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

Ryan RayApril 29, 2016

Neal Dunn says his campaign is hitting the North Florida airwaves, the first 2nd Congressional District candidate to so. The Panama City urological surgeon and GOP nomination-seeker touts his experience away from politics in the commercial and criticizes those within it in a 30-second spot entitled “Outsider.” “Like you, I’m tired of the broken system in Washington – rising […]

Ryan RayApril 29, 2016

Gov. Rick Scott came about close as one pol can get to endorsing another without pulling the trigger. At a private fundraiser hosted by the conservative Club for Growth, writes POLITICO Florida’s Matt Dixon, Scott singled out Thomas for special praise. “Mary came aboard with me right after I got elected back in 2010 and worked in my general […]

Ryan RayApril 27, 2016

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U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham is among the Armed Services panel members currently slogging through a marathon session to craft a national defense budget for FY 2017. The infamously complex and time-intensive process of producing the annual National Defense Authorization Act began early Wednesday morning and as of press time clocked in at around six hours long, with about […]

Ryan RayApril 25, 2016

Gov. Rick Scott has never been shy about poaching jobs from Democratic states — or dropping ads against political opponents. Next week he’s set to go to deep-blue California to persuade businesses to relocate to Florida, and the public-private economic development agency Enterprise Florida has prepared a brutal ad for the occasion. The one-minute spot trashes the Golden State and, […]

Ryan RayApril 25, 2016

When a prisoner told former Dade Correctional Facility counsellor Harriet Krzykowski about how the prison guards starved him and his fellow inmates, Krzykowski thought he must be paranoid. But as Eyal Press in the New Yorker writes, that wasn’t the half of it. Krzykowski worked in the facility’s “Transitional Care Unit,” or T.C.U., which, in theory was “designed […]

Ryan RayApril 23, 2016

Rep. Matt Gaetz knows voters are angry. He’s angry too. Invective against “spineless politicians” and “lawless bureaucrats” peppered the Ft. Walton Beach Republican’s campaign kick off tour around Northwest Florida on Saturday. The 33-year-old lawmaker is seeking to succeed U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, whose announced retirement from Congress has set off a chain reaction of electoral maneuvering across […]

Ryan RayApril 21, 2016

U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham made waves on Thursday when she said she’s eyeing a 2018 run for Florida Governor. Here’s an early look at what Sunshine State politicos are saying regarding the Panhandle’s first Congresswoman’s announcement. “Gwen has been a great partner to work with in the House. From her work on the Apalachicola Bay to fighting […]

Ryan RayApril 21, 2016

Republican congressional hopeful Neal Dunn didn’t wait long to stake his claim in the 2nd Congressional District. Following U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham‘s announcement Thursday morning the freshman Democrat would not seek re-election in her now-splintered CD 2, Dunn proclaimed he was the district’s best option to succeed her. “Florida Congressional District 2 needs a conservative leader to fight […]

Ryan RayApril 21, 2016

U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham rocked the Democratic side of Florida politics with her announcement Thursday morning she’s “seriously considering” a run for governor. But of course, she won’t be alone in seeking to take back the Governor’s Mansion for the Dems for the first time since Gov. Lawton Chiles held the state’s highest post in 1998. Margate Sen. Jeremy Ring said […]

Ryan RayApril 20, 2016

A group protesting the expansion of passenger rail in South Florida never heard back from the feds. But they did obtain a letter addressed to the rail plan they oppose. The group, Citizens Against Rail Expansion in Florida, said they worked with U.S. Rep. Bill Posey to get a copy of the communiqué after hearing the Federal Railroad […]

Ryan Ray
Golf ball and golf club in bag on green grass

Neal Dunn hits the TV airwaves in CD 2

Rick Scott makes almost-endorsement of Mary Thomas

Gwen Graham-backed MacDill AFB amendment added to NDAA

Rick Scott drops radio ad attacking California minimum wage hike ahead of ‘trade mission’

In Florida’s prisons, fear and loathing

Matt Gaetz kicks off U.S. House campaign with “Fight Washington” bus tour

Florida pols react to Gwen Graham’s 2018 plans announcement

Neal Dunn after Gwen Graham CD 2 announcement: “I am ready to take on this role”

Jeremy Ring also floating run for governor in 2018

Anti-rail group responds to letter from federal transit agency