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

Scott PowersApril 11, 2016

State Sen. Jack Latvala‘s political action committee Florida Leadership Committee raised $113,357 during the month of March, far more than any other lawmaker’s or candidate’s leadership PAC. Florida Leadership Committee trailed only Gov. Rick Scott‘s Let’s Get To Work, which raised $248,000, and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam‘s Florida Grown, which raised $126,250, during the month, […]

Scott PowersApril 11, 2016

Democrat Susannah Randolph may have picked up her biggest local endorsement yet Monday with the news that former Orange County Chairwoman Linda Chapin is backing her for the Orlando-based Congressional District 9. Chapin is a long-time figure in Orlando Democratic politics, an activist first elected to the Orange County Board of Commissioners in the 1980s. […]

Scott PowersApril 8, 2016

Orlando Republican candidate Dean Asher has received the endorsement of state Sen. Travis Hutson in Asher’s quest to be elected in the Orlando-based Senate District 13. Asher, a real estate professional, is the lone Republican seeking to succeed term-limited state Sen. Andy Gardiner in the district, which covers much of northern and eastern Orange County. […]

Scott PowersApril 8, 2016

Democratic candidate Val Demings has received the endorsement of the U.S. House of Representatives minority whip in her campaign for the Orlando-based Congressional District 10, her campaign announced Friday. Demings has received the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, a Democrat from Maryland. “Val Demings is the kind of leader we need to advocate on behalf […]

Scott PowersApril 8, 2016

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted through a picture-perfect spring Florida sky Friday afternoon and then landed softly and surely on a barge in the ocean 11 minutes later. The successful at-sea landing for the rocket’s first stage is a first, and it comes in SpaceX’s fifth try, bringing screaming cheers from the company’s California […]

Scott PowersApril 8, 2016

Leading candidates in Orange County’s three commission races made it clear Friday they don’t like each other: They pursued personal attacks but offered little to distinguish each other on business issues during a debate sponsored by BusinessForce of Orlando. While Orange County has seen highly contentious business-related issues arise in recent years, notably a petition demanding a […]

Scott PowersApril 8, 2016

The Tampa Bay Times “Failure Factories” series of stories investigating how the Pinellas County School District served black students has won a prestigious national IRE Medal for investigative reporting, the international journalism organization Investigative Reporters and Editors announced. The Times project, published in three parts plus a prologue last August, explored what is described in the […]

Scott PowersApril 7, 2016

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launch planned for Friday afternoon is aimed at the International Space Station, but much of the science and technology inside its Dragon capsule is aimed at taking humans far deeper into space one day The launch is scheduled for 4:43 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The mission is to […]

Scott PowersApril 7, 2016

Outgoing Senate President Andy Gardiner conceded Thursday that the presidential election, the possible “Trump effect,” and other issues likely will lead to Democrats making gains in the Florida Legislature elections this fall. Gardiner, an Orlando Republican, told the Tiger Bay Club of Central Florida that he is confident the GOP will retain its majority in […]

Scott PowersApril 7, 2016

Republican businessman and youth pastor Peter Vivaldi of Windermere has filed to run for the Florida Senate in the Orlando-based Senate District 15. Vivaldi, 54, said Thursday he decided to run after spending much of this past session of the Florida Legislature in Tallahassee advocating on issues ranging from education choice to religious freedom. Vivaldi […]

Scott Powers

Jack Latvala’s Florida Leadership Committee raises $113,357

Linda Chapin endorses Susannah Randolph in CD 9 race

Dean Asher endorsed by Travis Hutson for Senate District 13 race

Val Demings endorsed by U.S. House minority whip in CD 10 race

5th time’s the charm! SpaceX lands rocket on ocean barge

Orange County Commission candidates’ debates offer heat but few business differences

Tampa Bay Times investigation into Pinellas schools wins IRE national investigative reporting prize

SpaceX launch to provide space station with long-term spaceflight survival research

Andy Gardiner expects Democrats to make some gains in 2016 state elections

Republican Peter Vivaldi enters SD 15 race