Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschOctober 24, 2016

President Barack Obama, capitalizing on high approval numbers, is endorsing dozens of state legislative candidates throughout the country, part of a significant push in the effort to flip swing districts in down-ballot races throughout Florida and across the country. The roll call now includes support for Charlie Crist in Florida’s 13th Congressional District, Rod Smith in state Senate District 8, Bob Buesing in […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterOctober 21, 2016

President Barack Obama is throwing his support behind more than a dozen Democratic legislative hopefuls. The Florida Democratic Party announced Friday the president endorsed 13 Democrats running for state House and Senate. The endorsements come just 18 days before the Nov. 8 general election, and are likely meant to boost Democratic turnout. “No state is […]

Mitch PerryOctober 21, 2016

Forget about Marco Rubio in 2020, what about Rick Scott? Troy Kinsey from Bay News 9 reports that “some GOP operatives are floating him as a potential presidential contender in 2020, should Trump lose in November.” Kinsey then quotes all of one lone such operative in his story. But it does make for a good headline. Now, what about Marco Rubio? The […]

Mitch PerryOctober 17, 2016

Emergency room physician Jim Davison leads in a new poll of the Tampa City Council District 7 race, but the majority of those surveyed say they aren’t sure who they will be voting for yet in the Nov. 8 election. The survey comes from St.Pete Polls, an automatic robocall pollster, which interviewed 402 voters in the district from Oct. 14 […]

Peter SchorschOctober 14, 2016

Let’s put aside for a moment the argument about whether newspaper endorsements matter much in modern campaigns. Even if not a single likely voter was swayed by the opinions of editorial boards, the endorsements still matter because they matter to the candidates themselves. That’s why you see even the most Republican of candidates — with their […]

Mitch PerryOctober 13, 2016

A St. Pete Polls survey released this morning shows Republican Dana Young with a six-point lead over her Democratic challenger, Bob Buesing, 38 percent to 32 percent. Independent candidate Joe Redner is in third place with 16 percent. Sheldon Upthegrove is at 3 percent, and 11 percent are undecided. A survey taken earlier this summer […]

Mitch PerryOctober 12, 2016

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House District 63 Democratic candidate Lisa Montelione is up on the air with a television ad, and it’s a little more unconventional than what you’re used to seeing. The ad begins with what is described by the narrator as a “commercial film set,” where we quickly meet the director, cameraman, as well as a technical crew — but no actual […]

Peter SchorschOctober 3, 2016

Hello, October. This is the final full month of the 2016 campaign cycle. In five weeks, we will know so much more about the future of the country, the state and our communities. But, no matter what, life will go on. For those in “The Process” — Florida Politics’ term for the unending legislative campaign/legislative session […]

Jim RosicaOctober 1, 2016

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La Gaceta, Tampa’s trilingual weekly newspaper, has endorsed incumbent Shawn Harrison in the state House District 63 race. Harrison, a one-term Republican, faces Democrat Lisa Montelione in the November general election. The area, which includes New Tampa, has been a swing district. An editorial in the newspaper — publishing articles in English, Spanish and Italian — said that “normally, […]

Mitch PerrySeptember 19, 2016

Last night in Los Angeles, one of the big winners at the Emmy Awards was the FX production of “The People vs. O.J. Simpson.” Though most of the American public was quite familiar with the O.J. saga that unfolded in 1994-1995, the series was compelling, must-see drama (too bad John Travolta’s positively weird performance as Robert Shapiro didn’t […]

Tag: Lisa Montelione
Mike Johnson. Image via AP.

I’m just gonna leave this right here: Why didn’t President Obama endorse Dwight Bullard?

Barack Obama endorses 13 Democrats running for state House and Senate

Mitch Perry Report for 10.21.16 — Rick Scott in 2020?

New poll shows Jim Davison leading Tampa City Council District 7 race

11 things I think I think about the Tampa Bay Times’ endorsements in state House races

Mitch Perry Report for 10.13.15 — Hillsborough Dems in denial about the Joe Redner factor in SD 18 race?

Lisa Montelione ghosts her own TV ad

Here’s where stuff stands in Tampa Bay politics — the ‘it’s October’ edition

La Gaceta endorses Shawn Harrison for HD 63

Mitch Perry Report for 9.19.16 — Jeffrey Toobin’s book on Patty Hearst is another American true-crime classic