Bob Sparks: Will Republican Party of Florida force presidential candidates to attend November summit?

The second GOP debate is history. In a few days, polls will tell us who did well, or not so well, in the minds of voters. The final debate is set for Florida on March 10, just five days before the Florida Primary (although early voting begins March 5).

It is impossible to predict how many candidates will remain six months from now for that debate. If the Tallahassee leadership of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) has its way, the number of candidates on the primary ballot will be determined by their response to an “invitation.”

The RPOF is considering a requirement that GOP presidential candidates make an appearance at November’s Sunshine State Summit in Orlando. Under the proposal, those failing to at least make an appearance would forfeit their place on the Florida primary ballot.

If approved, Florida’s ballot would have just two names on it: Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio. Both have accepted invitations to appear in Orlando either November 13 or 14. Former Vice President Dick Cheney is the featured speaker at a dinner on the evening of November 12.

RPOF Chairman and state Rep. Blaise Ingoglia, along with Executive Director Brad Herold, are frustrated at the lack of attention being paid to Florida by the 16 remaining candidates. They seek some of the love and attention currently being showered upon other states, especially South Carolina, next year’s first Southern primary state.

Dr. Ben Carson, who now resides in Palm Beach County, sent regrets because he had already committed to an event in South Carolina. The RPOF believes Carson could do a fly-in and fly-out appearance at the summit.

Forcing the candidates to jump through this hoop has trouble written all over it. The proposal has support within the party’s grassroots leadership, while others are concerned.

Politico’s enterprising reporter, Matt Dixon, obtained the call-in number for a September 15 conference call and chronicled what happened during the call’s 90 minutes. Both sides had their say.

Fort Lauderdale’s Sharon Day, the co-chairman of the Republican National Committee, came out against the plan and likened it to “blackmail.” Supporters say it would “put Florida back on the primary map” where it belongs.

If that is the logic, the party should scrap this idea because Florida is already back on the primary map.  The state’s primary falling two weeks after “Super Tuesday” on March 1 leaves Florida voters in a strong position to determine the GOP nominee.

Ohio and Florida are the first big “winner-take-all” states, raising the importance of both. If candidates like Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina, Carson and Ted Cruz are still pulling enough votes to make things difficult for Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio in Florida (and John Kasich in Ohio), others should want to compete here anyway. But on their own schedules.

Candidates are making decisions about what is best for their campaigns. They are trying to survive Iowa and New Hampshire first.

The circle of political life holds that the hopes of some cash-starved campaigns will be dashed before the primaries even begin. More will pull the plug after New Hampshire or South Carolina.

Another debate is slated for November in the state of Wisconsin. What if the Wisconsin date is set for immediately after the summit? Candidates would likely be adding debate preparation to their schedules during the days of the summit.

All of this seems un-Republican. The GOP is known for opposing a heavy-handed government telling people how to run their lives. This sounds an awful lot like the party using coercion to tell candidates how to run their campaigns.

Where is Gov. Rick Scott in all of this? Word is he will not be in Orlando for the summit and is not getting involved with the ballot controversy.

If true, how does the RPOF summon high-profile candidates to Florida when our own governor either rejected an invitation or did not receive one? The divorce between the RPOF and the governor seems to be very real and not very amicable.

Assuming the RPOF approves this rule change and some contenders do not attend, who gets to tell Trump? Who tells his supporters, or those of Carson, Fiorina, Cruz or Rand Paul, that they cannot vote for their candidate?

The party would likely count on those supporters and staff to apply enough pressure to get those candidates down here for at least a token appearance. Having Bush and Rubio is great, but the party wants a national event with a cast that can help raise some coin to help fill the void left by the governor’s withdrawal from party activities.

There is still time to reach a thoughtful decision. By law, the Republican Party of Florida must submit a list of candidates to be placed on the ballot to the secretary of state by November 30.

Bob Sparks is a business and political consultant based in Tallahassee.  Column courtesy of Context Florida.