WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently voiced his disappointment with the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) following their decision to cancel a gubernatorial debate at the “Sunshine State Showdown” set for this month.
The RPOF has scheduled this event for Saturday, June 27, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood. The gathering is intended for Republican candidates to discuss and debate policies as they gear up for the upcoming general election later this year.
Despite these plans, the party opted out of hosting the gubernatorial debate. This decision came after only one candidate, U.S. Representative Byron Donalds, qualified under the specified polling and fundraising criteria, as reported by Politico.
Competing against Donalds are other GOP hopefuls, including Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins, former State House Speaker Paul Renner, and James Fishback, CEO of an investment firm.
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During a conference on a new fraud initiative last week, though, DeSantis claimed that there should be debate.
“They said they were going to do a debate,” DeSantis said. “They didn’t put out the criteria publicly. I don’t think the RPOF ever voted on any type of criteria. I’ve heard secondhand what the criteria was — I wouldn’t have qualified when I ran in ‘18!”
As such, DeSantis indicated that the party may be trying to “engineer an outcome,” especially in what may be a “tough cycle” for Republicans this year.
“Having an open process and having people be able to have their say than to try to engineer an outcome,” DeSantis continued. “So what the party should be doing is doing what’s in the best interest of Republican voters. You shouldn’t have another agenda.”
The RPOF also announced it would withdraw an invitation to candidate Fishback, claiming he joined an “unsanctioned debate in violation of Party rules.”
That said, Fishback revealed that he and Renner agreed to appear on live CBS News debate in Jacksonville on July 15.
News 6 has reached out to CBS affiliate Action News Jax, which confirmed that a debate would happen on July 15. However, no additional details have yet been provided about who will attend.
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