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.
Over the next few 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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Rand Paul has to turn things around badly and the Sunshine Summit gives him a chance to do just that.
When the race began, Paul started off as one of the top candidates in the Republican pack but now he’s holding on for dear life. The rumors are already out that the national and Kentucky GOP would rather see him try to keep his Senate seat instead of continuing his presidential bid. In the second presidential debate, Donald Trump mocked him, saying Paul didn’t even deserve to be included with the top candidates.
Iowa, home of the first caucus, was supposed to be friendly territory for Paul but he’s been eclipsed there by some of the other candidates. Even worse, plenty of polls at the national level and of key states show him upside down with Republican primary voters. Despite claims from his supporters that Paul would move the needle with younger voters, there is scant evidence of that so far.
Paul insists he’s in the race to win it despite his current stumbles and he has his chances to shine. Revisiting one of the highlights of his time in the Senate, Paul plans to filibuster the current budget deal crafted by the White House and the GOP congressional leadership. It worked before for him, it might work again.
But Paul’s an odd position. Even as he breaks with much of the GOP on issues ranging from intervention abroad to marijuana legalization, some of the more purist libertarians remain suspicious of him because he isn’t quite as principled as his father Ron Paul had been during his presidential bids. On the other hand, there are plenty of Republican voters who fear Paul is too much like his father.
The Florida GOP presidential primary isn’t exactly fertile territory for libertarian minded candidates and Ron Paul pulled in single digits here in both 2008 and 2012 though admittedly he did not turn much attention to the Sunshine State. Paul has been a little more active here and his backers helped Curt Clawson and Ted Yoho win Republican congressional primaries.
Something of a non-factor in the first two debates, Paul can make a case at the Sunshine Summit for his principles. Paul takes the stage early in the afternoon on Sat. Nov. 14 and has the chance to shine. Based on his some of his speeches over the years, Paul seems to do far better by himself than sharing a debate stage with the other candidates. Paul needs to reverse his campaign’s trajectory and the Sunshine Summit gives him the opportunity to do just that.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
