Ryan Ray, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Ryan RayMay 18, 2015

Republican Sen. Wilton Simpson made his 2018 intentions official last week, filing paperwork Friday for a re-election bid in his rural central Florida Senate seat that takes in all or parts of Hernando, Pasco and Sumter counties. Simpson’s move to open a campaign account comes days after Marc Caputo of POLITICO reported that the Senate’s “Chicken Man” […]

Ryan RayMay 15, 2015

Friday’s passage in the U.S. House of Representatives of the National Defense Authorization Act, which appropriates $612 billion in spending for the Pentagon and military priorities, also marks the House approval of three initiatives sponsored by Democratic congresswoman from the Florida Panhandle Gwen Graham. Graham heralded the passage of the bill — by a vote of 269-151, […]

Ryan RayMay 14, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday signed into law SB 7040, one of dozens of bills sent to the governor’s desk last week. Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles customers who include their emails in forms and communications with the office will now be shielded by an exemption from Florida’s stringent “Government in the Sunshine” […]

Ryan RayMay 13, 2015

The 1st District Court of Appeal on Wednesday heard arguments from plaintiffs in their attempt to operate slot machines at a horse racing facility in Gretna. Gretna Creek Entertainment wants to overturn Attorney General Pam Bondi‘s opinion that invalidated the results of a 2012 Gadsden County referendum to allow the slot machines. Justices also heard from an attorney from Bondi’s […]

Ryan RayMay 13, 2015

U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham announced on Wednesday that she has joined several key Florida Democrats – plus one Republican, Congressman Bill Posey – in supporting a new bill on Capitol Hill to prevent seismic testing for oil along Florida’s eastern coast. The bill – H.R. 2276 – would partially contravene a decision made last year by the Obama […]

Ryan RayMay 13, 2015

When we last caught up with House District 54, attorney Erin Grall had just secured the endorsement of Sen. Joe Negron, one of Florida’s few state lawmakers who would get recognized on the street and a preeminent political figure along the Space Coast; Realtor Lange Sykes was hot on Grall’s tail in the fundraising race; Vero Beach Vice […]

Ryan RayMay 13, 2015

The Tallahassee-based 1st District Court of Appeals will hear arguments Wednesday afternoon regarding whether or not the Gadsden County pari-mutuel facility Gretna Gaming should be issued a state license to operate new slot machines. More than 62 percent of voters there approved a county-wide referendum in 2012 that would allow slots at the Gretna quarter horse racing facility […]

Ryan RayMay 12, 2015

Democrat Ryan Yadav made it official today – or at least even more official than his original campaign paperwork filing last week did: the criminal defense attorney from Sanford will mount a bid to unseat Rep. Bob Cortes in District 30, one of the most mercurial districts in the state. Cortes bested former Rep. Karen Castor Dentel to take over […]

Ryan RayMay 12, 2015

Rep. Dwight Dudley survived a serious electoral scare in November from well-known local Republican Bill Young II, son of the late Pinellas U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young. The two tangled over House District 68, in the heart of St. Petersburg, one of the most competitive seats in the state at any level. Borrowing from the old […]

Ryan RayMay 12, 2015

Republican Rep. Paul Renner may have just joined the Florida House, but he’s already getting a taste of the “permanent campaign” that characterizes the chamber. After officially taking office in an April 7 swearing-in ceremony with Rep. Cyndi Stevenson, another electoral beneficiary of the long tail of Sen. John Thrasher‘s exit from the Legislature to head […]

Ryan Ray
Image via Desantis X account

Wilton Simpson, future Senate president, files for 2018 re-election

Gwen Graham moves 3 measures through U.S. House

DMV-collected email addresses to be exempt from Sunshine Law

1st District Court of Appeal hears arguments in Gretna slots case

Gwen Graham co-sponsoring ban on seismic oil testing along Florida’s Atlantic coast

Crowded field vies to succeed Debbie Mayfield in HD 54

1st District Court of Appeal to hear oral arguments in Gretna pari-mutuels case

Ryan Yadav formally announces a run in HD 30

Dwight Dudley draws 2 early GOP opponents in swing House district

Paul Renner gears up ahead of 2016 re-election bid