LeMieux, Mack and McCallister Confirmed for FFRW Senate Candidate Forum

(TALLAHASSEE) The Florida Federation of Republican Women will host the first Florida U.S. Senate debate of 2012 in Tallahassee on February 19, 2012, at the Hotel Duval. The event will also be the first to feature the three most viable candidates in the race at the same event.

Confirmed candidates are: Former Senator George LeMieux; Congressman Connie Mack and Col. Mike McCallister. These candidates were chosen based on meeting criteria set by the FFRW Board of Directors.

"Our debate will not be like the debates we've come to know in recent years, rather recreated as an in-depth job interview of three realistically potential winners against Bill Nelson for Florida's most significant federal job. While some voters may have enjoyed the combative nature and sound bites of the recent presidential debates, our leaders often found the format to be a distraction from the issues. As committed grassroots leaders we have no need to be entertained. We prefer to be informed which this individual question and answer format should accomplish," said Cindy Graves, president of the FFRW.

The Format  

The event will be presented as a forum with each candidate responding to questions from the audience of up to 250 members and guests of the federation, and will reconvene for closing remarks.

"The FFRW's goal is to seriously evaluate these candidates in an environment which mirrors the critical nature of the race and the challenges ahead for America. As very early supporters of Marco Rubio, we will once again focus on the issues challenging Florida families from the unbalanced federal budget and debt crisis to foreign and domestic policy," said Graves.

The debate will launch the 62nd Annual Board of Directors Meeting of the FFRW, traditionally held in Tallahassee each year. A limited number of tickets will also be sold to Republican activists. The bulk of the audience, however, will be comprised of statewide women grassroots leaders who comprise the FFRW Board of Directors from 50 counties.

The event is open to the media as space allows

For event tickets, registered Republicans please visit   http://www.ffrw.net/calltoconference/senatecandidateforum.html 

For media credentials: please contact Kim Carroll at kim@ffrw.net 

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