Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschJune 23, 2014

Dozens of state legislators earned new terms in office as Florida’s qualifying period for the 2014 election ended Friday. With qualifying week over, here are 11 takeaways for this fall’s elections: 1. Eight state senators — or nearly one-quarter of the Florida Senate — were re-elected without opposition. Nearly one-third of the members in the Florida House also earned […]

Peter SchorschJune 18, 2014

By the time whoever is chosen to serve as Speaker of the Florida House in 2020-21, there will be a new occupant of the White House and a new governor of Florida. The Sunshine State’s population is expected to be over 21 million by the time of the next census. By 2020, there will be two […]

Peter SchorschJune 9, 2014

J. Stanley Marshall, former president of Florida State University (1969-76) and founder of the James Madison Institute, died Sunday at 91. “Ol’ Stan Marshall puts his pants on one leg at time,” the barber said as he trimmed the back of my head, which may have been trembling too much for him to cut in […]

Peter SchorschJune 5, 2014

Legally speaking, the charge facing former state Rep. Chris Dorworth is no more serious than attaching an invalid license plate to a vehicle. A second-degree misdemeanor for violating Florida’s Sunshine laws is just as wrong, in the court’s eyes, as disorderly intoxication or loitering, or driving with a suspended license. Aiding and abetting an elected official in […]

Peter SchorschJune 2, 2014

Gov. Rick Scott deserves some credit for being one of the loudest critics of the Obama administration’s handling of the scandal at the Veterans Administration. Last week, Scott announced that Florida is suing the VA to grant state health inspectors access to VA hospitals. For more than a month, the Obama administration denied state health inspectors […]

Peter SchorschMay 29, 2014

At this point, there’s probably no denying that Republican incumbent Rick Scott has taken a narrow lead over his likely Democratic challenger, Charlie Crist. According to the most recent poll by SurveyUSA for Tampa Bay’s News Channel 8, Scott leads Crist with 42 percent of voter support, compared to 40 percent for Crist. Nine percent of […]

Peter SchorschMay 26, 2014

“What else could a turkey buy?” If you are talking about a whole one for Thanksgiving, you could get 35 cans of cranberry sauce instead, or maybe even four pies. But if you’re talking Florida’s state budget and the annual Florida TaxWatch Turkey Watch list, them turkeys can buy a lot more. In the just-released […]

Peter SchorschMay 8, 2014

One of the most closely watched issues of Florida’s 2014 legislative session was how to best streamline the process to allocate tax dollars to professional sports facilities. HB 7095 was passed by the Florida Legislature and allows money to be available annually for Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the North American Soccer League, NASCAR, the […]

Peter SchorschMay 4, 2014

Winner: Will Weatherford With the passage of the immigration tuition bill, Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford is the single biggest winner of the 2014 legislative session. He has completely silenced his detractors by accomplishing something few of the old silverbacks could have pulled off, and it is the capstone on the first phase of a political […]

Peter SchorschMay 1, 2014

Hi, there. My name is FCAT. Yes, I’m the test your kids have been taking in Florida schools for a while now. But before shutting me down, I ask that you hear me out. … I’m 16 years old, but in test years, that means I’m a pretty old guy now. This year it was […]

Tag: Peter Schorsch

Peter Schorsch: Qualifying for 2014 elections is over and here’s what you should know

Peter Schorsch: Here’s everything you didn’t know about the 2020-21 Speaker race

Peter Schorsch: On the death of J. Stanley Marshall: Florida has lost a giant

Peter Schorsch: Dorworth guilty of not taking advantage of chances given him

Peter Schorsch: Scott outraged by VA scandal, but unfazed by DCF cover-up

Peter Schorsch: Views on state of the state behind Scott’s narrow lead?

Peter Schorsch: Watchdog groups identifies $120 million in legislative turkeys

Peter Schorsch: Legislators avoided whether government should subsidize sports franchise owners

Peter Schorsch: The winners and losers in the 2014 legislative session

Peter Schorsch: A farewell address from the FCAT