With Florida voting early in the Republican presidential primary cycle, two of the leading hopefuls for the GOP nomination -- Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts -- continued to build their teams in the Sunshine State on Thursday.
I am proud to have these hard-working individuals join our campaign efforts in Florida, Perry said in a statement. They are crucial assets to my campaign team as we work together to share my plan to get America working again.
Perry has named veteran Republican activists who are familiar with Florida politics to lead his efforts here:
- Ashley McElheny will be Perrys field director for Southeast Florida. A longtime Republican activist in the state, McElheny was a regional field manager for Marco Rubios bid for the U.S. Senate in 2010. She also was Charlie Crists Southwest Florida district director in 2006 when he ran for governor.
- First Coast native Ash Mason, who has worked on many Florida House races, will handle Northeast Florida as Perrys field director in the area.
- Craig Briscoe, who was John McCains chairman in Lee County, will be Perrys Southwest Florida field director.
- Lazaro Fields, who was a field coordinator for state Rep. Carlos Trujillo, R-Miami, who is backing Herman Cain, will be Perrys field director in South Florida.
- Todd Lewis, who worked Central Florida for Rubio and managed Carey Bakers short-lived bid to be agriculture commissioner, will be the field director for Floridas west central coast.
- Mike Shirley, who was Rick Scotts Central Florida field director, will have the same task under Perry.
- Former Crist administration staffer Jose Romano will be the field director in the Tampa Bay area.
Romney unveiled the endorsements of Justin Sayfie and Slater Bayliss on Thursday.
Florida is one of the most critical states for my campaign and for the 2012 election, said Romney. Having Justin and Slater join my team in Florida only makes us more competitive in the state. I look forward to working with them as I continue to visit Florida, reach out to voters and work to bring jobs back to the state.
We need a president who will create jobs, keep taxes low, and cut spending, said Sayfie. Mitt Romney will bring leadership and experience to the White House that will be critical to solving our countrys economic problems. I am proud to support him."
Sayfie is a familiar figure in Florida politics. He is the publisher who runs the Sayfie Review and Sayfie News websites. Sayfie served as adviser, speech writer and spokesman for former Gov. Jeb Bush, and helped George W. Bushs successful bid to win a second presidential term in 2004. Earlier in the 2012 election cycle, Sayfie was a state co-chairman for former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlentys presidential campaign.
Bayliss, a longtime Republican activist now with the Advocacy Group at Cardenas Partners, was also a Pawlenty backer -- serving as a state co-chairman for the former Minnesota governor.
This week, the Romney team picked up the backing of a number of prominent Florida Republicans who backed Pawlenty, who pulled out of the race in August. Besides Sayfie and Bayliss, the Romney camp announced the support of Phil Handy, who had headed Jeb Bushs gubernatorial bids as campaign chairman in 1994 and 1998 and as campaign co-chairman in 2002. In recent years, Handy served as state chairman for McCains presidential bid in 2008, and was a state chairman and national finance co-chairman for Pawlentys presidential campaign.
On Wednesday, Romney announced that three Republicans who are scheduled to lead the House in the immediate future -- incoming Speaker Will Weatherford of Wesley Chapel, Rep. Chris Dorworth of Lake Mary, and Rep. Richard Corcoran of Trinity -- were backing his campaign. All three state representatives had been Pawlenty supporters.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859. Derby previously worked for the Sayfie Media Group which is owned by Justin Sayfie.
