Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Bob SparksMarch 3, 2015

Florida’s most conservative Republican governor in history was about to speak before last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, MD. Despite a record few Republicans in any state could match, his appearance before a room full of conservatives was considered a road game. Between 2007 and 2015, he fell from grace among […]

Ryan RayFebruary 26, 2015

If you believe the most recent rumblings, Marco Rubio has decided to take his chances and make a run for the White House, damn the torpedoes — and Jeb Bush. Though early polls have Bush and Scott Walker way out in front of him, recent history shows that an exciting, up-and-coming U.S. Senator with a […]

Ryan RayFebruary 26, 2015

If you believe the most recent rumblings, Marco Rubio has decided to take his chances and make a run for the White House, damn the torpedoes — and Jeb Bush. Though early polls have Bush and Scott Walker way out in front of him, recent history shows that an exciting, up-and-coming U.S. Senator with a […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 25, 2015

CPAC, the annual winter confab held, begins Thursday in Washington, and American Bridge 21st Century is psyched. The liberal super PAC conducts opposition research to help out Democratic candidates and their organizations (we saw one of their cameramen in Sarasota to film the Rand Paul speech earlier this month). With some very slick editing, they’ve […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 16, 2015

On Valentine’s Day, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor used the occasion to advocate that the best present to give a loved one was to make sure they signed up for the Affordable Care Act, since the the deadline for enrollment expired Sunday night. “If you were to ask me what would be the best […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 15, 2015

Although some pundits say that Jeb Bush is the front-runner for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, a trio of new NBC News/Marist polls show in fact that the field is wide open in the early nominating states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. However, the only two candidates with poll numbers in the double […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 14, 2015

It hasn’t been a great February for Rand Paul, but the GOP presidential candidate bypassed any mention of vaccines or his (lack of) college degrees in a speech in Sarasota on Saturday afternoon, and instead went after Hillary Clinton. Speaking inside an airplane hanger at Dolphin Aviation, the Kentucky Senator spent a solid chunk of his 20-minute address blasting the former […]

Peter SchorschFebruary 12, 2015

I admit it, I fell for it hook, line and sinker. But so, too, did Marc Caputo of Politico and Adam Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. The con? That U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio has developed an elaborate fall-back plan to run for Florida governor in 2018 if he a) runs for president and does not win or b) chooses […]

Ryan RayFebruary 11, 2015

The 2016 Republican presidential pre-primary hasn’t exactly been the most genteel affair, with Rand Paul and Marco Rubio trading barbs over Cuba and Mitt Romney experiencing a brief flash of rigor mortis before our eyes, but Jeb Bush has so far seen fit to show more velvet glove than iron fist, writes Michael C. Bender […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 10, 2015

A new series of polls taken in the first four states to hold GOP presidential primaries next year shows that although Jeb Bush maintains a small lead in New Hampshire, he cannot be declared the front runner at this early juncture. Although there is no consensus leader, unquestionably the man with the momentum now is […]

Tag: Rand Paul
Golf ball and golf club in bag on green grass

Bob Sparks: Jeb Bush earns a respectable passing grade at CPAC

Known unknowns: Marco Rubio’s unanswerable dilemma

Known unknowns: Marco Rubio's unanswerable dilemma

On the eve of CPAC, American Bridge 21st Century has fun with GOP prez candidates

Mitch Perry Report for 2.16.15 — Deadline for Obamacare sign-up has expired. Or has it?

New NBC News polls shows no clear front-runner in early states

Rand Paul savages Hillary Clinton in speech in Sarasota

Peter Schorsch: Rubio for governor? That's a wolf ticket

Jeb Bush largely above GOP primary fray, but for how long?

Scott Walker shoots ahead of Jeb Bush in 3 of 4 early primary/caucus states