Ralph Reed

The Faith and Freedom Coalition will be hold a kickoff for the Republican Party of Florida’s Presidency 5 event next week in Orlando. The FFC event will be held on Thursday, Sept. 22, the first day of Presidency 5, which will feature a debate between the candidates and a straw poll vote.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for our members, invited guests and Floridians to meet and greet our elected officials and presidential candidates,” said Ralph Reed, chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, in a statement released on Monday. A longtime Republican activist, Reed was executive director of the Christian Coalition when it was a major force in the GOP during the 1990s.

Since being launched by Reed in 2009, the FFC has risen to prominence and supported a host of social conservative positions, including keeping religion in the public square, traditional marriage, free-market solutions and opposing abortion. During the 2010 election cycle, the FFC contacted more than 750,000 voters in the Sunshine State.

The eight leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination are scheduled to speak at the FFC event: U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota; businessman Herman Cain; former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia; former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah; U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas; Gov. Rick Perry of Texas; former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts; and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania.

Organizers stressed the event would allow social conservatives to express their concerns to both state and national leaders, including the presidential contenders.

“It will give our leaders the chance to hear from social conservatives, tea party activists and Presidency 5 delegates on the issues that matter to them,” said Brett Doster, who heads up the FFC in Florida.

Besides the presidential contenders, Republican officials from Florida expected at the FFC event include: Gov. Rick Scott, Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Agricultural Commissioner Adam Putnam, and Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park.

The FFC is not the only national conservative organization sponsoring an event in conjunction with Presidency 5. The American Conservative Union will be hosting a Conservative Political Action Conference meeting, the first time that event for conservative activists will be held outside the Beltway.

Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.