State Rep. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, chairman of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF), rallied the GOP Saturday night, insisting next year’s presidential election will come down to the Sunshine State. He called for new outreach efforts and staying on point with a conservative message.
Speaking to the Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) of Central East Florida, Ingoglia said the stakes would be high in 2016.
“There is nothing more important to this nation than fixing a broken Washington, D.C.,” Ingoglia said, urging listeners to be active in next year’s election cycle.
Ingoglia slammed former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, favorite for the Democratic nomination, and said the GOP lost the last two presidential contests due to tactical failures, not on the issues.
“We must stop Hillary Clinton from becoming the next president of the United State,” Ingoglia said. “We are going to do it with message.”
Ingoglia insisted the GOP did not need to back down from its conservative principles, but it did have to reach out to voters better.
“We do not have a message problem,” Ingoglia said. “We have a marketing problem.”
Calling the GOP the “Grand Opportunity Party,” Ingoglia said he would lead efforts to bring the party’s message to all voters. “We want everyone to be successful,” he said. “No exceptions.”
Ingoglia joined Fox News pundit Deneen Borelli and U.S. Senate candidate Todd Wilcox in speaking at the event.
Bob White, who was reelected as president of the state RLC earlier Saturday, praised Ingoglia’s leadership during his first months in charge of the RPOF. White said Ingoglia had offered an “impressive list of accomplishments” since taking over the RPOF, including reaching out to minorities and younger voters while expanding the party’s social media role and leading training efforts for party activists. Conceding that the RPOF and his group disagreed on some issues, White said Ingoglia had shown he was committed to working with the state RLC.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
