As almost all of the Republican presidential contenders flock to Orlando for this weekend's 'Sunshine Summit' hosted by the state GOP, some political operatives view the solid turnout as an ominous sign for the party's establishment wing.
Earlier this year, Florida's Republican-controlled Legislature voted to convert the primary from a proportional scheme to winner-take-all.
The change means whichever candidate wins the state's Republican primary will be awarded the entire slate of Florida's delegates to the Republican National Convention, not just some, as had previously been the case.
At the time of the vote, former Gov. Jeb Bush - a favorite son among many mainline Florida Republicans - had a commanding lead in polls and was expected to overwhelmingly win his home state's primary.
Under the theory motivating the change to winner-take-all, capturing all of Florida's Republican delegates would allow Bush to more quickly consolidate support in the name of sewing up the Republican presidential nomination.
Bush, however, has fallen to fifth place in Florida, according to the latest Bay News 9/News 13 exclusive statewide poll. Donald Trump occupies the first place slot, followed by fellow outsider Ben Carson.
Crews set up the stage for this weekend's Sunshine Summit in Orlando for the state Republican Party. (John W. Davis, Staff)
With the Florida primary now in play, the Sunshine Summit has become a must-attend event for most of the Republican Party's presidential contenders. They'll reach out to some 2,500 of the party's most active members.
Political strategist Gary Yordon says the Legislature's decision to make the primary winner-take-all is causing heartburn among establishment Republicans who now fear the growing possibility of a non-establishment candidate winning Florida's mountain of GOP delegates. Such a victory might only serve to lengthen an already divisive primary campaign.
"It's kind of like the dog who finally caught the car," Yordon muses. "OK, we wanted to be relevant nationally, we're relevant nationally, and we may have really jammed our two favorite sons in doing so. Our best chance of a Floridian getting to the White House may have been X'd."