With former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts near-certain to run once again for the Republican presidential nomination, he can count on the support of a powerful Florida GOP leader. Sen. John Thrasher of Jacksonville, the former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, said last week that he intended to back Romney if he runs in 2012. Thrasher backed Romney in 2008 and the former Massachusetts governor was a guest at Thrasher’s campaign kickoff in 2010. Romney placed second in the 2008 Florida primary but he won a number of counties and carried Thrasher’s First Coast district … Freshman Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West will be expanding his national profile. West, who was the keynote speaker at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), formed his own leadership PAC to help other conservatives. West will be leading the Guardian Leadership PAC … As the Tampa mayoral election runoff hits the homestretch, current Mayor Pam Iorio threw her weight behind Bob Buckhorn over Rose Ferlita on Friday. Iorio had been saying she intended not to back any of the candidates in the race. Ferlita countered with the endorsement of Attorney General Pam Bondi …

The Florida Catholic Conference is sponsoring the “2011 Catholic Days at the Capitol” in Tallahassee on Tuesday and Wednesday. The participants and legislators will be attending a Red Mass at the co-cathedral on Wednesday night. The Red Mass, a tradition since the Middle Ages, is a service requesting the Holy Spirit to guide leaders in the public square and help them fight for justice … From his perch as chairman of the U.S. House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Panhandle Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller joined with his Senate counterpart U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and the minority members of their committees -- U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and U.S. Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., urging President Barack Obama to oppose a plan from the U.S.  Department of Veterans Affairs to limit support for caregivers of veterans of recent American operations … Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll was back at her base on the First Coast on Sunday when she spoke at the Greater Grant Memorial AME Church in Jacksonville …

Former House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, who has his eye on running in a potentially crowded Republican primary to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012, spoke at an event in Palm Beach backed by the Florida Security Council on the dangers posed by radical Islam … U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, who is also considering jumping in the Republican primary, held a town hall event in Parrish on Saturday, focusing on domestic issues including jobs, the economy and health care … Mike McCalister, a businessman and retired Army officer, took more than 10 percent in the Republican gubernatorial primary back in 2010, coming in third place behind winner Rick Scott and then-Attorney General Bill McCollum. McCalister announced earlier in the year that he was running for the Republican nomination to take on Nelson in 2012 and he has now unveiled an updated website for his Senate bid …

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the chairman of the National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC), said on Friday that reports that he was talking to former Panhandle U.S. Rep. Joe Scarborough about running for the Senate were correct -- but that the former congressman, who now hosts the “Morning Joe” show on MSNBC, is not looking at taking on Nelson. Cornyn said that there were more than enough Republican candidates looking to run against Nelson and that he was hoping Scarborough would take on U.S. Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y. A carpetbagger running for the U.S. Senate in New York? It worked for Democratic icons Bobby Kennedy and Hillary Clinton. Scarborough insisted that the NRSC wanted him to take on Nelson … With former Gov. Tim Kaine looking to run for the U.S. Senate in Virginia in 2012, his spot as chairman of the Democratic National Committee will become open. While former Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio is receiving the most buzz of any of the potential candidates to replace Kaine, South Florida U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is getting some notice as a potential candidate … Former Lt. Gov. Ray Osborne passed away earlier in the month at age 77. Osborne was a legislator when he was appointed by then-Gov. Claude Kirk, the first Republican governor since Reconstruction, in 1969 after constitutional revisions revived the lieutenant governor position which had been abolished back in the 1880s. After Kirk lost his bid for another term in 1970, Osborne practiced law in South Florida.

Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or (850) 727-0859.