FieldingĀ fourĀ Florida-based candidates in the GOP primary and 29 valuable Electoral College votes, the Sunshine State is poised to be ground zero in the 2016 presidential race.Ā Leveraging its placeĀ in national politics, theĀ Republican Party of FloridaĀ is planningĀ the “Sunshine Summit” for October 23 and 24 in Orlando.
In a memo obtained byĀ Florida Politics, RPOF ChairmanĀ Blaise IngogliaĀ welcomesĀ all Republican candidates to the race and invitesĀ them to join the Summit — an event expectedĀ to draw more than 2,500 activists and donors wanting to hear from the field of presidential hopefuls.
āI know that our party will be in a strong position to take back the White House with whoever wins our party’s nomination,ā Ingoglia writes.
The agenda for the event on Friday at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort includes the RPOF’s Quarterly Meeting, a speaker series featuring candidates, and breakout receptions.
On Saturday, Summit highlights are expected to include speeches and receptions with both candidates and GOP leaders. That eveningĀ thereĀ will beĀ a debate among GOP candidates for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat.
Unlike earlier events, the Summit will not include a televised presidential debate or a straw poll.
āWe felt it makes more sense to call the event a summit to make it more in-line with peopleās expectations,ā Ingoglia explains.
Tickets to the event are on a first-come-first-served basis, with 50 more tickets reserved for each campaign for supporters before general admission tickets go on sale.
Each presidential candidate will have 20 minutes to talk during the speaker series, and time and space assignedĀ by the RPOF on a first-come, first-served basis. Each campaign can also host a one-hour āreception-style eventā either Friday evening or Saturday morning.
Ingoglia added that he expects the speeches to be carried live by C-SPAN and covered byĀ invited national and local press, including outlets in all of Floridaās 10 media markets.
āWe are expecting a high number of media impressions from print, broadcast, and online publications,ā he said, reminding those interested that the event will take place about 120 days before the stateās winner-take-all primary.
As part of the attraction for the Summit, Ingoglia outlinedĀ several impressive media coverage goals: more than 10 million media impressions in Florida and nationwide; 3.8 million media impressions with a broadcast reach inĀ nine of 10 Florida media markets; 5.7 million impressions in print media through more than 200 press credentials and 10 satellite trucks.
As forĀ who will ultimately attend the Summit, campaigns are requested to RSVPĀ by noon July 31 with RPOF Executive Director Brad Herold at [email protected].
