The Republican Party of Florida says it has a lot of work to do if it wants to get voters out to the polls this November.
At the party’s spring quarterly meeting in Tampa Friday, the minority engagement committee centered in about the GOP’s presumptive nominee, businessman Donald Trump, and how the party will try to reach out to its constituents in light of inflammatory comments Trump has made on the campaign trail.
For months, the billionaire businessman has made headlines for controversial remarks. In October, Trump announced plans to build a massive wall along the U.S.-Mexican border to cut down on illegal immigration.
"We're going to do a wall; we're going to have a big, fat beautiful door on the wall; we're going to have people come in, but they're going to come in legally," Trump said at the third Republican debate.
Trump also went further with his comments, saying Mexico was sending drugs, crime and “rapists” over the border.
The RPOF’s minority engagement committee said the remarks, although controversial, weren’t necessarily out of left field.
Palm Beach County RPOF chair and minority engagement committee chair Michael Barnett said Trump’s remarks, although insensitive, weren’t necessarily off mark
"We are not trying to keep the hardworking people out... but we have to have a wall," he said.
Other committee members likened the wall to building a house, complete with walls built to protect their loved ones.
For years, the committee said, the Republican Party has been vehemently opposed to illegal immigration, a message which has been lost in the flow of the 2016 presidential campaign.
There are problems with the border issue, a problem which needs to be discussed prior to figuring out what the country should do with the more than 11 million immigrants living in the U.S.
In spite of the comments made by Trump, the committee vowed to push forward to helping a Republican secure a seat in the Oval Office.
The alternative, they said, would be a “socialist” -- Hillary Clinton -- winning the White House. Clinton clinching a victory in the White House, Republicans say, would be a disaster for the future of the country. The committee said it would focus on the economy and jobs as tow of the reasons Trump would be the best fit for the presidency.
The general mood of the party’s meeting Friday in Tampa was positive, with some of the state’s top officials saying they were confident Florida Republicans would be able to move beyond the controversy and focus on securing a win in six months.
RPOF vice chair and Trump in Florida campaign chairman Joe Gruters said the tone of Republicans at the party’s meeting had been overwhelmingly positive.
“Guys that [would] never support Trump were coming up to me and saying ‘We’re ready to win.’”
The party’s meeting continues Saturday, when RPOF chair Blaise Ingoglia will make his recommendations for the 15 at-large candidates to the Republican Executive Board.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
