Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jim RosicaMay 4, 2017

Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera will be the next statewide chair of the panel that vets candidates for federal judges, according to a Thursday statement from U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio‘s office. The purpose of the Florida Federal Judicial Nominating Commission is “to identify highly qualified individuals as finalists to become U.S. district judges in each of the three judicial districts […]

Joe HendersonMay 3, 2017

While it’s clear what Gov. Rick Scott hopes to accomplish with his barnstorming tour of the state over the next few days, it almost certainly won’t make any difference. He calls it the “Fighting For Florida’s Future” tour because he wants to fully fund Enterprise Florida so it can continue providing $85 million in taxpayer […]

Scott PowersMay 1, 2017

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and three Florida members of Congress, Democrats U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Ted Deutch, and Republican Vern Buchanan sounded an alarm Monday against President Donald Trump‘s potential interests in oil and gas drilling off Florida’s coasts and said they’re gathering bipartisan support in opposition. Nelson, Wasserman Schultz of Weston, and […]

Mitch PerryApril 28, 2017

According to North Korea’s deputy U.N. ambassador, the standoff over his country’s nuclear program will end only when the U.S. withdraws its “hostile policy” toward the northeast Asian nation. In an interview with The Associated Press Friday, Kim In Ryong says his government will not attend “any type of talks which would discuss its nuclear abandonment.” That includes the […]

Scott PowersApril 28, 2017

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday afternoon to have Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke reevaluate oil and gas drilling prospects along a number of areas of America’s outer continental shelf including the South Atlantic Ocean. Those include areas along the Florida coast and southeast U.S. coast where oil and gas drilling are […]

Scott PowersApril 26, 2017

Two bills with Florida sponsors and cosponsors were approved by committees in both the U.S. Senate and House Wednesday to reauthorize a 2004 law to spend $100 million a year for local grants to help mosquitoes, now in the age of Zika, has been approved by a key committee. House Resolution 1310, introduced by U.S. […]

Scott PowersApril 18, 2017

In a letter sent today to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, Florida’s Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson called attention to Florida’s heroin and opioids crisis and sought answers on how Medicaid can do more. In his letter, Nelson declared that the heroin and opioid epidemic is “devastating Florida” and he encouraged Price […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 18, 2017

Two major political questions in Florida right now are predicated on the eventual decision of Gov. Rick Scott. But he’s in no rush to provide answers. One such decision: will he, as is widely expected, challenge Sen. Bill Nelson next year. Nelson, already in campaign mode, is telling reporters he’s “scared as a jackrabbit” to […]

Joe HendersonApril 17, 2017

There were all kinds of messages being sent to Gov. Rick Scott late last week at the Florida House of Representatives. The one from Democrat Bill Nelson, a three-term U.S. senator, can be summed up in two words: game on. Republican House Speaker Richard Corcoran had his own two-word message for the governor. I think […]

Joe HendersonApril 12, 2017

The steady increase in Gov. Rick Scott’s approval rating has reinforced the notion that if voters have a job and the economy seems to be humming along, other things don’t matter much. The latest poll, released this week by Morning Consult, put Scott’s approval number at 57 percent. Considering that he stood at 26 percent […]

Tag: Bill Nelson
Image via AP.

Carlos Lopez-Cantera to head federal judicial nominating panel

Joe Henderson: While Rick Scott goes on tour to plead his case, Richard Corcoran keeps piling up wins

Bill Nelson, Debbie Wasserman Schultz vow bipartisan opposition to drilling

Bill Nelson: If China can’t deter North Korea’s nuclear plans, it could mean war

Donald Trump order reassesses drilling off South Atlantic coast

Mosquito Zika bills by Darren Soto, Bill Nelson, Marco Rubio pass panels

Bill Nelson presses Tom Price on Florida’s opioid crisis, Medicaid’s ability to fight it

Rick Scott still mulls Senate race, CFO choice

Joe Henderson: Richard Corcoran’s invite to Bill Nelson a stick in Rick Scott’s eye, maybe more

Joe Henderson: Rick Scott’s approval rating climbs because the economy trumps everything