Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Danny McAuliffeFebruary 14, 2018

Frustration over the American political process has brought together strange bedfellows: two former Florida congressmen of competing parties. David Jolly, a Republican, and Patrick Murphy, a Democrat, left office in 2017. They’ve since embarked on a tour, titled “Why Gridlock Rules Washington,” to share their less-than-ideal experiences in the nation’s capital. And the duo doesn’t […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 10, 2018

Ever since he suffered a perceived slight from WTSP-Channel 10 reporter Noah Pransky during the Go Hillsborough transportation effort, Ken Hagan has given the award-winning reporter the cold shoulder. The Hillsborough County Commissioner has repeatedly said on camera that he will never respond directly to a question posed by the CBS-affiliated newsman. Hagan’s news blackout was evident Friday afternoon […]

Peter SchorschFebruary 2, 2018

Plans for a new veterans memorial near Clearwater were revealed Friday, but potential visitors will need an oxygen tank to get there. Called “Circle of Heroes,” the memorial aims to be the nation’s first underwater dive memorial and will be situated roughly 10 miles off the Pinellas County shore. The site will be about 40-feet […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 29, 2018

Freshman Democratic U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist brought in about $486,000 during the final three months of 2017, putting his re-election campaign past the $2 million mark for the year. Crist’s year-end report isn’t viewable yet on the Federal Elections Commission website, though the Crist campaign said it started 2018 with about $1.76 million in the […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 22, 2018

There’s one event for which this proud St. Petersburg native will always cross the bridge. It’s Robert and Nancy Watkins‘ party, held in conjunction with the Children’s Gasparilla Extravaganza, an alcohol-free event celebrating the pirates’ return to Tampa Bay. Gasparilla is an annual celebration that began in 1904. Held each year in late January or early February, […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 16, 2018

There’s more than a few key races heating up among Florida’s congressional seats, but for every true competitor in a 2018 battleground district there are a dozen head-scratchers who’ve mounted hopeless House campaigns. No, none of these candidates have sacrificed a goat as part of a pagan ritual, but it likely wouldn’t make their long-shot […]

Mitch PerryJanuary 8, 2018

Wengay Newton received a rebuke Monday when several high-profile St. Petersburg Democrats announced their support of Vito Sheeley, the political operative challenging the incumbent in the overwhelmingly Democratic House District 70 this year. In a joint statement, Pinellas County School Board Chair Rene Flowers, Pinellas County Commission Chair Ken Welch, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman and City Council Chair Lisa Wheeler-Bowman said they […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 7, 2018

Tampa Bay is more than a body of water — so much more. To start, an admission: I really missed writing about Tampa Bay, particularly its politics. With all that is going on in the region surrounding my beloved St. Petersburg, it was tough to resist being drawn back into the fray. And in the […]

Mitch PerryJanuary 5, 2018

David Jolly says that if the physical boundaries in Florida’s 13th Congressional District in Pinellas County were the same as they were when he won the seat twice back in 2014, he’d already be running against Charlie Crist this November. The reality is that it’s the same Democratic-leaning seat that he ended up losing to […]

Mitch PerryNovember 30, 2017

With the way U.S. congressional districts are apportioned, any representative who wins their seat by less than five points is considered to be in a swing-seat district. That makes them potentially vulnerable in a re-election bid. Other (sometimes unforeseen) variables also determine the political landscape in an electoral cycle, such as a “wave” election that […]

Tag: David Jolly

David Jolly, Patrick Murphy want change to political status quo

Ken Hagan’s feud with reporter distracted from big Rays news

First underwater veterans memorial coming to Pinellas County waters

Charlie Crist tops $2 million raised for re-election bid

Pirates got me thinking: The Gasparilla parade and Florida politics

New crop of not-ready-for-primetimers launch congressional campaigns

High-profile St. Pete Democrats now backing Vito Sheeley in contentious HD 70 primary

Not Just A Body Of Water — 1.7.18

David Jolly, pondering political run, admits progressives’ energy is ‘massive’

Larry Sabato ‘Crystal Ball’ moves Charlie Crist seat to ‘likely Democratic’