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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Huckabee ran surprisingly strong in his first presidential bid back in 2008, winning Iowa and bursting out of the second tier to become one of the leading Republican hopefuls. Running again for the Republican nomination, Huckabee needs history to repeat itself as he looks to break out in the crowded pack.
Huckabee comes to the Sunshine Summit with far more ties to Florida than he did eight years ago. After his 2008 presidential bid, he moved to the Florida Panhandle and he’s been somewhat active in the Sunshine State, giving speeches and endorsing Republican candidates.
The former Arkansas governor relied on his affable, folksy image last time out and it’s helped him remain in the public eye. Huckabee hosted a show on Fox News and made a brief stab at having his own national talk radio show.
But Huckabee’s nice-guy demeanor and his focus on social issues haven’t helped him in his second presidential bid. He’s stuck in the polls at the national level and in key states, including Iowa where his past support has eroded considerably. Unlike his previous presidential bid, Huckabee has generally been a non-factor in the debates. Part of that is the limited amount of time he has been given, something he noted during the third debate on Wednesday night. But part of that is the result of Huckabee being eclipsed. Dr. Ben Carson seems to have filled the niche of the nice guy representing social and religious conservatives.
Still, Republicans generally like Huckabee even if he is not doing well in the polls. His favorability numbers still outpace his unfavorable ones. Huckabee can afford to be patient and hope for Carson and some of the other candidates above him to implode or lose steam. Certainly he benefited from that before.
Huckabee will take the stage at the Sunshine Summit in the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 13 and he can improve his standing with Florida Republicans in any number of ways. As he reminded voters in one of his better moments in Wednesday’s debate, Huckabee took on the Clinton machine in Arkansas and beat it, music to Republican ears. Huckabee is generally one of the funnier candidates running for the Republican nod, never a bad thing when included in marathon of speakers.
The former Arkansas governor has work to do to move into the top tier but Huckabee’s affability and conservative stances on the issues should help him reach out to Florida Republicans. If he plays his cards right, Huckabee can emerge as one of the big winners of the Sunshine Summit.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
