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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John Kasich heads to the Sunshine Summit offering a new script for an old role.
Plenty of Republican presidential hopefuls have tried to stand out by challenging the conventional party mantra on a host of fronts. Pushing against conservatives to some extent or another, candidates like Jon Huntsman, Richard Luger, Arlen Specter and John Anderson won accolades from the media and offered somber takes on America’s problems -- and went nowhere.
Kasich is trying to fall out of that niche and he is certainly showing no hesitation on going on the attack. That was on display on Wednesday night as the Ohio governor kicked things off by throwing haymakers at Donald Trump and Ben Carson. Trump fired back and Kasich spent much of the rest of the debate on the sidelines.
While he hasn’t exactly shone in the campaign so far, Kasich is hoping to break through in New Hampshire. He does have some prominent supporters up there, ranging from John Sununu to Gordon Humphrey. Of course, Huntsman also put his chips on the Granite State while Anderson let it ride on Massachusetts and Luger doubled down in Vermont. None of them emerged stronger from their New England bets.
Unlike Anderson and Specter, Kasich has much to offer conservatives from his solid record leading the House Budget Committee during the 1990s and his focus on job growth in Ohio. Conservatives might have problems with Kasich accepting Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, but they will find much to like in his record. While he does not showcase it, Kasich does have a bit of a national security background, including time on the Armed Services Committee.
Kasich’s not exactly on most Florida Republicans’ radar screens but he is in a good position, especially if Jeb Bush continues to fade and his supporters are looking for options. With the exception of Florida, Ohio is the largest swing state on the map and Kasich does make a convincing case that he can beat Hillary Clinton and the Democrats in the Buckeye State.
The second to last speaker at the Sunshine Summit, Kasich will speak in the afternoon on Saturday, Nov. 14. The Ohio governor’s assignment is to leave a good impression with Florida Republicans who want an elected official with a proven record of carrying a swing state. The question is, will Kasich be able to reel in conservatives or go the route of Huntsman, Specter, Luger and Anderson?
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
