Duval GOP Chairman Lake Ray talks presidential debate

Marco Rubio and Carly Fiorina created considerable enthusiasm at this week’s  debate party sponsored by the Duval County Republican Party, according to Chairman Lake Ray.

“It was a great event,” Ray said Friday.

Although the results of a straw poll taken of the more than 100 participants on Wednesday were tabled until the October Republican Executive Committee meeting, Ray confirmed what many Republican stalwarts have said locally: There’s  considerable enthusiasm for Rubio and Fiorina.

A distinguishing feature of the CNN debate was its three-hour length. Ray, no stranger to his own debates, described it as “grueling for anybody.”

Although the crowd tapered off as the debate continued into its third hour, a “number stayed until the end” and were “energized after three hours.”

Ray, not tipping his hand regarding support, said that “all candidates had their high points throughout the evening” and that he was “encouraged by the field.”

However, he had qualms with how the debate’s production was handled.

While the ongoing jousting between Jeb Bush and Donald Trump made for good television and their high five was “one of the lighter moments of the debate,” Ray said  “most people were frustrated by the tit for tat” that characterized the marathon production.

One of the questions this early in the campaign season: Are party diehards more concerned with electability or principle?

Ray’s take: Even though principle is the driver right now in terms of early-stage support of these candidates, electability becomes a concern as the process continues. There “is a point in time when the two begin to converge,” as the lower tier candidates drop out.

Ray suggested there be creative solutions to ensure that 11 people aren’t on the stage together, a structure that favors CEO types such as Trump and Fiorina, who are “used to jumping in, throwing elbows,” but does little for “soft-spoken” candidates such as Ben Carson, “not one to jump into the fray.” One suggestion: a randomized draw to create two heats of top-tier candidates that would ensure more face time for all participants.

As it was, Ray was a “bit surprised by how the moderating went,” characterizing it as “out of control on a couple of occasions.”

One suspects that as the field narrows, some of the problems will work out. In the meantime, the straw poll results will be of keen interest when released.