'Room full of God-fearing patriots': Alachua County Republicans hold annual fundraiser

Alachua County Republicans gathered Thursday night for their annual Ronald Reagan Black Tie and Blue Jeans BBQ fundraiser.

The event, held at Legacy Park in Alachua, featured about 600 attendees and a host of speakers, including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Sen. Rick Scott, Rep. Kat Cammack and former Rep. Ted Yoho. Other notable attendees include Florida Sen. Keith Perry, recently-appointed GRU Authority member Craig Carter, Alachua County Sheriff Emery Gainey and Florida GOP strategist Stafford Jones.

“Y’all are a lot like family,” Cammack said to the crowd from on stage. “It’s actually nice to be in a room full of God-fearing patriots rather than reporters and backstabbing patriots.”

More: UF President Ben Sasse condemns Hamas attacks, ensures student safety after stampede vigil

Last year, news organizations were restricted from being inside the venue for the event unless the outlet had previously bought a $125 ticket, which is considered a donation to the local Republican Party. This year, however, with the local party under new leadership, news outlets were allowed inside the venue just as they used to be in prior years.

The night kicked off with an instrumental version of the national anthem, played as an electric guitar solo in which the guitarist accidentally unplugged his amp halfway through. There was also plenty of smoked meat for attendees to eat.

Sen. Rick Scott was the first speaker of the evening, touching on his support for Israel and stance on immigration. He gave a shout-out to Perry and Jones in the audience before saying he casts his full support behind new ACSO Sheriff Gainey.

Scott also said he supported UF President Ben Sasse’s recent response to the Hamas attacks in Israel and celebrated Sasse’s statement condemning the group.

“Ben Sasse … he did the right thing,” Scott said.

Newberry Mayor Jordan Marlowe, a member of the Andrew Yang-backed Forward Party, said he was invited to last night’s fundraiser but wasn’t aware of the Alachua County Democrats fundraiser that took place earlier this month. He said he attended in order to see who was running for local office and hear from the other politicians and that he agreed with statements made by Cammack and Noem.

Other attendees, such as Marion County residents Bob, 67, Schmidt and his wife Barbara, 66, said they came to support area Republicans and politicians they like, including Cammack and Scott. Barbara said education policies are very important to her, while her husband said that he is most concerned about the “weaponization of bureaucracy,” and he feels bureaucratic institutions are attacking former President Donald Trump.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ name was notably absent from the speeches of every speaker. He spoke at last year's event. Cammack mentioned her support for Trump directly. When an audience member yelled out in support of Trump during Scott’s speech, the senator said he had a good chance of being elected.

Noem, the headliner, took to the stage to talk about her upbringing in South Dakota, her journey to becoming governor and her refusal to implement a mask mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic. She concluded her speech by saying she believes Republicans need to “say yes” to more things like canvassing and starting a dialogue with people who have different political beliefs.

“I would encourage you, if somebody asks you to do something, to say yes to it. You’re going to have a candidate walk up to you and ask you for help. You need to say yes. They ask you to go knock on doors, say yes. They need you to write a bigger check,” Noem said. “Say yes.”

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Alachua County Republicans hold annual BBQ fundraiser