Source: Politics<\/p>\n
HOLLYWOOD, Florida \u2014 Colombia and Portugal\u2019s World Cup match in Miami Gardens won\u2019t be the only major draw pulling crowds to South Florida this weekend: Florida\u2019s Republican grassroots are heading to Hollywood for their \u201cSunshine State Showdown.\u201d<\/p>\n
The GOP\u2019s event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is one of the state party\u2019s biggest of the year. The GOP sold more than 800 tickets, with the party\u2019s most devoted volunteers and many donors coming in from all over the state to get revved up for the midterms, gameplan their messaging and hear directly from top candidates.<\/p>\n
The shindig will feature speeches from Sens. Rick Scott and Ashley Moody, as well as gubernatorial candidates Rep. Byron Donalds, former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins. It will also include two congressional debates.<\/p>\n
Several \u201cShowdown\u201d attendees said they were thrilled about the convergence of their party\u2019s bash with a World Cup match. South Florida has already seen a huge economic boom in recent years, and the Magic City is poised to become even more prominent given Miami is set to be home to Donald Trump\u2019s future presidential library and will host the G20 in December. \u201cMiami is again at the center of the universe,\u201d observed Miami-Dade County GOP Chair Kevin Cooper.<\/p>\n
Several prominent Republicans said they see the international event as an opportunity to showcase the state. State Rep. Dean Black of Jacksonville, who also chairs the Republican Party of Florida\u2019s fundraising committee, said he\u2019d enjoyed seeing fans from abroad show appreciation over social media for American culture. \u201cThey have fallen in love with the greatness of America,\u201d Black said. \u201cBy being exposed to the Republican Party event, they will learn just how that greatness came to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Collins\u2019 team said that while the lieutenant governor wasn\u2019t attending the game, he was \u201chappy the state of Florida is hosting so many fans from across the world experiencing the beauty of our state.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Fox 35 Orlando anchor Ryan Elijah, a GOP candidate for Congress who\u2019s attending the showdown, said he would be checking his phone regularly for World Cup updates.<\/p>\n
“What a night for Florida to see the biggest names in Florida politics and World Cup soccer be just miles apart!\u201d he said in a text. \u201cIt’s a dream night for tourism numbers and local businesses!\u201d<\/p>\n
But the packed weekend also risks turning into a logistical headache. The Hard Rock Hotel is one of the pickup points<\/a> offering shuttle services to Miami Stadium. It\u2019s less than 9 miles away from the big game.<\/p>\n Angie Wong, Republican executive committeewoman in Miami-Dade, attended Wednesday\u2019s match between Scotland and Brazil. She said her family paid $200 for parking near the stadium and that it took more than an hour just to get out of the parking lot.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were lucky \u2014 we actually left before the game ended,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Yet this year\u2019s \u201cShowdown\u201d is a more scaled-back affair than in the recent past. It won\u2019t, for example, feature a dinner like in previous years. But that\u2019s probably good news for any attendees who don\u2019t want to miss the soccer match \u2014 or who are just trying to get back home without getting stuck in traffic. And it doesn\u2019t have any major Trump administration officials attending, in comparison to last year, when the event prominently featured White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and now-former deputy chief of staff James Blair, who is currently running Trump\u2019s political operation<\/a> for the midterms.<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis \u2014 who remains highly popular with the state\u2019s grassroots \u2014 won\u2019t be speaking at the \u201cShowdown\u201d this weekend and his office didn\u2019t reply to an inquiry about whether he\u2019d attend Saturday night\u2019s game. The governor was in the Miami area during the last couple of days, including hitting the Brazil-Scotland game<\/a> on Wednesday night and holding a press conference<\/a> at the former Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center on Thursday.<\/p>\n Evan Power, chair of the state party, had already arrived at the Hard Rock Hotel on Wednesday night and said he got to watch a Brazilian victory parade happening right outside the restaurant where he was having dinner. He added he hadn\u2019t had any issues getting in and out of the events center and that Republicans sold out their room block, \u201cso I think we were able to get in before the craziness.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn our room block, people are happy because they’re not paying the market rate that is out there,\u201d Power said. \u201cSeeing some of the prices \u2014 they’re crazy now.\u201d<\/p>\n