Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryApril 11, 2017

In declaring his candidacy early for the Tampa-based House District 62 seat, Carlos Frontela already demonstrates he’s learned from rookie mistakes made last year in his bid for the Hillsborough County School Board. “I jumped in really late, two months before the primary,” he says, reminiscing about his ill-fated run for the District 7 seat ultimately […]

Joe HendersonApril 11, 2017

Florida Democrats have become such a non-factor in state politics that the real drama frequently becomes which faction of the Republican party will prevail on a given issue. Think about it. We have had knockdown, drag-outs between the GOP-controlled House and Senate. This year the main event has been the ongoing feud between Republican Gov. […]

Mitch PerryApril 10, 2017

With less than a month to go for the Florida Legislature Regular Session, several major issues remain unresolved. No issue is more entertaining — on a purely political basis — than the debate among Republicans on the viability of Enterprise Florida. That’s the public-private partnership between Florida’s business and government leaders where recent records show has […]

Jim RosicaApril 6, 2017

At halftime in this year’s Legislative Session, House Speaker Richard Corcoran sounds like he’s getting a bit fatigued with questions about “transparency.” At a media availability on Thursday, the Land O’ Lakes Republican pushed back against a reporter’s question about special interests who draft bills, and whether leadership pressures committee chairs to hear those bills. “All I […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterApril 5, 2017

Jack Latvala raised more than $250,000 in the first week of March, much of which was raised in a single day. Florida Leadership Committee, the Clearwater Republican’s political committee, raised at least $252,160 between March 1 and March 6, according to contribution data posted to the committee’s website. The committee received about $244,600 of that […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterApril 5, 2017

Adam Putnam is poised to have another record fundraising month, laying the groundwork for his likely 2018 gubernatorial run. Florida Grown, the political committee that will fuel Putnam’s likely 2018 run, raised at least $872,841 in March, according to contribution data posted on the committee’s website. That sum is expected to rise to nearly $1.1 […]

Staff ReportsApril 3, 2017

If the results of a new poll are any indication, Floridians just aren’t that interested the 2018 gubernatorial election. The survey — conducted March 28 through March 29 by Gravis Marketing for The Orlando Political Observer — found 36 percent of Democratic voters and 63 percent of Republicans said they were uncertain who they would […]

Mitch PerryApril 3, 2017

In Tampa, Florida Democratic Party Chair Stephen Bittel waxed optimistically last month about the Democrats’ chance of winning back the state Senate in 2020. Notably, he didn’t say anything about the House, where Republicans outnumber Democrats, 79-41. Tampa Rep. Janet Cruz, serving the first year of a two-year stint as Minority Leader and four weeks into the 2017 Session, admits […]

Gary FineoutApril 2, 2017

With about a month left in the regular session, Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature is on a major collision course over spending. This past week the House and Senate released rival budgets for the coming year that reveal a wide divide between the two chambers on everything from taxes to schools to state worker pay raises. The […]

Jim RosicaApril 2, 2017

Ed. Note: A version of this story ran previously in Saturday’s “Takeaways from Tallahassee” email. It’s long been a Capitol cliché, but there are few pronouncements on a piece of legislation as inauspicious as calling something “a heavy lift.” Saying a bill is “a heavy, heavy lift” sounds even more portending of defeat. Yet that’s how […]

Tag: Richard Corcoran
A sign that reads, Gaza Solidarity Encampment, is seen during the Pro-Palestinians protest at the Columbia University campus in New York, Monday April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Carlos Frontela chastened by 2016 mistakes, is fired up for House District 62 bid

Joe Henderson: Democrats may finally get the message that they need, well, a message

St. Petersburg officials make the case for Enterprise Florida

House Speaker Richard Corcoran: The press corps’ enabler

Jack Latvala raises more than $244K on eve of 2017 Legislative Session

Adam Putnam political committee brings in big bucks in March

Poll shows Floridians undecided on 2018 gubernatorial options

Janet Cruz’s ‘tough haul,’ frustrations of the Democratic House caucus

Divided over dollars: Florida legislators split on spending

Black clouds loom over this year’s gambling bills