With hurricane Isaac bearing down on New Orleans but swerving past Tampa, Republican party delegates opened their re-jiggered convention on Tuesday with a speech by one of the party’s young California hopefuls.
Watch: Livestream Gavel-to-Gavel Coverage of GOP Convention
Ricky Gill, a handsome 25-year-old whose parents immigrated from India and Africa, spoke of “crippling bankruptcy and foreclosures” in the San Joaquin Valley Congressional district that he hopes to represent.
He was the first of several candidates in regional races throughout the nation to be highlighted with daytime speeches at the Florida event.
Gill did not offer specific policy suggestions in his brief speech, but did lightly touch on several Republican themes, including the need to “create jobs rather than red tape, and help small businesses to succeed.”
“The Valley is a cautionary tale of failed politics, not false ambitions,” Gill said. “We need a new generation of leadership to chart the path.”
The speech by the Lodi native was one of the few moments in the sun for members of California’s Republican delegation, which is the largest of any at the convention has suffered because its members are struggling to win elections and raise money in a mostly Democratic state.
