Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschMarch 16, 2018

Once the hanky dropped on the 2013 Legislative Session, my family headed to St. Augustine Beach to recuperate from the 60 days of working in that pressure cooker. Michelle and I had been married for just over a year and our daughter, Ella Joyce, was only months old. Our business was just starting to take […]

Peter SchorschMarch 12, 2018

A new poll of the 2018 U.S. Senate race shows Gov. Rick Scott with a two-point lead over Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson. The Clearview Research poll contacted 750 likely voters by phone between March 1 and March 7 and found Scott with a 43-41 advantage with 15 percent undecided. Where the poll differs with […]

Scott PowersMarch 9, 2018

Saying he never got a response in the almost two months since he last asked, Florida’s U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson again wrote to U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke Friday requesting clarification on what the administration wants to do off Florida’s coast. Nelson’s latest missive comes as the Department plans to close its public comment […]

Mitch PerryMarch 5, 2018

With local governments in Florida prohibited from regulating firearms, the Pinellas County Commission is making it clear where it stands on several specific gun-control issues that have emerged since the massacre at Parkland nearly three weeks ago. The board discussed a series of proposals at its February 27 meeting, and in a letter sent to […]

Scott PowersMarch 5, 2018

When someone fails a background check while attempting to purchase a gun, that should be reported to state law enforcement as a possible precursor to criminal gun activity, under a bill being pushed by Florida’s U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson and a bipartisan group of several other key U.S. senators. Republican Rubio, Democrat […]

Scott PowersMarch 2, 2018

Florida’s Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson was conspicuously absent from a meeting President Donald Trump convened Wednesday in the West Wing with key lawmakers and stakeholders in the gun violence debate following the Parkland massacre, and on Friday he dismissed the meeting as show, and predicted Trump will pivot from assurances he made there. Speaking […]

Scott PowersMarch 1, 2018

U.S. Rep. Darren Soto of Orlando received a perfect score of 100 for his environmental issues voting record from the national League of Conservation Voters, the only member of Florida’s delegation to do so. The league’s annual “National Environmental Scorecard” for the 2017 session of Congress, gave Soto checkmarks across the board on 35 issues […]

Staff ReportsFebruary 26, 2018

Days after the Florida Department of Law Enforcement requested $1 million in emergency funding from the U.S. Justice Department to reimburse law enforcement agencies that responded to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting, Florida’s U.S. Senators, Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio, wrote in support of the request, urging quick reimbursement, along with U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch. […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 25, 2018

Bill Nelson is responding to criticism offered by Rick Scott that the Democrat has done “nothing” when it comes to gun safety. “I have voted for and sponsored every major piece of legislation, including the comprehensive background checks, as well as getting the assault rifles off the streets,” Nelson told reporters Sunday following a church service […]

Danny McAuliffeFebruary 23, 2018

Gun-reform measures released by Gov. Rick Scott and leaders of the Republican-controlled Legislature are being hailed as the greatest proposed deviations from hard line pro-gun laws in the Sunshine State in recent history — but Democratic officials, groups and politicians have been quick to claim the proposals are inadequate. The legislative initiatives released Friday are […]

Tag: Bill Nelson

The Schorsch governing theory of Florida politics — Part 1

Rick Scott leads Bill Nelson in new poll of possible U.S. Senate race

Bill Nelson again pushes Ryan Zinke on off-shore drilling

Pinellas commissioners want a ban on assault weapons

Marco Rubio, Bill Nelson push bipartisan bill to tighten reporting on gun background checks

Bill Nelson bemoans snub to White House gun meeting as ‘counter productive’

Darren Soto gets perfect score from Conservation Voters, tops Florida members

Marco Rubio, Bill Nelson back FDLE request for $1 million for Parkland reimbursement

Bill Nelson dismisses Rick Scott charge he’s done ‘nothing’ on gun safety

Democrats react to Parkland reforms, criticize lack of assault weapons ban