The Republican Party of Florida has rounded out its final list of delegates it will send to Cleveland for the Republican National Convention in July.
Over 600 people applied to be at-large delegates for the party. On Saturday, RPOF Chair Blaise Ingoglia recommended 15 candidates to be the party’s at large delegates at the party’s spring quarterly meeting in Tampa.
The delegate list includes:
Brian Ballard
Lizbeth Benacquisto
Robin Bernstein
Richard Corcoran
Lenny Curry
Robert Feingold
Adam Hasner
Belinda Kaiser
George LeMieux
Jeff Miller
Joe Negron
Jose Oliva
Mike Barnett
Nancy Watkins
Susie Wiles
The party also confirmed a list of 15 alternates for the at-large delegates.
Several of the at-large delegates are some of the state’s top politicians. Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, will take the reins as Senate President next year and Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, will become Florida House Speaker next year.
Senate Majority Leader Lizbeth Benacquisto and future House Speaker Jose Oliva, R-Miami-Lakes, will also sit as delegates.
Ingoglia also paid homage to past leaders within the Florida Republican scene. Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry is a former chair of the RPOF and George LeMieux served as Florida’s U.S. Senator from 2009-2011 and worked as chief of staff for former Gov. Charlie Crist.
Some of the names on the list were not added without controversy. As Sunshine State News tweeted Saturday afternoon, conversations in the hallways about LeMieux’s addition to the list were partially problematic on account of LeMieux slamming Trump on Twitter for his immigration policy on Muslims.
LeMieux made the committee anyway.
The at-large delegates will pledge their support to the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee, Donald Trump, at the convention in July.
Some names on the list, like Robin Bernstein, have personal connections to Trump. The Palm Beach Daily News found Bernstein is a 22-year member of Trump’s Mar-A-Lago club and is a close friend of Donald Trump, heading the newly-formed “Palm Beachers for Trump” committee.
Trump resides in Palm Beach part-time.
Other at-large delegates, like Brian Ballard and Susie Wiles, already have close connections to each other and to the party. Both Ballard and Wiles are partners at one of Tallahassee’s top lobbying firms, Ballard Partners.
Florida now has all 99 delegates it needs to head to Cleveland in two months.
Only three delegates -- the RPOF chair (Ingoglia), RNC Chair Sharon Day, and state committeeman Peter Feaman are automatic delegates. After the 15 at-large delegates, the 81 remaining delegates have been selected at the Congressional district level from each of Florida's 27 districts. Each district gets three delegates and three alternates.
“Electing a president is never easy, but our party is strong, focused, and ready,” said RPOF chair Blaise Ingoglia in a statement. “We have made incredible gains in the past year that outpace the Florida Democrats’ best efforts, and I know every single member of our party is prepared to keep up the hard work to ensure we are successful in November.”
The delegates will now meet, most likely telephonically, to discuss the coming weeks leading up to the convention in Cleveland.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
