CPAC to kick off under banner of 'Awake not Woke,' serve as 'starting gun' for Republicans ahead of midterms (original) (raw)

EXCLUSIVE: The Conservative Political Action Conference is kicking off in Orlando, Florida on Thursday under the banner of ‘Awake not Woke’— a theme that aims to hammer the left and serve as "the starting gun" for Republicans ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

The premier annual conservative gathering, held in Orlando at The Rosen Shingle Creek from Thursday, Feb. 24 through Sunday, Feb. 27, will feature speeches and presentations from former President Donald Trump, Republican lawmakers, former Trump administration officials, and more.

Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, speaks at CPAC at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on Feb. 28, 2019. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

"CPAC will be the starting gun to the 2022 election and it expresses the mood of our coalition of Americans," CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp told Fox News. "I’m expecting CPAC Florida to be a packed house because America is experiencing a great Un-Wokening."

"From San Francisco and Seattle to border towns and Virginia it’s clear that people are simply exhausted from being barred from speaking their minds and this attack on American families and their children," Schlapp told Fox News.

"When we invited top speakers this year, almost everyone said yes and is coming, starting with President Trump," Schlapp said.

CPAC annually brings together more than 18,000 people from college-aged to retired, representing conservative organizations, educational institutions, elected officials, thought leaders, media personalities, and grassroots activists "who fight for conservatism in America and abroad," the CPAC website states.

This year, though, Schlapp told Fox News CPAC will also "have record numbers of high school kids as they battle the war on gender and girls sports."

"The most gratifying aspect of CPAC will be speakers who would not consider themselves conservatives but are finding common cause with our movement," Schlapp said.

Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, presides over the event each year.

Fox News first obtained the 2022 CPAC agenda, which includes speeches from prominent politicians, as well as panels focused on political issues facing the party and the nation.

Some of the panels include: "Domestic Terrorists Unite: Lessons from Virginia Parents;" "The First Amendment Fund: Defending the Canceled;" "Fire Fauci;" "Woke, Inc.;" and more.

Here are some of the featured political guests expected to appear throughout the conference:

Thursday, Feb. 24

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the opening of a monoclonal antibody site on Aug. 18, 2021, in Pembroke Pines, Florida. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Sept. 30, 2020, on Capitol Hill. (Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)

Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind.

Former White House Director of Strategic Communications Mercedes Schlapp

Mercedes Schlapp worked as strategic communications director at the Trump White House.

Former Deputy National Security Adviser KT McFarland

Kimberly Guilfoyle

Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C.

Senate candidate for Alaska, Kelly Tshibaka

Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas

Sen. Ted Cruz during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on March 23, 2021, on Capitol Hill. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)

Friday, Feb. 25

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind.

Sen. Marco Rubio talks to reporters before attending a Republican policy lunch on Capitol Hill on March 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.

Rep. Byron Donalds speaks during CPAC in Dallas, Texas, on July 11, 2021. (Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

Alaska Gov. Gary Dunleavy

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at Jerusalem Post's annual conference on Oct. 12, 2021, in Jerusalem. (Amir Levy/Getty Images)

Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem

Rep. Ted Bud, R-N.C.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem addresses CPAC in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 27, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill.

Former Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker

Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson addresses the Republican National Convention in a pre-recorded speech on Aug. 26, 2020. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.

Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo.

Former Nevada Attorney General, Senate candidate Adam Laxalt

Michigan Congressional candidate John James

Former Acting Director of National Intelligence, Amb. Ric Grenell

Ambassador Richard Grenell speaks during a press conference in Belgrade, Serbia, on Jan. 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Leader of Brexit Party Nigel Farage

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, and former Democratic presidential candidate

Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

Saturday, Feb. 26

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel

Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas

Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, speaks during a meeting in Las Vegas, Nov. 6, 2021. (Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Public Affairs Monica Crowley

KT McFarland

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio

Rep. Jim Jordan speaks to the press in Washington on June 4, 2021. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.

Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.

Former Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at CPAC in Dallas, Texas, on July 11, 2021. (Andy Jacobsohn/AFP via Getty Images)

Former Trump administration official Kash Patel

Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt

Former President Donald Trump

Sunday, Feb. 27

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa.

Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla.

Amb. Lynda Blanchard

Amb. Carla Sands

Amb. Lana Marks

Former Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga.

Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla.

Donald Trump Jr.

Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.