Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryNovember 30, 2017

Like his father, state Rep. Chris Latvala of Clearwater is a proud Republican who doesn’t always toe the GOP line – a contrarian streak which sometimes gets him into trouble. Not that Latvala, son of longtime state Sen. Jack Latvala, is that worried about that perception. “My grade with the NRA is a ‘D.’ And I’m proud of […]

Peter SchorschNovember 28, 2017

A word of warning for Florida Democrats in 2018; be cautious about eyeing Pinellas County Sen. Jeff Brandes’ District 24 seat. After the somewhat surprising success of Rick Kriseman, who edged out former mayor Rick Baker, Florida Democrats are starting to think a “blue wave” will give them a legitimate shot at Brandes, the incumbent […]

Peter SchorschNovember 16, 2017

Gubernatorial candidates raised big bucks last month, none more so than Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam who added $1.2 million between his campaign and committee accounts. Putnam raised $571,932 of that sum through his campaign account and another $616,235 through his political committee, Florida Grown. The former congressman and state lawmaker spent a combined $466,801 from […]

Mitch PerryNovember 7, 2017

Unlike the August 29 primary, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman went into the general election as the favorite against former Mayor Rick Baker. But margins were slim. Much to the consternation of Baker (and his supporters), early returns of the evening — which included early vote/vote-by-mail — gave Kriseman an advantage of two percentage points, a margin […]

Peter SchorschNovember 7, 2017

Florida Democrats are more fired up than ever. A little more than a month ago, Florida Democrats scored a historic victory in the special election for Senate District 40. In a low turnout election, Democrat Annette Taddeo flipped a competitive state Senate seat from red to blue, defeating the well-funded Republican, Jose Felix Diaz. Re-electing Mayor Rick […]

Phil AmmannNovember 7, 2017

PICCOLO-BAKER-KRISEMAN-6.29.17-5-3500x1294.jpg

One of the most contentious, and expensive, mayoral races in St. Petersburg history — christened the “battle of the Ricks” — is finally over. And, as expected, it was a close race; first-term incumbent Mayor Rick Kriseman narrowly defeated former two-term Mayor Rick Baker 51.55 to 48.45 percent. St. Pete voters cast ballots Tuesday to determine […]

Mitch PerryNovember 7, 2017

Since launching his re-election bid this spring, Rick Kriseman‘s political strategy was a call to keep the city’s forward momentum by keeping him in charge, as opposed to going back to the past with Rick Baker, who served as St. Petersburg mayor during most of the aughts. As for Baker, the former mayor made the race a referendum on Kriseman, […]

Mitch PerryNovember 6, 2017

Though rarely (if ever) in agreement with Donald Trump, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman did echo some of the president’s first comments Monday about America’s latest mass shooting. “It’s not about taking people’s rights under the Second Amendment away but making sure that we keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have […]

Mitch PerryNovember 6, 2017

If Rick Kriseman ends up surviving Rick Baker‘s formidable challenge to be re-elected Tuesday for another four years as St. Petersburg mayor, it will be despite the intense hammering he received at the hands of the Tampa Bay Times editorial page. The Times recommended Baker in advance of both the Aug. 29 primary and the […]

Mitch PerryNovember 4, 2017

Rick Baker will take endorsements from a squad of ex-mayors over those from out-of-town politicos. The comments from the former two-term mayor came after Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum was the latest prominent Democrat to stump for incumbent Rick Kriseman during the final weekend of the city’s mayoral race. “I honestly don’t think that’s going to help him,” Baker told reporters […]

Tag: Rick Baker

Chris Latvala goes to class

A warning for Democrats eyeing Jeff Brandes’ SD 24 seat in 2018

Adam Putnam widened fundraising lead in October, while Phil Levine made a splash

Bedlam at Rick Kriseman election watch party; bitterness at Rick Baker’s

Democrats across Florida congratulate Rick Kriseman on his re-election

‘Battle of Ricks’ ends; Rick Kriseman narrowly re-elected as St. Pete mayor

Rick Baker faults Rick Kriseman for partisan politics in St. Pete elections

Rick Kriseman talks lack of mental health funding after Texas church massacre

Rick Baker thinks media coverage of the race was fair. Rick Kriseman? Not so much

Rick Baker says his local endorsements are better than Rick Kriseman’s out-of-towners