PRESS RELEASE from RPOF
December 27, 2011

RPOF Chairman Lenny Curry is pleased to announce that the University of North Florida in Jacksonville will serve as the venue for the Jauary 26th Republican Presidential Debate.

The debate is co-sponsored by RPOF and Hispanic Leadership Network and will air internationally on CNN.

“This is a great event for Jacksonville and for UNF,” Curry said. “This venue will highlight how important Jacksonville and the First Coast region are to Florida and the nation by hosting a debate that includes our next president.”

The debate is expected to be the final televised debate before Florida Republicans head to the polls on January 31. Floridians are reminded that anyone who registers as a Republican on or before January 3rd can vote in the Republican Presidential Preference Primary.

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PRESS RELEASE from RPOF
December 16, 2011

RPOF Welcomes Hispanic Leadership Network as Co-Sponsor of Jan. 26 Debate

The Republican Party of Florida is proud to welcome the Hispanic Leadership Network as a co-sponsor for the January 26 Republican Presidential Debate that it is co-hosting with CNN. The debate will air live domestically on CNN and CNN en Español.

The Hispanic Leadership Network’s Inspiring Action conference in Miami will play an integral role in serving as CNN’s main remote location for the January 26th Jacksonville Debate. The two day conference kicks off with the live televised presidential debate and demonstrates the important role that Florida’s Hispanic communities will play in 2012 and in the larger national policy debate over the direction of our country.

“The Presidential debate, just days before the January 31 primary, will present a great opportunity for our candidates to make their case to Florida’s Republicans,” explained Chairman Lenny Curry. “We wanted Florida Latinos to join the conversation, and this partnership with the Hispanic Leadership Network allows it to happen.”

“Hispanics and Republicans naturally share many of the same core values,” said Governor Jeb Bush, who serves as the Hispanic Leadership Network Conference Co-Chair. “This debate is an opportunity for Hispanic voters to hear from the candidates on the issues that will shape the future of our country.”

“The Hispanic Leadership Network looks forward to partnering with CNN and the Republican Party of Florida as co-host of the Republican presidential debate in Florida,” said Jennifer Sevilla-Korn, Hispanic Leadership Network Executive Director. “With over 4.2 million Hispanic Americans in the state, many are acutely concerned with the candidates’ positions on center-right issues of importance to the community. Co-hosting this debate as part of our ‘Inspiring Action’ Conference will provide the Hispanic community a direct line to the presidential hopefuls on center-right issues.”

The Hispanic Leadership Network is an advocacy action group focused on engaging the Hispanic community on center-right policies based on the principles of freedom, limited government and individual empowerment. HLN is hosting the Inspiring Action conference in Miami, Florida on January 26 and 27th for Hispanic advocates whose goal is to restore opportunity and prosperity in America.

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PRESS RELEASE from CNN
For Release:  Sept. 30, 2011

                As Florida plans to move their primary up to Jan. 31, 2012, speeding up the GOP presidential nomination process, CNN and the Republican Party of Florida announced today they will co-host a debate. It will take place at the end of January in Jacksonville, Fla. among the 2012 Republican presidential candidates in the pivotal early voting state.   
            
“With the Florida Republican primary now scheduled for Jan. 31, that state’s central role in helping Republicans choose a nominee is now secure,” said Sam Feist, CNN Washington bureau chief and senior vice president. “CNN is proud to present voters in Florida an opportunity to hear from the candidates one final time before they head to the polls.”

“The Republican Party of Florida is excited to be working with CNN for a debate linked to the state’s primary date,” said Republican Party of Florida Chairman Lenny Curry. “The opportunity to host it in my home city, Jacksonville, helps shine the spotlight on another Florida city that our eventual nominee must win.”

Florida Governor Rick Scott said of the announcement, “After national debates in Tampa and Orlando, this latest partnership with CNN for a debate in Jacksonville in January demonstrates the crucial role Florida will play, not only in the Republican Presidential Primary, but in the general election next November.”

This debate is in addition to three other debates previously announced: CNN and the Western Republican Leadership Conference will present a debate on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada; CNN and the Arizona Republican Party will produce a debate on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011 in Arizona; and CNN and the Southern Republican Leadership Conference will co-host a debate on Thursday, January 19, 2012 in Charleston, South Carolina. These presidential debates are in addition to two separate Republican primary debates hosted by CNN earlier this year, with Hearst Television’s WMUR and the New Hampshire Union Leader in June 2011 and the Tea Party Express in September 2011.

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.
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