Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Scott PowersMarch 20, 2018

The Republican gubernatorial campaign for U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis is touting new poll results from Gravis Marketing Tuesday morning that show he has taken the lead. The same poll also is being cited by the Democratic gubernatorial campaign of Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum as it shows him moving up into second place on the Democrats’ […]

Peter SchorschMarch 16, 2018

Once the hanky dropped on the 2013 Legislative Session, my family headed to St. Augustine Beach to recuperate from the 60 days of working in that pressure cooker. Michelle and I had been married for just over a year and our daughter, Ella Joyce, was only months old. Our business was just starting to take […]

Drew WilsonMarch 16, 2018

Gov. Rick Scott got some praise from the Florida Health Care Association on Friday for signing the 2018-19 budget. Shortly after Scott put pen to paper the group put out a statement lauding the $88.7 billion plan, specifically the funding bumps it will bring to nursing homes, nearly 600 of which are represented by FHCA. […]

Ana CeballosMarch 13, 2018

In the midst of an emotional last week of Session, a tearful state Rep. Larry Lee Jr. told his colleagues in the Florida House in a 40-minute speech that he would not seek re-election. Six days later, he is reconsidering that decision. He is rethinking things because he says his phone has not stopped ringing. […]

Drew WilsonMarch 13, 2018

House District 37 frontrunner Ardian Zika picked up an endorsement Tuesday from St. Petersburg Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes. “Ardian Zika is a conservative Republican who knows what it takes to build a business, make payroll and grow our economy,” Brandes said in a press release. “Ardian’s story – how he left a civil war-torn country […]

Scott PowersMarch 13, 2018

Appearing on Fox News Tuesday morning, Republican Florida gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis defended the House Intelligence Committee’s Republican declaration Monday that it was ending its Russia probe after concluding there had been no collusion with Russia by the presidential campaign of Donald Trump. DeSantis, a congressman from Ponte Vedra Beach, said he thinks the Russians’ […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 12, 2018

Lenny Curry is fond of tweeting: “Plan all the way to the end.” But at the end of 2016, when the Jacksonville mayor first pitched removal of the Hart Bridge offramps, some were confused as to what that plan was. Curry brought a poster board into the Duval delegation meeting, and said he wanted $50 […]

Drew WilsonMarch 12, 2018

Americans for Prosperity-Florida, the free market fighters, are celebrating a long list of legislative accomplishments as the 2018 Legislative Session comes to an end. Among their top priorities this year was a bill to allow direct primary care contracts, SB 80, and the House education package which includes a requirement that teacher unions to have […]

Peter SchorschMarch 11, 2018

Nobody expected a tragedy like Parkland to suck all the oxygen out of the Legislature’s 2018 Regular Session. Lobbyists were left scrambling to save their clients’ priorities as lawmakers hustled to rejigger the budget to accommodate hundreds of millions of dollars for school safety and mental health initiatives. Some survived, many did not; although that’s […]

Jim RosicaMarch 10, 2018

Just as it always does in recent years, a legislative effort to revisit the state’s gambling laws tanked in the last week of this year’s Legislative Session. Senate President Joe Negron and House Speaker Richard Corcoran released a joint statement Friday night: “Despite the good faith efforts of both the House and Senate, a gaming bill […]

Tag: Richard Corcoran
Elizabeth Martinez Strauss. Image via campaign.

Ron DeSantis’ campaign touts poll showing him on top

The Schorsch governing theory of Florida politics — Part 1

FHCA gives Rick Scott thumbs up on budget

Six days after saying he was out, Larry Lee reconsiders re-election

Jeff Brandes backs Ardian Zika for state House

Ron DeSantis: Russia may be malevolent but no collusion with Trump campaign

Talleyrand Connector money illustrates Lenny Curry’s long game

Free market fights end in wins for 2018, AFP-Florida says

Winners and losers emerging from the 2018 Legislative Session

Sunshine State gambling #fails: A short history (updated for 2018)