The Republican Party of Florida confirmed both Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump will attend a November event.
The rivals for the Republican nomination for President both confirmed their attendance at the Florida Freedom Summit on Nov. 4. The event takes place at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Kissimmee.
In confirming both Florida men will attend the event, RPOF Chair Christian Ziegler teased that the list of marquis guests could grow.
“All Republican presidential candidates have been invited to attend and their attendance will be announced shortly,” Ziegler wrote in an email to party members. “The Freedom Summit will also feature other top Republican and Conservative leaders.
“I look forward to joining you for a day of celebrating Florida Freedom with a packed agenda of speeches, panels, featured events, and much more.”
The announcement came days after the state party’s annual Statesman’s Dinner for the state party that notably lacked either Trump or DeSantis from its speaker list. Rather, pundit Ben Shapiro delivered a keynote address there.
But the November event now boasts the high-level draws for attendees and donors.
Trump has held a substantial lead in polls all year among contenders for the nomination.
He notably has declined to participate in any of the Republican Primary presidential debates to date.
Trump was the first to announce his candidacy, shortly after the Midterm Elections in November. DeSantis, meanwhile, has established himself as the most consistent alternative to Trump since announcing his candidacy in May. He has consistently polled in second place behind only Trump.
But increasingly, other candidates have also started to occasionally poll ahead of DeSantis, at least for periods of time. That includes businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who enjoyed a bump after the first Republican presidential debate, and Nikki Haley, who leads DeSantis in South Carolina where she previously served as Governor in one recent poll. The same survey shows U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, a sitting South Carolina Senator, just a percentage point behind the Florida Governor in the Palmetto State.
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