Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Scott PowersJanuary 10, 2018

There’s that Sept. 30, 2009, check to the U.S. Senate campaign of former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio: It’s the $2,400 contribution to a Republican who then was seen as the darling of Florida’s Tea Party movement, an upstart whose explosive popularity on the right chased Charlie Crist from the Grand Old Party and made Democratic […]

Mitch PerryNovember 17, 2017

Vern Buchanan is displeased with the Trump administration’s decision to lift the ban on importing elephant trophies from Africa, saying the world’s largest land mammal is a threatened species facing extinction. “We should not encourage the hunting and slaughter of these magnificent creatures,” the Sarasota Republican congressman said Friday. “We don’t get a second chance once a species […]

Mitch PerryNovember 16, 2017

A recent trip to Cuba by Tampa City Council Chair Yolie Capin and Councilman Harry Cohen was just the latest by members of the political establishment who have worked for nearly a decade to set up closer relations between the city and the Communist island. Former Councilwoman Mary Mulhern first visited Cuba as part of a […]

Mitch PerryNovember 3, 2017

He’s already been endorsed by Barack Obama and Joe Biden; now Cory Booker is putting his stature behind Rick Kriseman‘s re-election bid. Friday afternoon, the New Jersey Democratic senator cut a robocall for the St. Petersburg mayor. “Rick Kriseman is the clear choice for St. Pete mayor,” Booker said in a statement. “He is a progressive and a proven leader, […]

Mitch PerryOctober 31, 2017

Rick Kriseman‘s campaign received another high-profile boost as Martin O’Malley made a trip to campaign headquarters early Monday evening. A visit by the former Maryland Governor and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate was yet another indication of how serious the Democratic National Committee and Florida Democratic Party are in seeing Kriseman get re-elected as St. Petersburg mayor next week. O’Malley […]

Mitch PerryOctober 30, 2017

Vern Buchanan still wants heads to roll at the Internal Revenue Service. Nearly two months after Donald Trump‘s Justice Department announced plans to charge former IRS official Lois Lerner over her role in the Tea Party targeting scandal, the Sarasota Republican congressman said the DOJ should reevaluate that position, following the news that the IRS officials admitted to […]

Mitch PerryOctober 28, 2017

Julian Castro is among three dozen or so Democrats considering running for president in 2020. Maybe that’s why his 24-minute keynote address Saturday at the Florida Democratic Party’s statewide conference sounded like a stump speech, one ready-made for a national road trip. The charismatic former San Antonio mayor and Housing and Urban Development secretary under […]

Mitch PerryOctober 27, 2017

Julian Castro came to St. Petersburg Friday, where he took a tour of the flagship offices of the Pinellas Ex-offender Re-entry Coalition (PERC). During his visit, the former Housing and Urban Development Secretary praised the work of St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman in helping give ex-felons opportunities for a second chance, as well as (politely) take issue […]

Mitch PerryOctober 27, 2017

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With just 11 days left in the St. Petersburg mayoral contest, the Florida Democratic Party is airing a new ad bashing Rick Baker. The 30-second ad begins with footage of an angry Baker speaking after receiving Aug. 29 primary results. His face then morphs into Donald Trump‘s visage, while the narrator criticizes him for failing […]

Phil AmmannOctober 27, 2017

Rick Baker is not quite finished with Kevin King. In a new radio ad released Friday morning, the former two-term mayor is once again blasting incumbent St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman for a “lack of judgment” in hiring King as his longtime chief of staff. Throughout the week, Baker’s campaign continually hammered his opponent on […]

Tag: Barack Obama

Philip Levine: Check to Marco Rubio ‘tiny’ compared with long, deep Democratic support

Vern Buchanan opposes Trump administration allowing elephant ‘trophies’

Old tensions about Cuba resurface at Tampa City Council meeting

Cory Booker records robocall for Rick Kriseman in St. Pete mayoral contest

Martin O’Malley hits the phones for Rick Kriseman in St. Pete

Vern Buchanan still wants ‘heads to roll’ in IRS targeting scandal

Julian Castro offers a ’21st-century blueprint’ at Democratic summit

Julian Castro visits St. Pete, praises Southside CRA program

New FDP ad morphs ‘Changed Man’ Rick Baker into Donald Trump

Rick Baker not yet finished with Kevin King, ad blasts Rick Kriseman ‘tolerance’