Tom Jackson, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Tom JacksonJune 26, 2016

If the best endorsement is one you’d love but never have the nerve to ask for, then the latest from Shawn Harrison is a particular coup. Brian Lamb, Fifth Third regional bank president, head of the University of South Florida Board of Trustees, immediate past president of the Tampa Bay Partnership and, not insignificantly, a […]

Tom JacksonJune 22, 2016

That whooshing sound, like a battalion of leaf blowers set on high, is the hierarchy of the Republican Party responding to a rare moment of good news. Marco Rubio, who shouldn’t have been in such a hurry to leave in the first place, says he’s decided to seek re-election to the U.S. Senate. The Washington […]

Tom JacksonJune 21, 2016

So, Corey Lewandowski, the buzz-cut professional sycophant whose philosophy amounted to “let Trump be Trump,” is out as The Donald’s campaign frontman. And this changes … what, exactly? As Edwin Starr sang, “Absolutely nuthin’!” (Say it again, y’all.) That’s right. While Lewandowski portrayed the thuggery of a crime lord’s hired muscle — hard-knuckled Toots to […]

Tom JacksonJune 13, 2016

Once again, a great city that rightly prides itself on multicultural tolerance has been shredded by a fanatical hater whose worldview is rooted in 7th Century mysticism and hero worship. London. Madrid. Paris. Brussels. Now, Orlando. America’s getaway destination. Home. And once again, leaders of a political party with roots that trace to the Enlightenment […]

Tom JacksonJune 8, 2016

Surveying the conundrum confronting the Republican Party in the age of Donald Trump, an antique TV ad touting Fram oil filters comes to mind. If you bought the Beatles’ White Album the day it was released and remember Muhammad Ali in his prime, you know the spot: A mechanic in the midst of an overhaul […]

Tom JacksonMay 31, 2016

Well past the point that it became abundantly — and, in some circles, painfully — obvious that Marco Rubio should have applied himself to the job he convinced Floridians he wanted in 2010, a fresh question has arisen: Should Rubio declare himself a candidate for re-election? The answer is: Duh. Of course, he should. This is […]

Tom JacksonMay 26, 2016

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Bernie Sanders might be the only person in America who still doesn’t “care about [Hillary Clinton’s] damn emails.” But the State Department inspector general’s withering report on the matter certainly has everyone else’s attention. And now even those buried deep for more than a year in Ready-for-Hillary denial knows, irrefutably: Everything the Democratic Party’s presidential […]

Tom JacksonMay 24, 2016

The atmosphere crackled like the approach of a late-afternoon thunderstorm with the release over the weekend of polls showing the current state of the presidential race. Which is appropriate, because so far there has been lots of menacing rumbling, if not a great deal of light. And, like any storm on the horizon, this one […]

Tom JacksonMay 20, 2016

I am, have been and remain intensely sympathetic to the #NeverTrump movement. But I also am a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. Have been since 1962. What does one have to do with the other? Just this: The 2011 Cardinals taught me you never say “never.” That team, which shouldn’t have made […]

Tom Jackson
Image via Palatka Main Street.

Shawn Harrison scores second ‘seismic’ endorsement from Brian Lamb

Tom Jackson: Seeking Florida voters’ forgiveness, Marco Rubio hits the reset button

Tom Jackson: If Donald Trump wanted to lose, what would he have done differently?

Tom Jackson: Jihadi wannabe shoots up Orlando; Obama blames us

Tom Jackson: With Donald Trump, GOP faces expensive overhaul

Tom Jackson: Hit that reset button already, Marco Rubio

Tom Jackson: After IG report, only Bernie Sanders doesn’t care about Hillary Clinton email treachery

Tom Jackson: GOP won’t like what follows the summer of Donald Trump

Tom Jackson: Could #NeverTrump-kins swallow a coached-up Donald Trump?