki of New York who did not appear at the Sunshine Summit. Despite his upset win over Gov. Mario Cuomo, D-NY, in 1994 and serving three terms in Albany, Pataki has garnered little momentum in the presidential race. In the first three rounds of Republican debates, Pataki was included in the undercard debates with other dark horses. Pataki’s poll numbers were not high enough to be included in the latest round.
Polls show Trump ahead of the other Republican candidates in Florida.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
