Two more Republican presidential hopefuls--Gov. John Kasich of Ohio and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania--are headed to Orlando for the Republican Party of Florida’s (RPOF) Sunshine Summit next month.
On Tuesday, state Rep. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, the chairman of the RPOF, announced the two candidates will be at the event which will be held from Nov. 12-Nov. 14.
“We welcome Gov. John Kasich and Sen. Rick Santorum to the lineup of presidential candidates speaking at the Sunshine Summit in Orlando,” Ingoglia said. “Our party has remained committed to empowering the grassroots by bring candidates to Florida. As we continue to announce more candidates, the current 10 confirmed presidential participants will help build excitement for Florida’s grassroots leaders and volunteers in what will be this year’s premier presidential event in Florida.”
Kasich and Santorum join eight other candidates--former Gov. Jeb Bush and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and businessman Donald Trump--who will be attending the event.
Both Kasich and Santorum are currently making second tries for the presidency.
After more than a decade and a half in Congress, including as chairman of the House Budget Committee, Kasich made a brief bid for the Republican nomination in the 2000 election cycle but quickly got out and backed George W. Bush. Kasich is polling better in New Hampshire than he is in other states and has been included in the first two debates with the top tier candidates.
In 2006, Santorum was routed by Democrat Bob Casey in his bid for a third term but he rebounded six years later to win Iowa and other primaries and caucuses in the 2012 presidential race. This time out, Santorum has been in the lower tier of candidates, taking part in the undercard debates.
While the event doesn’t have the high-profile straw poll of past RPOF presidential contest events, the stakes are high. Last month, 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.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
