A.G. Gancarski, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 20, 2018

A creative fundraising appeal may help bolster Democrat Billee Bussard‘s campaign against well-funded incumbent Republican Aaron Bean in northeast Florida’s Senate District 4. Bussard, a 73-year-old veteran journalist, had $5,000 on hand at the end of August. But she offered an unusual story on her Facebook page, one that would only make sense in the world of random games of […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 20, 2018

State Rep. Bobby Payne, a Palatka Republican representing House District 19, has amassed what looks to be a prohibitive cash advantage against Democratic challenger Paul Still. Payne’s last two reporting periods have been strong — between Aug. 24 and Sept. 14, he raised a total of $30,325. Of that sum, $21,025 was raised Aug. 24-31, from 62 individual […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 20, 2018

Republican nominee for Governor Ron DeSantis rolled out an education policy this week that wasn’t too different from that of dispatched primary rival Adam Putnam, with emphasis on school choice (charter schools) and vocational training. As yet another signal of DeSantis being embraced by establishment Republicans, his campaign on Thursday rolled out a list of endorsements for his […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 20, 2018

In the bare-knuckled GOP primary race for Attorney General, former Hillsborough Circuit Judge Ashley Moody played up law enforcement backing to distinguish herself from opponents. Now the nominee, Moody continues to bank law enforcement endorsements — including from the other side of the aisle. Moody’s campaign rolled out a list Thursday of 14 more sheriffs endorsing her, […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 20, 2018

A new survey from St. Pete Polls finds Republican Mike Waltz building a lead against Democrat Nancy Soderberg in Florida’s 6th Congressional District. The auto-dial poll of 981 likely voters shows that Waltz, a former Green Beret and counterterrorism adviser for former Vice President Dick Cheney, is leading Soderberg, a Clinton-era Ambassador to the United Nations, by five […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 20, 2018

A familiar face is assuming the helm of Jacksonville’s Downtown Investment Authority, if only in a transitional role. https://twitter.com/GoMeteoric/status/1042541797824712705 Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry‘s chief of staff Brian Hughes will assume the interim CEO role, while pulling double duty as chief of staff until a new permanent DIA head is found. Though many members of the community saw a […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 20, 2018

Sen. Bill Nelson is vying for his fourth term in office; however, one national outlet rates him as the “most vulnerable” Senate incumbent. Per elections analyst Nate Silver‘s FiveThirtyEight, Nelson is the “most vulnerable” Democratic senator on the 2018 ballot, plagued by “a very good challenger in Florida: Gov. Rick Scott,” a Naples Republican. We asked Nelson on Wednesday if […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 19, 2018

Jacksonville University hosted six mayors — current mayor Lenny Curry, and his predecessors Alvin Brown, John Peyton, John Delaney, Tommy Hazouri, and Jake Godbold — Wednesday, with a topic as big as Jacksonville history itself. Namely, the city/county Consolidation fifty years prior. Consolidation brought an efficiency of services, but came with a price. African-Americans were divested of political power, and promises were […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 19, 2018

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson returned to Jacksonville Wednesday, spotlighting the opioid crisis affecting newborns at UF Health, Jacksonville’s safety-net hospital. Nelson had made a similar visit in 2017, spotlighting the “pandemic” of neonatal addiction, and lamenting funding shortfalls exacerbated by his opponent in November, Gov. Rick Scott, not expanding Medicaid. Television cameras saw the babies in […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 19, 2018

The U.S. Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh appeared increasingly imperiled Wednesday, in the wake of allegations of sexual assault against him. The federal appellate judge was accused of sexually assaulting Christine Blasey Ford three decades ago at a party when they were in high school, and as Wednesday progressed, partisan lines on the best way forward began to […]

A.G. Gancarski

Senate candidate works ‘Words With Friends’ into fundraising pitch

Bobby Payne brings the money for re-election bid

Jeb Bush, Richard Corcoran laud Ron DeSantis’ education policy

Crossing the aisle: Democratic sheriffs endorse GOP’s Ashley Moody for A.G.

Mike Waltz up 5 points over Nancy Soderberg in new CD 6 poll

Former Jacksonville mayors see no issue with Brian Hughes helming DIA

Bill Nelson disputes ‘vulnerable’ claim, says he’s ‘going to win’

Jacksonville mayors talk highs and lows of Consolidation

Bill Nelson optimistic that opioid legislation will quell the epidemic

Bill Nelson: FBI needs to investigate Brett Kavanaugh sex accusations