# Al Cárdenas Cuban-born former chairman of the Florida Republican Party who chaired the [[American Conservative Union]], and so ran the [[Conservative Political Action Conference]], between [[David Keene]] and [[Matt Schlapp]]. The ACU board elected him without opposition in February 2011, the day before CPAC opened (TPM); he stepped down in May 2014 and Schlapp was elected that June (Daily Caller). Some conservative groups criticized his selection because he had backed Charlie Crist over [[Marco Rubio]] in Florida's 2010 Senate race. His tenure is the short bridge between the Keene era and the Trump-aligned Schlapp era.