Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorAugust 26, 2016

Campaigns are the embodiment of barely controlled chaos. In conduct, and by nature, they are modern-day morality plays that feature candidates slugging it out for their political — and reputational — lives. Great theater, I suppose, but rest assured it’s the kind of mortal combat that leaves their campaign disciples reaching for Maalox, and the […]

Martin DyckmanAugust 19, 2016

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Some Republicans to whom Donald Trump is the skunk at their garden party would have you elect him president nevertheless. Mark Sanford is one. When last heard of, he was the governor of South Carolina, canoodling with a mistress in Argentina while his office pretended that he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. Now he’s a […]

Peter SchorschAugust 18, 2016

As SaintPetersBlog’s Mitch Perry first reported Wednesday afternoon, the Pinellas County Democratic Executive Committee will not accept a $531 grant it received to install native plants around its headquarters located on the outskirts of downtown St. Petersburg. The decision comes after community-wide criticism was leveled at the party for requesting taxpayer dollars to improve the grounds of a political […]

Peter SchorschAugust 10, 2016

More than 300 candidates are running for elected office in Florida, including Congress and 160 seats in the Florida House and Senate. And, try as we will, FloridaPolitics.com won’t be able to interview them all. So we are asking every candidate, including incumbents, to complete a questionnaire we believe offers an interesting, albeit thumbnail, sketch […]

Martin DyckmanAugust 10, 2016

The adage that knowledge is power proves itself nowhere more forcefully than in politics. One significant reason why the lobbyists have so much power — apart from their campaign money — is that they claim to know so much more than legislators and other policymakers do. That accounts for the explosive growth and predatory practices […]

Ryan RayMay 17, 2016

U.S Rep. David Jolly‘s quixotic “Stop Act” proposal to bar sitting members of Congress from raising money on the job may have gotten him in hot water with some in his party, but it also seems to have won him some admirers in the press. The plan at least “deserves a look,” writes Dana Milbank of the […]

Ryan RayApril 19, 2016

Congressional hopeful Mary Thomas has won the endorsement of a conservative group whose very name evokes modern-day campaign finance. Citizens United PAC – a political committee affiliated with the better-known Citzens United –weighed in the Republican primary in Florida’s 2nd Congressional District on behalf of Thomas on Tuesday. Citizens United President David Bossie said Thomas, an Indian-American and former […]

Peter SchorschMarch 30, 2016

Wealthy Florida car dealer Norman Braman is hoping to recoup his losses from backing Marco Rubio for president by doubling down on Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera‘s bid for the U.S. Senate seat Rubio is vacating. As Alex Gloriso of OpenSecrets.org writes, Braman is using every available avenue for money – traditional, unconventional, and questionable – in order to boost CLC’s chances over […]

Mitch PerryMarch 4, 2016

With the control of the U.S. Senate on the line this fall, the contest to succeed Marco Rubio as Florida’s junior senator will be one of the most watched in the nation later this year, but it certainly isn’t capturing the attention of Floridians at the moment. A Public Polling Policy survey published this week indicated […]

Associated PressFebruary 19, 2016

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An election watchdog organization filed a complaint Friday with the Federal Election Commission over a $500,000 donation to a super political action committee aiding Marco Rubio from a mystery firm headed by a New York investor. Efforts by good government groups to stem the use of shadowy corporate entities to channel large political donations have […]

Adam Goodman: ‘We, the People’ — How to fix what Congress won’t

Martin Dyckman: Supreme Court nominees no reason to elect Donald Trump

The unnecessary partisanship of St. Petersburg’s City Hall

Meet April Freeman, Democrat running for Florida’s 17th Congressional District

Martin Dyckman: When investigating payday lending, knowledge is power

David Jolly ‘speaks the truth’ on fundraising reform

Mary Thomas scores Citizens United PAC endorsement

Billionaire car dealer Norman Braman betting big-time on Carlos Lopez-Cantera

In St. Pete, Patrick Murphy is asked about his father’s financial contributions to his campaign

Watchdog group files complaint in shadowy Marco Rubio super PAC gift