Mitch Perry, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryFebruary 16, 2016

The Tampa Greater Chamber of Commerce has hired Cardenas Partners to lobby on legislative matters. Al Cardenas, a former two-time chairman for the Republican Party of Florida, oversees the Government Affairs Practice at the firm. He’s also a senior partner with the Washington-based lobbying firm Squire Patton Boggs. In December, the Chamber listed their priorities […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 16, 2016

(Updated)In the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris in November, Florida Gov. Rick Scott joined more than two dozen other governors across the country to say he doesn’t want refugees fleeing war-torn Syria coming into his state. He also said that the federal government isn’t providing him any information about who was coming in, or where they […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 16, 2016

Greetings from the EconoLodge in Tallahassee. A week ago in New Hampshire, tens of thousands of registered independents became Democrats or Republicans for a day (or more accurately, the time it took to cast their vote) so they could vote in the first-in-the-nation presidential primary election. Although some critics scoffed at how influential independents were […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 15, 2016

GOP Senate hopeful Todd Wilcox understands the need to analyze the politics of a change in the U.S. Supreme Court, but he says that he wishes there could have been a little more time to mourn the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia, who died Saturday in Texas at 79. “This was a core conservative with a […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 15, 2016

Jeb Bush says it’s within Barack Obama‘s constitutional powers to nominate a candidate to succeed Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court, but says there’s no way that person should be approved by the U.S. Senate. “There should not be an appointment, based on the record of President Obama’s selection of judges,” Bush told NBC’s […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 15, 2016

Happy Presidents Day, y’all! Other than government folks, does anyone else have today off? Just wondering. Speaking of presidents, this is a crucial week in the 2016 election for both parties, but let’s focus on the Republican election in South Carolina on Saturday. All polls show Donald Trump with a very solid lead, but a […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 14, 2016

When Joe Gruters, the vice chair of the Republican Party of Florida, announced last fall that he was taking a role with the Donald Trump campaign in Florida, it raised eyebrows among some state Republicans as being a clear conflict of interest. If there’s been any criticism of those duel roles within the party ranks, however, […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 13, 2016

A seven-member bipartisan group of Congress, led by Tampa Democrat Kathy Castor, departed from Tampa to Cuba on Saturday. “We intend to meet with small business owners and entrepreneurs to gain a better understanding of how the changes in the Cuban economy are working,” Castor said in a brief news conference held at Tampa International […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 12, 2016

Donald Trump brought his rollicking presidential campaign to Tampa on Friday night, the first time he’s appeared in Tampa since declaring his candidacy last June. “They said this is a modern day phenomenon,” he said, looking at the packed audience in the USF Sun Dome. Referring to a recent Time magazine story that referred to the […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 12, 2016

Nancy Watkins, the South Tampa certified public accountant who has been campaign treasurer for hundreds of local and national Republicans for more than 25 years, won’t run for the Florida House District 60 seat being vacated this fall by Dana Young. Watkins, who has never run for public office, was said to be seriously considering […]

Mitch Perry
Image via Tiger Bay.

Greater Tampa Chamber hires Cardenas Partners to lobby in Tallahassee

State House committee passes bill that aims to ban Syrian refugees

Mitch Perry Report for 2.16.16 — Time to stop penalizing indie voters in Florida

Florida’s GOP U.S. Senate candidates fear liberal Supreme Court

Jeb Bush says Barack Obama’s judicial nominees have been “way out of the mainstream”

Mitch Perry Report 2.15.16 – Trump doubles down on Iraq comments about W

Florida GOP state committeeman calls on Joe Gruters to decide between Donald Trump or the RPOF

Kathy Castor leads 7-member congressional delegation to Cuba

Donald Trump calls Jeb Bush “gutless” in Tampa speech

Nancy Watkins opts not to run for Tampa HD 60 seat