Sunburn — The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.
By Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster, Mitch Perry, Ryan Ray, and Jim Rosica.
ANNOUNCED OVERNIGHT: President Obama will visit Jacksonville Friday to deliver a speech on the stimulus.
WHAT HAPPENS TONIGHT IN VEGAS DOES NOT STAY IN VEGAS — The field of 17 candidates is now down to just five, but the heavy favorite in tonight’s GOP Nevada caucus remains Donald Trump, fresh off his 10-point victory in South Carolina on Saturday night. A poll taken last week had the NYC business mogul up by over twenty points over Marco Rubio.
Thirty delegates are at stake, and will be awarded proportionately, meaning the still-crowded field could split significantly.
Like the Palmetto State primary, the Silver State caucus’s only real drama may be simply watching to see who comes in second place, with Rubio and Ted Cruz expected once again battling it out to get bragging rights of some sort.
Rubio dominated Monday’s news cycle by churning out hourly news releases of major Republicans who are now backing him in the race, including affirmations of support from U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and former presidential candidate Bob Dole.
But the Florida senator, who lived in Las Vegas for six years in the 70s and 80s and had spent considerable time campaigning in Nevada, doesn’t expect to win on Tuesday, or come in a close second. In fact, he won’t even be in the state for the majority of the day, instead campaigning in Minnesota, one of 11 states that will hold a caucus or primary on Super Tuesday.
By Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster, Mitch Perry, Ryan Ray, and Jim Rosica, SaintPetersBlog.com, SouthFloridaReporter.com, Feb. 23, 2016
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