Red State Gathering 2012 will be held in Jacksonville, Florida the first weekend in August, just ahead of the Republican National Convention in Tampa Bay at the end of the month.
Florida is at this point considered a swing state in the 2012 General Election.
Erick Erickson, editor of Red State, announced the selection of Jacksonville, saying the GOP nominee will be invited to the conference.
Red State attracts a diverse range of conservatives, both to the gathering and at the website where staff bloggers and individual diarists post articles about politics, personalities and legislation.
Red State is considered a core conservative group committed to small government, the free market and other traditional conservative ideals.
The 2011 gathering was held in Charleston, a city influenced largely by liberal politics. That August conference drew a record number of attendees with extra conference rooms set up to accommodate visitors who heard from speakers like Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) and US Senate candidate Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
Special guest Texas Gov. Rick Perry declared his candidacy for president in front of an overflow crowd at the 2011 gathering.
National media covered the conference.
Attendees could choose from a variety of workshops aimed at activism and politics.
Erickson posts regular updates about the gathering at Red State. In 2011 rooms were available months ahead of the conference and anyone interested in attending is advised to make reservations early in 2012 once details are announced.
Erickson said invites are being extended to Gov. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and US Senate candidate Adam Hasner (R-Fla.)
Red State provides a free morning update to subscribers; information about that is also available at the Web site.
Erickson wrote,
“2012 is an important election year and we want to spend extra time letting American Majority train all the attendees to be the most effective grassroots activists in America. If you attend, you’ll leave not only having been eye to eye with some of the most important leaders in the country and up and coming stars, you’ll also be able to get back to your community and get it organized for the November election.”
Jacksonville has traditionally been considered a conservative area. Located in North Florida, the city sits on the banks of the St. Johns River and has several area beaches located a short drive from downtown. Jacksonville is also home to the NFL team the Jacksonville Jaguars and to the championship Rugby League team the Jacksonville Axemen.
Commonly called “Jax” by locals, the city is home to several active Republican and conservative groups including the Republican Women's Club of Duval Federated, the Duval County Republican Party, the nation’s first minority GOP headquarters and the First Coast Tea Party.
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