In a rare confluence of campaigns this early in the election cycle, four Republicans and a Democrat vying to become Florida’s next Attorney General will appear on the same stage in Orlando this Saturday. Florida State Representatives Jay Fant, Frank White, Ross Spano, and former circuit judge Ashley Moody, all Republicans, along with Democrat lawyer Ryan Torrens, are all slated to participate in a Federalist Society forum called “Perspectives on the Florida Office of Attorney General.”
Torrens’ attendance as the lone Democrat should be interesting because even though the Federalist Society is non-partisan, it is one of the nation’s most influential conservative and libertarian legal organizations. While the four Republicans on the stage will likely voice opinions that are relatively similar, Torrens might bring a more unique perspective to the event, which could at times serve to influence the responses of at least one or two of the Republicans.
The Federalist Society has a goal of reforming the nation’s current “orthodox liberal” legal system. According to their site, “Law schools and the legal profession are currently strongly dominated by a form of orthodox liberal ideology which advocates a centralized and uniform society. While some members of the academic community have dissented from these views, by and large they are taught simultaneously with (and indeed as if they were) the law.”
The group has played an important role in helping to shape the current composition of the United States Supreme Court, counting the late Justice Antonin Scalia, along with current Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch.
The event begins at 12:15pm at the Disney Yacht and Beach Club Resort in Buena Vista, Florida.