ORLANDO, Fla. — Thousands gathered in Central Florida for the Florida Freedom Summit.

Hosted by the Florida GOP, all the Republican presidential candidates, except for former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, had the chance to make their case to voters. Haley was scheduled to speak, but organizers reported she didn’t make it. 

Organizers shared that nearly 3,000 people purchased tickets to attend the event, which highlighted Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump as speakers. 

Among the attendees was Edna Gingerich, who shared that she’s been a Republican for the last 15 years. 

When she heard seven of the eight Republican candidates would take the stage at the Florida Freedom Summit, she made the trip over from Sarasota. 

“Because all the candidates are speaking, it is just a good idea to get firsthand what is going on,” said Gingerich.

She, like many other Republicans attending, hopes to hear the candidates address the issues most important to her. 

“On the border, and tax law, Israel, everything,” she said.

Surrounded by merchandise for not just the party, but the candidates themselves, she is confident she’ll give her vote to Trump.

“Trump has a big mouth, but so does everybody else, but what he does really makes a difference,” said Gingerich.

However, she is open to hear if any of the other candidates make a strong enough case to change her mind. 

“That’s always a possibility,” said Gingerich.

Others, like 32-year-old Joseph Molnar of Palm Harbor, have already made their mind up. 

“I am 100% locked in for Governor DeSantis,” said Molnar. 

While he plans to listen to all the candidates, he wants to see Governor DeSantis in the White House. 

“If you look at the policies that Governor DeSantis has implemented, it is the most conservative by far and he is the only one, in my opinion, that I have heard that is focused solely on policy, whereas a lot of other campaigns are focused on online trolling, talking about things that don’t matter,” said Molnar. 

In his speech, DeSantis focused on how he handled COVID-19, abortion rights and education in Florida. He touched on his battle with Disney and also took aim at the economy under Biden’s administration.

“We are not going to let Congress spend this country into oblivion. We are going to take Bidenomics, the rules, the regulations, the executive orders, rip them out and throw them in the trash can (on) day one,” said DeSantis during his speech.

Regardless of who they are voting for, those attending are happy to see Floridians taking action. 

“Really great to see so many people here show up and I think that means that they are engaged and ready to partake in the political process,” said DeSantis.

Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried and Congressman Darren Soto spoke out earlier this week about the Florida Freedom Summit event, stating that the GOP is stripping away fundamental rights in Florida and across the country.

“Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis and the rest of the presidential contenders are coming to town to see who can win ‘best in show’ in the extreme MAGA competition this weekend. … They’re agents of chaos, and Florida families can’t afford it,” said Soto.