Associated Press, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Associated PressSeptember 7, 2016

A Florida man has pleaded guilty to impersonating a U.S. senator to avoid paying off his home loan. A U.S. Attorney’s Office news release says 67-year-old Sidney Hines pleaded guilty Tuesday in Tampa federal court. He faces up to three years in prison. Court papers say Hines secured a HomeSaver Advance loan of $5,864 for […]

Associated PressSeptember 7, 2016

The U.S. Department of Justice has dropped its legal case against the release of 911 calls from the massacre at a gay nightclub in Florida, saying Wednesday that withholding the recordings is no longer necessary to the federal investigation. The reversal by federal prosecutors keeps the freedom of information fight in state court. About two […]

Associated PressSeptember 7, 2016

Florida will have very little extra money to spend in the coming year. That means top legislators and Gov. Rick Scott may have slash the state budget to meet some of their promises. The annual forecast released Tuesday shows that despite the state’s gradual economic recovery Florida is expected to bring in just enough money […]

Associated PressSeptember 7, 2016

Senate Democrats’ campaign arm is delaying ad spending in the Florida race, where Rep. Patrick Murphy has struggled in polls against incumbent Republican Sen. Marco Rubio. The development could signal good news for Republicans who are fighting to hang onto their slim 54-seat Senate majority. However, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee says the decision to […]

Associated PressSeptember 6, 2016

Donald Trump spoke to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi before his charity cut a 2013 check to support her re-election effort, but his campaign said Tuesday the two never discussed whether her office would join a lawsuit against Trump University. Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks clarified details of the conversation one day after the Republican presidential […]

Associated PressSeptember 6, 2016

Florida still has more than 18,000 customers without electricity more than four days after Hurricane Hermine slammed into the state. State officials said Tuesday that more than 16,000 of those customers reside in Leon County, which is home to the state capital. The grinding pace of the recovery has caused a dustup between Gov. Rick […]

Associated PressSeptember 6, 2016

With Labor Day behind them, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are pushing ahead in top presidential battlegrounds in the South. Trump, the Republican nominee, is set to campaign in Virginia and North Carolina on Tuesday, two critical states in his path to the presidency. Clinton, the Democrat, is campaigning in Florida in search of an […]

Associated PressSeptember 6, 2016

In a taste of ads to come, House Democrats have run national TV spots in which actors recount Donald Trump‘s derogatory remarks about immigrants, women and veterans and one asks, “How can Republican members of Congress support that?” The commercials, by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, underscore the party’s hopes for an Election Day bumper […]

Associated PressSeptember 5, 2016

President Barack Obama says the NFL quarterback who is refusing to stand for the national anthem is the latest in a long line of professional athletes who have exercised their constitutional right to make a statement about social issues. The president was asked at a news conference Monday about Colin Kaepernick‘s protest gesture. Obama said he has […]

Associated PressSeptember 5, 2016

The parents of the toddler who was killed by an alligator at Walt Disney World in Florida say they will always remember their sweet little boy. Melissa and Matt Graves spoke to a group of several hundred people gathered at a high school football stadium Saturday to remember Lane Graves on what would have been […]

Associated Press

Man pleads guilty to impersonating senator to erase loan

DOJ drops fight over release of 911 calls from club massacre

Florida won’t have much extra money in 2017

Democrats delaying ad spending in Florida’s U.S. Senate race

Donald Trump seeks distance from donation supporting Pam Bondi

Florida still has more than 18,000 customers without power

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton turn to battleground states in the South

Scarce targets curb Dem hopes for House gains, despite Donald Trump

Barack Obama says he understands Colin Kaepernick’s protest

Family remembers boy killed by alligator at Disney World