On Thursday, the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) released the schedule for the dozen presidential hopefuls who will be headed to Orlando next month for the Sunshine Summit.
The first of the 12 presidential candidates who will speak at the event will be U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 13. An hour later, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, will take the stage. At 1 p.m., U.S. Sen Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., will speak followed by former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., at 2 p.m. Former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., will speak at 4 p.m. with businessman Donald Trump taking the stage at 5:30.
Saturday will kick off with former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., speaking at 11 a.m. folowed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., at 1 p.m. Former U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., takes the stage at 1:30 followed by two sitting governors -- Chris Christie of New Jersey at 2 and John Kasich of Ohio at 2:30. Businesswoman Carly Fiorina wraps things up at 4 p.m.
Three presidential candidates -- Dr. Ben Carson, former Gov. Jim Gilmore, R-Va., and former Gov. George Pataki, R-N.Y -- have yet to confirm attending the event. While Gilmore and Pataki are struggling in the polls, Carson is near the head of the pack. Carson will be hitting Florida in the first days of November, making more than 10 stops across the state as part of his book tour. Sources tell Sunshine State News that Carson has been invited to the Sunshine Summit and could still attend the event.
While the event doesn’t have the high-profile straw poll of past RPOF presidency events, the stakes are high. Last month the RPOF voted on a new rule ensuring GOP presidential hopefuls can appear on March's presidential primary ballot by appearing at the Sunshine Summit, paying a fee or filing a petition and gathering signatures to make the ballot.
The RPOF noted on Thursay that four Republican U.S. Senate candidates -- U.S. Reps. Ron DeSantis and David Jolly, R-Fla., Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera and businessman Todd Wilcox -- will also be speaking at the Sunshine Summit, but their schedules will be released down the road.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
