Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiOctober 21, 2016

“Families for Safety and Prosperity,” the state political committee organized to sell the Jacksonville referendum allowing slots at the bestbet location near Regency Mall, had a very good week between Oct. 8 and 14. A million-dollar week, to be exact. The pro-slots committee raised $1 million with two $500,000 checks from Jacksonville Greyhound Racing on Oct. 11 and […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 12, 2016

Some things don’t change in Jacksonville. Just as was the case before August’s County Referendum 1, an overwhelmingly approved vote that allows the city to extend a current half-cent sales tax to address the unfunded pension liability, there is a November County Referendum 1 also. The first mailer selling the slots vote looks just like the […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 31, 2016

The northeast Florida primaries have been in the books for almost 24 hours at this writing. A review of the winners — and the losers — goes beyond the election returns to look at what happened to create these outcomes that will, in historical retrospect, seem inevitable. Winners Lenny Curry — The chattering classes told him he couldn’t get […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 24, 2016

What if someone called a press conference and Jacksonville City Council “public comment” broke out? That was the scene Wednesday as a half-dozen opponents of County Referendum 1 — the so-called “pension tax” vote, which would extend a current half-cent sales tax past its current sunset date in 2030 and devote it to the $2.85 billion […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 22, 2016

Who’s the real Hans Tanzler? A political committee contends than Tanzler is no conservative. The evidence? Insider deals. Political contributions to Democrats and Charlie Crist. A high-priced lawyer play acting as a cowboy. These are the charges the latest salvo from “Conservatives United,” a committee backing John Rutherford in the race for the GOP nomination in Florida’s 4th […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 1, 2016

Incumbent State Attorney Angela Corey may be 26 points down in a recent poll, but she’s still fundraising like she’s ahead. Corey largely closed the hard money gap with challenger Melissa Nelson in the most recent reporting period, though Corey’s PAC is still far behind Nelson’s in terms of resources. The $24,750 in contributions raised during the […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 26, 2016

In the latest bizarre story from the 4th Circuit State Attorney race, Wes White is calling for a grand jury investigation of the Melissa Nelson campaign, based on a meeting where he says that Nelson’s camp was trying to intimidate him from running. State Attorney Angela Corey, meanwhile, is asking for this to be moved to a different […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 21, 2016

A radio ad in the Jacksonville market from 4th Congressional District candidate Hans Tanzler led to an interesting exchange of views between operatives for Tanzler and the other serious candidate in the CD 4 race, John Rutherford, this week. One line in Tanzler’s ad was of particular interest: “Politicians love to talk about creating jobs, but I’m not […]

Lloyd DunkelbergerJuly 11, 2016

State Rep. Mike Hill is launching his first television ad this week, emphasizing his military background. Hill, a Pensacola Beach insurance agent, is facing state Rep. Doug Broxson of Gulf Breeze in the Aug. 30 Republican primary for Senate District 1, which includes all of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties and a portion of Okaloosa. […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 6, 2016

On the same morning a UNF poll showed Melissa Nelson leading Angela Corey by 10 points, the Corey campaign did two things. First was a barrage of tweets spotlighting bad calls UNF’s polls had made in the past, including in Rick Scott‘s re-election, Lenny Curry and Mike Williams‘ races in 2015, and Amendment 2 in 2014. The second thing they did was push a […]

Tag: Brian Hughes
Jonathan Dickinson State Park. Image via Visit Florida.

$1M week of fundraising for Jacksonville slots committee

Pro-slots political committee gears up in Jacksonville

A rundown of the winners and losers from northeast Florida’s primary elections

Jax pension tax opposition limps to campaign finish

‘Conservatives United’ says Hans Tanzler is a ‘liberal insider’

Angela Corey shows fundraising strength, but Melissa Nelson still ahead

Wes White calls for grand jury investigation of Melissa Nelson campaign

Hans Tanzler, John Rutherford ops trade barbs about government jobs

Mike Hill drops first TV spot in SD 1 race

In response to recent polls, Angela Corey pushes a month-old survey showing her ahead