Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschMay 9, 2016

For an entire eight days — EIGHT DAYS — local Democrats had their sh*t together. On April 25, state Rep. Dwight Dudley announces he will not seek re-election. Hours later, the well-liked Ben Diamond announces his candidacy for Dudley’s seat along with the endorsements of almost all of Pinellas’ Democratic elected officials. The seamless transition […]

Mitch PerryMay 3, 2016

Reading the writing on the wall – also known as the polls – Florida Congressional District 13 Democratic candidate Eric Lynn is jettisoning his race for Congress, and has announced he will run in the state House District 68 seat in Pinellas County recently vacated last week by Dwight Dudley. “Today begins a fresh start in a new […]

Mitch PerryApril 25, 2016

St. Petersburg based attorney Ben Diamond will run as a Democrat for the now open House District 68 seat later this year. In what appears to be a coordinated effort, Diamond made his announcement just hours after incumbent Dwight Dudley announced publicly that he would not run for the seat he has held since 2012. “I have long been […]

Mitch PerryMarch 30, 2016

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With great fanfare last week, Republican Party of Florida Chairman Blaise Ingoglia proudly boasted that seven counties have switched from majority Democratic to majority Republican in 2016. “I have always maintained that a strong Republican party with a strong grassroots infrastructure is the key to winning elections,” Ingoglia said in a prepared statement. “We remain […]

Mitch PerryDecember 30, 2015

Amid a chaotic 2015 legislative session regarding the redistricting of congressional and legislative districts, Tampa Democratic state Sen. Arthenia Joyner has filed legislation to create an independent commission to deal with the issue every ten years. Joyner’s bill (SB 1252) calls for a constitutional amendment that would create a commission to consist of 12 members. There would be […]

Mitch PerryJuly 9, 2015

The already intriguing congressional race in Florida’s 13th District currently occupied by Republican David Jolly became even more so on Thursday, after the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the Legislature must redraw the district for being out of compliance with the Fair Districts constitutional amendments. The Court ruled that eight districts in all must be redistricted, including […]

Mitch PerryJune 28, 2015

Until last week, Democrat Eric Lynn had keep an extremely low-profile since announcing this spring that he was aiming to defeat David Jolly in the CD 13 contest in 2016. Sources close to the 36-year-old former Defense Department adviser under President Barack Obama said he was initially intent on establishing his bona fides as a serious candidate by […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorMay 5, 2015

Pinellas County Commissioners Tuesday approved moving forward with a plan that would allocate funding to some of St. Petersburg’s most impoverished areas. The city is prepared to reduce the amount of monetary contributions from Pinellas County into an already established Tax Incremental Fund by nearly $6.3 million to make that happen. Under a proposed deal […]

Mitch PerryApril 15, 2015

Although David Jolly has now publicly stated that he won’t make an official decision about leaving his congressional seat to run for the U.S. Senate until the Fourth of July holiday, you can bet he and his advisers are weighing the pros and cons of such a decision right now. One of his calculations simply has to […]

Mitch PerryApril 7, 2015

First today — condolences to the friends and family of former Fox-13 reporter Warren Elly, who died yesterday of adrenal cortical carcinoma, an extremely rare form of cancer. He was only 64. It’s a big blow to the Tampa Bay area, where he contributed so much with his journalism and his friendship and his tutoring […]

Tag: Charlie Justice

Here’s where sh*t stands — the ‘Democrats can’t keep it together’ edition

Charlie Crist to D.C.? Eric Lynn out of running for CD 13, into HD 68

Ben Diamond to run for Dwight Dudley’s seat in Florida House

Pinellas County Democratic chairwoman thinks D’s can pick up legislative seats this year

Arthenia Joyner files bill to create independent redistricting commission

Florida Supreme Court ruling will affect David Jolly’s CD 13 seat

Eric Lynn off to hot start in Democratic CD 13 primary contest

Proposed county funding for Community Redevelopment reduced by more than $6 million

How CD 13 race might shake out if David Jolly runs for U.S. Senate

Mitch Perry Report for 4.7.15 — John Travolta finally comments on “Going Clear”