Bits and pieces from the second day of the Republican Party of Florida’s (RPOF) Sunshine Summit in Orlando....
A very different feel at the Sunshine Summit on Saturday than Friday. Security was a little lighter since Secret Service was off the scene after Dr. Ben Carson and Donald Trump spoke on Friday. While some of the presidential hopefuls scheduled to speak on Saturday have enthusiastic followings, most of them simply don’t bring the same excitement that Carson, Trump, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Florida Republicans U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and former Gov. Jeb Bush did on Friday. A few Florida Republicans noted that there was far less energy in the building on Saturday than the day before...With their candidates scheduled to speak later on Saturday, the teams behind Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Penn., left far larger footprints on Saturday than they did on Friday...
Saturday was like Friday in at least one respect. Former Florida House Majority Leader Adam Hasner was up early to help Rubio’s bid. Hasner was spotted on Saturday morning, interacting with some of Rubio’s volunteers and has been one of that presidential candidate’s chief captains here in Florida...Despite some of the top presidential hopefuls not being in the spotlight on Saturday, other Republican candidates tried to fill the gap. U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., who is expected to have a tough contest against former Miami Dade Democratic Chairwoman Annette Taddeo, had a larger presence at the Sunshine Summit on Saturday than Friday... State CFO Jeff Atwater was working the lobby as well, getting cheers from Florida Republicans and even being told he should be Commerce secretary if Bush is elected. Atwater offered a passionate introduction for Bush when the former Florida governor took the stage on Friday afternoon...
The U.S. Senate hopefuls were generally off center stage at the Sunshine Summit but they looked for ways to garner some attention. One of the stranger sights at the Sunshine Summit was a giant cardboard head of Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera which commanded attention in the hallways and when carried in the crowd during his speech...Lopez-Cantera and his team were walking the halls, meeting attendees early on Saturday morning...There were other cardboard figures as well. Attendees took pictures with replicas of President Ronald Reagan and Carson during the conference...Other Senate candidates kept working the crowds on Saturday as U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., and businessman Todd Wilcox made the rounds...
Not as many state legislators at the Sunshine Summit on the second day of the event as there were on Friday but a few familiar faces were seen early on Saturday including House Speaker Pro Tempore Matt Hudson, R-Naples, and state Rep. Lake Ray, R-Jacksonville...Pollster Frank Luntz spoke at the Sunshine Summit on Saturday morning, insisting that Florida would be the decisive state in the 2016 presidential election. Luntz praised Gov. Rick Scott as an “incredible governor” and Rubio as an “incredible senator” in his short address...Comedian John Morgan was turning heads at the Sunshine Summit. Seven years after President George W. Bush left the White House, Morgan continues to impress with his impression of him. Before taking the stage on Saturday morning, Morgan walked around the summit and garnered more than his share of impressions. Of course, Morgan couldn’t resist a jab at a prominent Florida Democrat by saying “for the people,” the slogan of trial lawyer John Morgan.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
