Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschNovember 28, 2016

The number of Americans who think the nation is divided has reached an all-time high according to a new Gallup poll. The poll found 77 percent of Americans see the country as divided, while 21 percent said the country was united. In 2012, the last time Gallup measured perceptions of unity, 69 percent of respondents […]

Phil AmmannNovember 28, 2016

Late on the afternoon of Oct. 8, 1966, the Florida State University football team was trailing its archrival, the University of Florida, 19 to 22. With 26 seconds remaining, FSU quarterback Gary Pajcic threw a 45-yard pass to the visitors’ end zone. Lane Fenner, a wide receiver fresh off the bench, had outraced two Florida […]

Darryl PaulsonNovember 22, 2016

Going into the 2016 presidential election, virtually all political pundits and pollsters projected an easy victory for Hillary Clinton. Several of the most respected pollsters gave Clinton an 85 percent chance of defeating Donald Trump. Highly respected presidential scholar Larry Sabato projected that Clinton would win 347 electoral votes to Trump’s 191. As we now […]

Associated PressNovember 19, 2016

Grassroots campaigns have sprung up around the country to try to persuade members of the Electoral College to do something that has never been done in American history — deny the presidency to the clear Election Day winner. Activists are circulating online petitions and using social media in hopes of influencing Republican electors to cast […]

Mitch PerryNovember 16, 2016

Now that the shock is starting to wear off over Donald Trump’s stunning upset in the presidential election a week ago, the biggest story in national politics is what he intends to do with his enormous power and who will help him do it. That means the selection of cabinet officers, with the most high-profile […]

Mitch PerryNovember 15, 2016

Count Dan Rather as among those political commentators who describe the rise of Donald Trump as being part of the “post-truth” political era. “What I mean by that is that heretofore it’s been taken as a given and was a fact that truth counted for something,” the iconic reporter/news anchor told a packed audience last Friday night at the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront […]

Associated PressNovember 8, 2016

Did Donald Trump succeed in at last winning over college-educated whites uneasy with the billionaire reality TV star? Did he drive a wave of working-class white voters? Did Hillary Clinton rebuild Barack Obama‘s winning coalition – young voters, urban liberals and minorities – while picking off moderate Republicans? Those questions are central to who will […]

Associated PressNovember 7, 2016

Six years ago, Florida voters approved constitutional amendments with the catchy title of “Fair Districts” that promised to end the political games that surrounded drawing legislative and congressional districts. Due to expensive court battles and standoffs in the Florida Legislature, this year’s election will mark the first time the full effort to end gerrymandering will […]

Phil AmmannNovember 4, 2016

Billionaire George Soros is investing heavily in Central Florida, backing several down-ballot races with support for Democratic candidates Gray Rohrer of the Orlando Sentinel reports Soros, a well-known champion of liberal causes, spent $430,000 on United for Progress PAC for mailers and paid TV ads in a variety of races — from U.S. House to […]

Mitch PerryNovember 4, 2016

It was the Thursday night before the 2000 general election when Fox News’s Carl Cameron reported George W. Bush had been arrested in 1976 in Maine on a DWI case. It was definitely an “October surprise,” and it definitely seemed to stop Bush’s momentum in that contest — a contest in which he ultimately lost the […]

Tag: George W. Bush

Americans thinking nation is divided hits all-time high, new polling shows

Martin Dyckman: Hillary Clinton, Democrats must now live with futile victory, anachronism

Darryl Paulson: Getting schooled on the Electoral College

Donald Trump opponents try to beat him at the Electoral College

Mitch Perry Report for 11.16.16 — Who will be our next Secretary of State?

In St. Petersburg, Dan Rather says it’s ‘gut-check time’ for the press in the Trump era

In White House math, certain places offer clues on outcome

Will ‘fair districts’ in Florida lead to a fairer outcome?

George Soros Democratic support extends to down-ballot Central Florida races

Mitch Perry Report for 11.4.16 — What will be this year’s decisive October surprise?