Photo courtesy Republican Party of Florida: Christian Ziegler sits by Donald Trump as he qualified for the Florida ballot.

The Republican Party of Florida hosted seven presidential candidates in Orlando, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. That put Republican Party of Florida Chair Christian Ziegler, a Sarasota County political leader, in charge of the most high-profile political event in the country.

“Putting on an event that big is a big effort but we have a big staff. Being able to piece it together with all the rockstar Republicans we have in Florida was exciting,” Ziegler said. 

The event also served an important role in establishing who participates in the Presidential Preference Primary on March 19. State parties determine who appears on that ballot.

Candidates who spoke at the Florida Freedom Summit pay a qualifying fee of $25,000. That’s a price paid by DeSantis, Trump, Asa Hutchinson, Doug Burnum, Chris Christie, Tim Scott and Vivek Ramaswamy.

But if former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley wants to appear of the ballot, she will have to pay $100,000, on account of a family issue forcing her to cancel her appearance.

The event attracted some 1,500 ticket buyers, and Ziegler said from what he heard, those who attended felt better informed for it.

“It’s one thing to see these guys on Fox News in short clips, but another thing for a long form speech,” he said.

The speeches from candidates ran everywhere from 16 minutes for Hutchison at the Summit’s start to 80 minutes for Trump’s show-closing event. In addition to presidential candidates, the event featured speeches by U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds and Matt Gaetz, and several panels featuring other members of Congress and conservative business sponsors, including Longboat Key-based Rumble.

Ziegler doesn’t know if the Summit changed the standings of candidates running for President. But he said it showed the enthusiasm for the field of candidates and to mobilize for the 2024 election cycle.

“There is mutual respect for both the president and governor,” said Ziegler, who has not endorsed in the race. “It’s unfortunate they are running against each other, but that’s how it works. People will advocate for favorites. It’s fine, but our organization is going to be supportive, give voters access to candidates and let voters have own choice.”

Photo courtesy Republican Party of Florida: Christian Ziegler sits by Donald Trump as he qualified for the Florida ballot.