Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Ryan RayFebruary 5, 2015

As Lake Worth Sen. Jeff Clemens taught us once again last week by announcing his bid for Senate Democratic leader in 2018, there’s no such thing as ‘too soon’ in the term-limited game theory of the Florida Legislature. In that spirit, Republican state Sen. Tom Lee has filed to run for his Hillsborough County-based District 24 seat […]

Associated PressJanuary 12, 2015

Jeb Bush called himself a “head-banging conservative” back in 1994 when he ran for governor of Florida on a promise to “club this government into submission.” He lost. Four years later, the Republican returned as a compassionate voice for education reform and society’s have-nots. He won. It’s a lesson that still shapes Bush’s approach to […]

Martin DyckmanNovember 17, 2014

Nearly 70 years ago, when the Florida Democratic Party was a monopoly, the political scientist V. O. Key Jr., saw a problem that haunts it to the present day. In Florida, he wrote, it was “every man for himself.” Individual candidates built their own organizations, which dissolved when they left office or gave up running. […]

Bob SparksNovember 11, 2014

On Nov. 4, Florida Republicans joined with their counterparts around the country to celebrate a number of big victories. The next day, a group of Republicans gathered in Orange Park to lament a tremendous loss. We were there to remember the man many believe was the architect and general contractor who laid the foundation for […]

Adam WeinsteinNovember 6, 2014

In 1994, at the height of the nationwide electoral wave against Bill Clinton — a force so great and enduring it would be remembered as “the Republican revolution” — there was one bright spot for Democrats: They held on to the Florida Governor’s Mansion. Lawton Chiles, a self-described cracker and populist, fought off a challenge […]

Martin DyckmanNovember 3, 2014

The strengths of Tom Slade, the former Florida Republican chairman who died Oct. 20, included a talent for recruiting good candidates for offices the party had not won before. Comptroller Bob Milligan and Education Commissioner Frank Brogan were two of them. But this story, untold until now, is about a big one that got away. […]

Martin DyckmanSeptember 28, 2014

“If the law says that,” said Mr. Bumble, “the law is a ass, a idiot.” — Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist Florida’s First District Court of Appeal sits in splendid isolation in a Tallahassee suburb, five and a half miles from the Capitol, housed in a magnificent edifice nicknamed the Taj Mahal for the $50 million […]

Guest AuthorSeptember 25, 2014

In September predicting the outcome of a major election like the governor’s race in Florida is premature, to say the least. With the election more than six weeks away, there is still plenty of time for events, both planned and unplanned, to significantly affect the outcome. Every campaign fears the dreaded October Surprise. Often it […]

Martin DyckmanSeptember 18, 2014

Voters across Florida cast ballots in November 2000 to say whether they wanted to continue electing most of their circuit and county court judges or would let the governor appoint them. Election was the overwhelming favorite everywhere. In Duval, Nassau and Clay counties, which comprise the Fourth Circuit, it was the choice of 69.3 percent […]

Guest AuthorAugust 14, 2014

Not a word has been uttered. Not a campaign ad has been created. Not a single news story has been written. Yet, this will be one of the most important decisions the next Florida governor will make – and it only happens every 20 years. And Democrats, in particular, should be very worried. Either Republican […]

Tag: Lawton Chiles

Tom Lee gears up for 2018 re-election campaign

Eyeing 2016, Jeb Bush applies old lesson from Florida run

Martin Dyckman: Fla. Democrats need to find a message with a broad appeal

Bob Sparks: Tom Slade laid the foundation for today’s GOP dominance

Adam Weinstein: The three big reasons Florida Democrats still can’t elect a governor

Martin Dyckman: It’s a shame the Democrats didn’t have Tom Slade working for them

Martin Dyckman: Fla. Supreme Court must restore common sense in election dispute

Jeff Kottkamp: In a close governor’s race, watch out for an ‘October Surprise’

Martin Dyckman: How the First District Court of Appeal ignored Florida voters

Brian E. Crowley: Makeup of next Constitutional Revision Commission should worry Democrats