KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump will join other GOP presidential hopefuls at the Gaylord Palms Resort on Saturday as featured speakers during the Florida Freedom Summit.
“It’s going to be the premiere event for Republican presidential candidates in Florida,” said Brevard County State Representative Randy Fine. “Theoretically they’re all supposed to be here.”
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is not expected to attend the Kissimmee event for family reasons and will pay an additional $75,000 fee to be added to Florida’s GOP primary ballot in March, according to NBC News.
Many polls show Haley and DeSantis nearly tied but still trailing Trump in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
Trump is planning to hold a separate rally in South Florida next week while DeSantis and the other GOP hopefuls are in Miami Wednesday to take part in the third presidential primary debate.
Fine is curious how his fellow Florida Republicans will react to the candidates’ pitches at the Gaylord Palms Resort Saturday.
“Sen. (Rick) Scott is speaking. He supports President Trump,” said Fine. “The congressional delegation is speaking. They all support President Trump. I’m speaking. I support President Trump. So it might be a little bit lonely for the governor tomorrow. But it will be interesting to see the reaction people have.”
Nikki Fried, the chair of Florida’s Democratic Party, shared her reaction to the Kissimmee GOP event during a videoconference Friday.
“It makes sense that they’re here in Florida taking center stage to declare victory,” said Fried. “They have turned this state into Ground Zero for MAGA extremism. Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis have worked overtime to roll back our rights.”
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: