Sunshine Summit Details
What: This two-day event will bring presidential candidates along with Florida's elected officials together to address voters, grassroots leaders, and GOP supporters from across the state.
When: November 13th & 14th.
Presidential Candidate Agenda
Friday, November 13, 2015:
11:30 am U.S. Senator Marco Rubio Remarks
12:30 pm U.S. Senator Ted Cruz Remarks
1:00 pm U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham Remarks
2:00 pm Governor Mike Huckabee Remarks
4:00 pm Governor Jeb Bush Remarks
5:30 pm Donald Trump Remarks
Saturday, November 14, 2015:
11:00 am Senator Rick Santorum Remarks
1:00 pm Governor Bobby Jindal Remarks
1:30 pm Senator Rand Paul Remarks
2:00 pm Governor Chris Christie Remarks
2:30 pm Governor John Kasich Remarks
4:00 pm Carly Fiorina Remarks
Where: Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Florida
Fresh off the fourth set of debates, most of the Republican presidential candidates will converge on Florida during the next two days for the Sunshine State Summit. The cattle call, at the Rosen Shingle Creek resort in Orlando, will serve as a sort of kickoff to the race for Florida's share of delegates in the GOP primary --- not to mention the state's trove of 29 electoral votes in the 2016 general election.
In all, 14 of the 15 declared candidates who are still in the race and have been on at least one of the eight debate stages this year --- there have been two debates each night --- will be at the event. (Only former New York Gov. George Pataki, who's been having trouble getting traction in the polls, won't be speaking.)
That means Florida's two favorite sons --- former Gov. Jeb Bush and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio --- will join bombastic tycoon Donald Trump, neurosurgeon Ben Carson and 10 more candidates in vying for attention.
The March 15 primary in Florida, which will award all of the state's delegates to the leading candidate, could end up playing a major role in who gets the nomination. Florida has the third-largest number of delegates to the Republican National Convention, behind California, which won't vote until June, and Texas, which votes March 1 and will allocate its delegates proportionally.
Unlike the old Presidency events hosted by the Republican Party of Florida, the straw poll at the end of the event has been jettisoned. A 2012 straw poll was best known for beginning a boomlet for pizza magnate Herman Cain, who ended up dropping out of the race a few months later. But the chance to schmooze with a large group of party activists in a key state has still proved too much for the campaigns to pass up.
The summit comes little more than a month after a Quinnipiac University poll found Trump and Carson leading the field in Florida despite Bush and Rubio's perceived home-field advantage. In that survey, Trump was supported by 28 percent of registered Republicans, compared to 16 percent for Carson, 14 percent for Rubio and 12 percent for Bush. No other candidate got out of single digits.
Rubio, who will be the first Republican candidate to speak Friday morning, is looking to build momentum after being seen as one of the winners at this week's televised debate. Bush is also trying to show strength; some reviewers said he was better during the last debate showdown between the candidates, but his performances have generally been panned. He will speak Friday afternoon.
Also speaking on the first day of the summit: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Trump and Carson. The cast for Saturday includes former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore, outgoing Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and businesswoman Carly Fiorina.
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