Bits and pieces from the first day of the Republican Party of Florida’s (RPOF) Sunshine Summit in Orlando....
Former state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner was one of the early risers in Orlando on Friday morning. Hasner was on hand for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s, R-Fla., presidential effort, long before most attendees were up and about...Hasner’s old boss former Florida House Speaker Larry Cretul was also spotted early on...From the current House leadership, Speaker Pro Tempore Matt Hudson, R-Naples, was making the rounds on Monday morning...State Rep. Ray Pilon, R-Sarasota, was also one of the first political leaders on the scene. Pilon touched base with the team from WLSS from his home base in Sarasota...Pilon wasn’t the only state representative on the scene early on. Florida Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, was another early attendee....
The national media was out in full force. Carl Cameron from Fox News was spotted on Friday morning...Security, security, security. With businessman Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson scheduled to speak on Friday, attendees had to go through various security lines, including those run by the Secret Service. With other candidates not getting Secret Service protection yet, the security lines are expected to be lessened on Saturday...One presidential candidate making the rounds early was Frank Lynch from Jupiter. Lynch entered the presidential race earlier this week, insisting the other Republican candidates aren’t addressing the issues and calling for education reform. Lynch ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2012....
While the presidential candidates at the Sunshine Summit are getting most of the spotlight, the candidates running to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in 2016 are trying to boost their own chances. Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera made an early appearance as did businessman and veteran Todd Wilcox....Conservative leader Dan Bongino has opened the door to jumping into the 2016 race. Bongino, who ran for the U.S. Senate in Maryland in 2012 and for Congress in that state in 2014, was making the rounds early....Also in attendance was former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum who ran for the Senate in 2000 and 2004. McCollum has left the door open to another Senate bid in 2016....
Conservative leader Niger Innis, the national spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), attended the Sunshine Summit on Friday. Innis ran for Congress out in Nevada...Also in the house was Thuy Lowe who ran for the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla., in 2014. Lowe is running for Congress in North Florida even as congressional redistricting remains up in the air...One of the freebies in the RPOF’s goodie bag for VIPs was an autographed copy of “Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America” by former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz Cheney, who briefly ran for the U.S. Senate in Wyoming in the 2014 cycle. The Cheneys spoke at the RPOF’s “Statesman’s Dinner” event on Thursday night.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
