Kendrick Meek's U.S. Senate campaign turned in petitions Monday to place him on the ballot, edging the Democratic representative closer to becoming the first ever statewide candidate to avoid paying Florida's hefty filing fee.

“We have made history by filing over 145,000 signatures,” said campaign manager Abe Dyk.

Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio tangled before a national audience on "Fox News Sunday," and Republicans say the debate reinforced "defining differences" between the U.S. Senate candidates.

It also raised concerns among state party leaders.

It's a question increasingly asked, a sort of Internet Age social networking parlour game question: Who has the most friends or followers?

Could it be one of the candidates for U.S. Senate: Charlie Crist, Marco Rubio or Kendrick Meek?  Or, perhaps a gubernatorial candidate: Alex Sink, Bill McCollum or Paula Dockery?  One might even venture to guess it's former Gov. Jeb Bush.

A little bird told us the answer...

Florida Democrats may be gearing up to face Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate race this November, but polls suggest that Gov. Charlie Crist would be a tougher opponent.

Numbers from Public Policy Polling (PPP) released Wednesday follow on the North Carolina-based pollster's report a day earlier that showed Rubio swamping Crist in the Republican primary 60-28.

Within hours of the U.S. House passing health care reform legislation Sunday night, Republicans in Florida began mobilizing to push back against the new federal mandate.

Republicans, with Attorney General Bill McCollum leading the charge, are preparing to specifically challenge the federal mandate that every citizen have health insurance coverage.

Last week, McCollum unveiled plans to sue the federal government as soon as the health care legislation passed. He asked other states to join him.