Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Associated PressOctober 19, 2017

He started by describing the reverent handling of America’s war dead, bodies packed in ice and shipped home in the dark to Dover Air Force Base. From that opening, White House chief of staff John Kelly delivered a raw and searing monologue Thursday about the reality and pain of war sacrifice, praising those who serve […]

Scott PowersOctober 19, 2017

The U.S. Senate has approved an amendment pushed by Florida’s U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio to provide a tax credit for child care in its budget resolution. Rubio has made the child care tax credit amendment a hallmark of his efforts, vowing it would provide meaningful tax relief to middle income families. The proposal essentially deducts […]

Scott PowersOctober 19, 2017

Florida U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has placed a hold on a nominee from President Donald Trump for the Office of Management and Budget and said straight out that he’s doing so to force the president’s hand on delivering Hurricane Irma relief money for Florida’s citrus industry. Nelson’s office announced Thursday that he has placed a […]

Scott PowersOctober 19, 2017

Florida’s U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is asking the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee to investigate the ambush of American soldiers in Niger, wondering if they were adequately supported. Nelson, a Democrat, sent a letter Thursday to Committee Chair John McCain, an Arizona Republican, and Ranking Member Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Republican, stating that too […]

Associated PressOctober 19, 2017

Federal officials are conducting daily inspections of the dike that surrounds Lake Okeechobee because of its near-record water levels but say it is not in danger of failing. Almur Whiting of the Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday there has been some seepage through the Herbert Hoover Dike but it is not significant. The corps […]

Scott PowersOctober 19, 2017

Saying he believes that “If we ignore it we allow it to grow,” Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris King said Thursday that protests of white supremacist Richard Spencer‘s speech in Gainesville are important. King, a Winter Park developer of affordable and senior housing, said he is attending a protest rally at the University of Florida Thursday […]

Scott PowersOctober 19, 2017

Immediately surrounded by 50 shades of cuteness but more broadly surrounded by deep worries about anti-Semitic violence and growing anti-Semitic sentiment, Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday pushed his proposal to include $1 million in his 2018 budget proposal to help Florida’s Jewish community centers, schools and day care centers further secure against attacks. Scott’s visit to […]

Associated PressOctober 19, 2017

In an era when it’s increasingly difficult to get fans in the stadium, it apparently isn’t so hard to get them into new rituals. Average attendance at the Football Bowl Subdivision level has dipped nearly 6 ½ percent over the last six years — from 46,632 in 2010 to 43,612 last season — and lagging student interest during the […]

Mitch PerryOctober 19, 2017

While GOP gubernatorial rivals Jack Latvala and Adam Putnam feud over campaign contributions from investor-owned utilities, Richard Corcoran is watching from the sidelines. As reported by FloridaPolitics last week, Agriculture Commissioner Putnam’s political committee has received nearly $800,000 from the utilities, and another $1.8 million to political committees that may have been re-directed to him. […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 19, 2017

Ahead of white nationalist Richard Spencer‘s speech in Gainesville Thursday, Florida Democratic Party Chair Stephen Bittel issued a lengthy statement condemning the “neo-Nazi.” While Bittel was at it, he castigated Gov. Rick Scott for failing to condemn President Donald Trump and his “stunning lack of moral leadership,” adding that any politician who failed to offer such condemnation is “unfit […]

Headlines
Three people were killed in an accident on the Florida Turnpike in St. Lucie County on Aug. 12. Image via Treasure Coast Newspapers.

Evoking slain son, John Kelly defends Donald Trump on condolence calls

U.S. Senate includes Marco Rubio’s child care amendment in budget bill

Bill Nelson to Donald Trump: You want your nominee? Give us citrus money

Bill Nelson asks for senate panel investigation of Niger ambush

Feds: Inspections show Lake Okeechobee’s dike sound

Chris King on Richard Spencer: ‘We’re better than this’

Rick Scott touts $1M proposal to secure Jewish centers

Social media helping college teams start new traditions

Campaign cash from utilities? ‘I’ll accept it,’ Richard Corcoran says

Florida Democratic Party chair condemns Richard Spencer, slams Rick Scott as ‘unfit to lead’