Scott Powers, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Scott PowersJune 22, 2016

For more than a year, Republicans in the U.S. Senate played no favorites among candidates running to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, but now that Rubio has decided last-minute to seek re-election that changed swiftly. The chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, quickly declared Rubio will have “the full support of […]

Scott PowersJune 21, 2016

Florida’s U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, an Orlando resident, is trying again to get a gun bill going, this time with a measure for which he’s putting together some bipartisan support. The newest measure, announced this afternoon at a press conference in Washington, D.C., would again seek to create a no-fly, no-buy exclusion to prevent people on federal […]

Scott PowersJune 21, 2016

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch expressed strong confidence in Orlando Tuesday that investigators will determine pretty clearly why Omar Mateen walked into a joyful nightclub and killed as many people as he could. Lynch had few answers in hand about the biggest horror and saddest day in Orlando’s history, Mateen’s June 12 post-midnight attack on […]

Scott PowersJune 21, 2016

The oft-delayed launch of United Launch Alliance’s next Atlas V rocket has been reset for Friday, signaling that the company has resolved its concerns about an engine-firing glitch in the last launch. The rocket will carry the U.S. Navy’s fifth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS-5) satellite into orbit. It’s now set for blastoff between 10:30 and […]

Scott PowersJune 20, 2016

Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente, a wealthy real estate, banking and car dealership businessman who was running for president out of California until March, has filed to run as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate in Florida. De La Fuente qualified to appear in the Aug. 30 Democratic U.S. Senate primary on Monday according to […]

Scott PowersJune 20, 2016

A new poll by the conservative pollster Rasmussen Reports finds Americans think the Orlando massacre is more about terrorism than guns. The survey found 57 percent of those polled consider the shooting primarily a terrorism issue, while 38 percent thought it was primarily a gun-control issue. However, even those who consider it a terrorism issue […]

Scott PowersJune 20, 2016

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch will meet Tuesday with victims, first responders and other members of the Orlando community affected by the June 12 Pulse nightclub massacre. Lynch’s office announced the visit Monday morning, calling the incident “the terrorist attack in Orlando.” She will be meeting with people at the U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley‘s office for the […]

Scott PowersJune 20, 2016

What’s in a name? Democratic congressional candidate Dena Grayson — known as Dena Minning before her Memorial Day weekend wedding to U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson — has surged into a commanding lead in her quest for the Democratic nomination to succeed him in Florida’s 9th Congressional District. A Gravis Marketing poll commissioned by Dena Grayson’s campaign shows her […]

Scott PowersJune 20, 2016

Orlando TV journalist Keith Landry announced Monday he had quit his longtime job reporting for Fox 35 TV News to run for Orange County comptroller. Landry said he would file his paperwork today. Landry, 47, of Orlando, will take on Phil Diamond in the contest to succeed retiring career Comptroller Martha Haynie. Landry has served as an anchor, reporter and public […]

Scott PowersJune 17, 2016

Former Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority board member Scott Batterson‘s 2014 bribery conviction has been upheld on appeal. On Friday, Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeals upheld the trial court conviction without comment. Batterson was convicted in a 2014 scandal in which he was seen as the linchpin of a pay-to-play deal at the expressway authority. […]

Scott Powers
Milton damage. Image via City of Tampa.

Republican Senate committee wastes no time backing Marco Rubio

Bill Nelson is trying again with gun bill, this time in bipartisan effort

Loretta Lynch brings pledge of support, few new answers

ULA resets Atlas V rocket launch for Friday

Roque De La Fuente files as Democrat in U.S. Senate race

Rasmussen poll: Orlando massacre a terrorist issue, not a gun matter

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch plans Orlando visit

Dena Grayson poll has her leading by 20 in CD 9 race

Former Fox 35 News journalist Keith Landry to run for Orange Co. comptroller

Scott Batterson bribery conviction upheld on appeal