Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Scott PowersDecember 13, 2018

Brightline expects to start construction this winter on its planned, privately owned, higher-speed passenger railroad connecting South Florida to Orlando and envisions the first trains to start rolling into Orlando International Airport as soon as late 2021. Patrick Goddard, president and chief executive officer of Virgin Trains USA, also known as Brightline and formerly known as […]

Drew WilsonDecember 8, 2018

State Rep. Randy Fine launched his 2020 re-election bid on Nov. 19, and thanks to his prodigious fundraising effort last cycle he was able to hit the ground running. A newly filed campaign finance report shows the Brevard County Republican already has $21,500 in the bank. The bulk of that money — $20,000 — marked […]

Scott PowersDecember 7, 2018

Republican state Rep. Tyler Sirois heads into his first term in the Florida House with high hopes of addressing two widespread Florida issues that have a particularly strong impact on his Brevard County, water quality protection and vocational education. And he’ll be looking for ways to use the Florida Forever fund to address the water […]

Scott PowersNovember 27, 2018

Characterizing Virgin Trains USA’s agreement offering safety upgrades while ending some longtime opposition as a good first step, more is needed, state Sen. Debbie Mayfield said Tuesday. Mayfield intends to keep the pressure on the private railroad company seeking to extend passenger train service. Over the weekend, Virgin Trains USA, formerly known as Brightline (and All Aboard […]

Scott PowersNovember 6, 2018

Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Posey may have seen his most organized Democratic opponent yet this fall but it made little difference as he easily won re-election to a sixth term representing Florida’s Space Coast in Congress. Posey crushed Democratic activist and business consultant Sanjay Patel by a spread of 61 percent to 39 percent Tuesday, […]

Scott PowersNovember 6, 2018

Republicans are sweeping all four Florida House seats Tuesday, returning state Reps. Rene Plasencia, Thad Altman, and Randy Fine to office and keeping the other in GOP control by electing Tyler Sirois. None of the four had much trouble, in what turned out to be a pretty red wave washing ashore along the Space Coast. […]

Scott PowersNovember 6, 2018

In election contests that were far from mysteries, voters returned Orlando Democratic state Reps. Carlos Guillermo Smith and Amy Mercado, and Orlando Republican state Rep. Rene Plasencia to office in eastern Orange County Tuesday. Mercado and Smith are leaders of the progressive wing of House Democrats and fended off token challenges from late-qualified Republicans George […]

Scott PowersOctober 29, 2018

Republican state Rep. Rene Plasencia spent raised more than $23,000 during the week ending Oct. 19 and spent even more than that on his re-election bid in Florida House District 50. The week was the biggest yet in Plasencia’s campaign for either contributions or expenditures and easily swamped the campaign finance activity of his Democratic […]

Scott PowersOctober 26, 2018

Republican state Rep. Randy Fine picked up an additional $10,550 in campaign contributions in the week ending Oct. 19, easily the biggest haul of any Florida House candidate running in Brevard County. Fine’s latest collections pushed his campaign total to more than $243,000, more than 11 times as much as his Democratic opponent, Phil Moore […]

Scott PowersOctober 22, 2018

Democratic congressional candidate Sanjay Patel is launching the first television commercial of his campaign Monday to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Posey in Florida’s 8th Congressional District. Patel, a business consultant and activist, pushes an upbeat, progressive-politics message in the ad, quickly mentioning such issues as toxic algae, economics, and health care from a progressive […]

Tag: Brevard County

Brightline expects trains to roll into Orlando as soon as 2021

Randy Fine starts off 2020 bid with a bang

Tyler Sirois heading to Florida House with water, vocational education in mind

Debbie Mayfield intends to keep pressure on Virgin Trains USA

Bill Posey re-elected in CD 8

Republicans keep all four Brevard County House seats

Amy Mercado, Rene Plasencia, Carlos Smith re-elected

Rene Plasencia rakes in $23K for re-election bid in HD 50

Randy Fine pulls in $10K for final push in HD 53, leading all Brevard House candidates

Democrat Sanjay Patel launches TV ad in CD 8 contest