As the Florida House tackled more than 100 bills on Friday, the session came to a screeching halt and passed a resolution honoring former House Speaker Fred Schultz who passed away last year.
Despite raking in $1.36 million so far for her reelection bid, U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas has drawn three serious Republican challengers.
Former Ruth Chris Steakhouse CEO Craig Miller is boasting that he has brought in more than $341,000 to his campaign coffers -- though the campaign does not note that $200,000 of that came from Miller’s own funds.
Rep. Sandy Adams, R-Orlando, has raised almost $287,000 and has almost $168,000 on hand-but $100,000 of that came out her own personal accounts.
Republican frontrunner Marco Rubio continues to gain endorsements in his bid for a U.S. Senate seat. On Friday, the Association of Builders and Contractors of Florida announced they were backing Rubio over Gov. Charlie Crist.
“ABC stands for free enterprise, Merit Shop, and balanced, reasonable regulation,” said Gary Stout, who serves as chairman of the organization. “Marco Rubio shares our philosophy, and we look forward to doing all we can to elect Marco Rubio as the next senator from Florida.”
On the day when the Capitol celebrated its version of Puerto Rico Day, Gov. Charlie Crist met with two Democratic state representatives from Orlando and members of the Puerto Rican community on Thursday afternoon.
Crist was in listening mode as Soto talked about foreclosure issues and Thompson talked about cultural tourism. “Tourism’s still the engine that drives Florida’s economy,” said Thompson.
While a 4-H meeting is not exactly ground zero for political junkies, members of that organization could not escape politics when they rallied at the Capitol.
As hundreds of teenagers in the 4-H assembled in Tallahassee to celebrate Earth Day and kicking off a second century of being in Florida, speakers from the Florida Forever Coalition spoke in favor of that program and said they hope the Legislature will continue to fund it. Leaders of the 4-H praised the Legislature for keeping money in the state budget to keep funding the organization and its efforts.
As the Capitol celebrates its day to honor Puerto Rico, Rep. Darren Soto, D-Orlando, has been on center stage, celebrating his heritage and the many links between the island and the Sunshine State.
“Puerto Rico has deep roots in the state,” said Soto, pointing out that Ponce de Leon, the Spanish explorer who discovered Florida, was also the first governor of Puerto Rico.
Florida Republicans continued to push back against new federal health-care laws as the House voted to send a constitutional amendment to the electorate in November that would allow Floridians to opt out of mandatory health insurance.
The House passed the measure 74-42 on a vote that closely mirrored party lines, with Democrats Leonard Bembry of Greenville, and Debbie Boyd of Newberry joining Republicans in backing it.
One more prominent conservative Republican has endorsed Marco Rubio’s Senate campaign. This morning former VP Dick Cheney announced he was backing Rubio over Gov. Charlie Crist. Cheney blasted Crist, saying Floridians cannot trust him to stand up to President Barack Obama, or even to remain a member of the Republican Party.
Rep. Adam Hasner, R-Delray Beach, is sponsoring a measure on the House floor calling for a new convention to amend the U.S. Constitution to balance the budget. It's very unlikely to happen but, just in case it does, let's hope that Florida produces better representatives than it did the last time the state took part in a national constitutional convention.
On March 16, at a dinner in Tallahassee, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee expressed his hope that former House Speaker and Senator Daniel Webster would return to politics. It looks like his wish has come true. Webster has sent out an email to his supporters that he will be making a major political announcement tomorrow night. It looks like Webster will be looking to challenge U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson.
