Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerrySeptember 4, 2016

Hillary Clinton will appear Tuesday afternoon at the student recreation center on the University of South Florida campus in Tampa, her campaign announced Sunday. The campaign had announced on Friday the Democratic presidential nominee would be making an appearance in Tampa Tuesday, but hadn’t announced the time or place. The event will start at 1:45 p.m., […]

Bill RuftySeptember 4, 2016

Polk County will likely never return to the Democratic bastion that was home to four U.S. senators, three governors, and four presidents of the Florida Senate. But from Tuesday’s primaries and the fielding of candidates for the Nov. 8 general elections, Polk Democrats are slowly learning to make the now-GOP bastion a two-party county again. There […]

Associated PressSeptember 4, 2016

Residents of Pasco County are watching waterways wearily after a thunderstorm soaked an area already soggy from Hurricane Hermine — and officials are telling some residents to evacuate because of the potential for floods. Emergency officials in Pasco said Saturday that the Anclote River is rising and is expected to reach near major flood stage […]

Phil AmmannSeptember 3, 2016

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden is hosting a fundraiser next week for Avis Harrison, the former schoolteacher seeking the Tampa City Council District 7 seat. Gruden, along with his wife Cindy, will be holding a reception Thursday, Sept. 8, at 6 p.m. in the couple’s North Tampa home at 709 Guisando de Avila. […]

Mitch PerrySeptember 2, 2016

With machine and manual recounts now finished in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, Darryl Rouson is the winner in the Democratic primary for Senate District 19. He defeated Ed Narain by a mere 66 votes (that’s what the Rouson campaign told us. The Florida Division of Elections website shows the difference to be 77 votes. The Tampa Bay Times reports that Rouson received 73 […]

Anne LindbergSeptember 2, 2016

Like many who run for re-election, U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis says he has unfinished business. But unlike many who say that, Bilirakis has specific goals in mind. High on that list of goals is health care for veterans. “Veterans are top on my list,” Bilirakis said Thursday. “These are our heroes.” Bilirakis has already helped usher through […]

Mitch PerrySeptember 1, 2016

David Jolly easily handled Mark Bircher in the GOP primary contest in Florida’s 13th Congressional District. Now, the Indian Shores Republican is turning his full attention to defeating Charlie Crist, which won’t be easy. Jolly defeated Democrat Alex Sink in a special election in March 2014 by just 1.8 percentage points. That was when the district did not include more liberal enclaves of […]

Mitch PerrySeptember 1, 2016

(UPDATE) After provisional ballots were counted by the separate Hillsborough and Pinellas County canvassing boards Thursday, Darryl Rouson’s lead over Ed Narain grew to 75 votes in the race for the Florida state Senate District 19. The contest appears indeed headed for a machine recount Friday, as the final margin of 75 votes out more than 37,000 cast is […]

Michael MolineSeptember 1, 2016

What’s the first thing you should do with Hurricane Hermine approaching? “Secure family, important documents, and possessions, then contact family members outside of the disaster area to let them know your current situation.” That was the word Thursday from Chip Merlin, founder of the Merlin Law Group in Tampa. Dubbed the “Master of Disaster” by […]

Mitch PerryAugust 31, 2016

The Republican race for House District 60 was a nail-biter Tuesday night, with civil engineer Jackie Toledo getting just 246 more votes (out of 12,528 cast) than businesswoman Rebecca Smith, giving her a less than two-percentage-point victory. Smith was the clear GOP establishment favorite in the race, but obviously, not among the electorate. Toledo raised […]