Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiJune 17, 2018

Here in Florida, our politicians message around Father’s Day with tweets and Facebook messages of pure, uncut sentimentality. Yet, at various outposts near the U.S./Mexican border, a different narrative unfolds between parents and children. President Donald Trump’s administration is under scrutiny for its decision to warehouse immigrant children in former Walmarts and other holding areas. […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 16, 2018

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam has endured a couple of bad news cycles as he vies for the Republican nomination for Governor. First, there was the issue with concealed weapons permits. Putnam’s office didn’t complete checks on 365 permits between Feb. 2016 and Mar. 2017. Then, just as that item faded from the public consciousness, another issue: […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 16, 2018

In Jacksonville Saturday, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam took a question from this outlet similar to one Gov. Rick Scott answered a day earlier. Namely, the Republican gubernatorial candidate was asked if he stood behind the Donald Trump administration policy of separating migrant children from their parents, placing those children in holding facilities and possibly (if plans come to fruition) tent cities. Widely reported […]

Danny McAuliffeJune 16, 2018

Jeff Greene, a billionaire developer from Palm Beach and the newest Democratic option for Governor, is using the upcoming Father’s Day holiday to call for an end to the Donald Trump administration’s practice of separating migrant children from their parents at the border. In a statement Saturday, Greene said the policies are “inhumane.” He framed […]

Danny McAuliffeJune 16, 2018

Florida Democrats are framing a recent roller coaster crash in Daytona Beach as the “latest example of incompetence at Adam Putnam’s Agriculture Department.” In a news release emailed statewide Saturday, the Florida Democratic Party highlighted how the Thursday night derailment came hours after state inspectors approved the Sand Blaster roller coaster for operation. The incident injured […]

Jim RosicaJune 16, 2018

Agents are “investigating possible improper use of personal identifying information” of the state’s licensed drivers put online by a Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) vendor, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokeswoman confirmed to Florida Politics on Friday. Roughly 17 million people hold a Florida driver’s license. Spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said FDLE agents in Tallahassee — […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 15, 2018

Florida Professional Firefighters, which represents over 25,000 firefighters and EMS personnel across Florida, did not respect party lines in its wave of state endorsements rolled out Friday. Republicans Adam Putnam and Denise Grimsley got the group’s backing for Governor and Agriculture Commissioner; Democrat Sean Shaw got the imprimatur for Attorney General. “As our Commissioner of Agriculture, Adam has […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 15, 2018

In Jacksonville Friday to locally promote his endorsements from 55 Florida Sheriffs, rolled out days before in media release form, U.S. Senate candidate Gov. Rick Scott was compelled to address other issues as well related to the ongoing quest by his “partner in the White House,” Donald J. Trump, to “Make America Great Again.” Among this week’s […]

Scott PowersJune 15, 2018

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Philip Levine is launching a new Spanish-language television commercial Friday in Orlando and Miami highlighting his commitments to public education in Florida. The 30-second spot, “Escuela,” [“School,”] shows shots in a classroom and Levine visiting with students as a narrator talks about Florida public schools being underfunded and teachers underpaid, and about […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 14, 2018

Former Rep. Gwen Graham continues her campaign for Florida Governor this week, and on the heels of her endorsement from the Florida Education Association, she is doing what’s logical: workdays and appearances predicated on the theme of education (the “backbone of [her] campaign”). Jacksonville on Thursday morning was no exception; the candidate was doing one […]

Headlines

Father’s Day message: Florida Republicans defend family separations at Mexican border

Adam Putnam blames Dems for politicizing Daytona roller coaster tragedy

Adam Putnam thinks ‘secure borders’ would stop federal internment of migrant kids

Jeff Greene: Father’s Day is a reminder of ‘inhumane’ immigration policies

Democrats link roller coaster failure to Adam Putnam

State investigating ‘possible’ criminal breach of driver’s license info

Firefighters endorse Adam Putnam, Sean Shaw, Denise Grimsley

Rick Scott says tent cities housing immigrant children are a ‘disturbing’ byproduct of ‘messed-up immigration system’

Philip Levine launches Spanish ad on schools in Orlando, Miami

‘I don’t believe in polls,’ says Gwen Graham