Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschFebruary 9, 2018

In 2015, A.G. Gancarski coined a phrase: “Drive the narrative, or it drives you.” It came as a response to Alvin Brown’s failure to message efficiently in his mayoral election loss to current Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry. This axiom applies to politics up and down the ballot, from city council races to the presidency. Someone […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 8, 2018

If Rick Scott does run for the U.S. Senate this year, Florida’s rising economy will provide a critical talking point for his campaign. But one question might be: how much credit does he deserve? Well, all of it, at least according to Attorney General and fellow Republican Pam Bondi. Scott and Bondi, were joined Thursday by […]

Peter SchorschFebruary 8, 2018

Contrary to two other polls released earlier this week, a new survey from the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economic Polling Initiative gives Gov. Rick Scott a 10-point lead over Bill Nelson in a hypothetical contest for Nelson’s U.S. Senate seat. Although Scott has not officially declared his candidacy, the latest poll pegs the race […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 8, 2018

Screen-Shot-2018-02-08-at-10.32.44-AM.png

After losing a bid for re-election in fall 2016, Mark Ober‘s career as Hillsborough County’s State Attorney didn’t end on his terms. So during a Florida Cabinet meeting Thursday in Tampa, Ober took the opportunity to deliver a valedictory speech he was denied a year and a half earlier. “I am absolutely overwhelmed to be in your […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 8, 2018

Arguably the greatest evidence of a disconnect between Gov. Rick Scott‘s administration and the Florida Legislature can be found in the state’s medical marijuana program. Tensions boiled over Monday in the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee, which ensures that agencies write rules that line up with statutes passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor. Committee chair Kevin Rader, a […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 7, 2018

Speaking to a Tampa audience about the opioid crisis, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said those reaching for such drugs should “switch to aspirin.” “I am operating on the assumption that this country prescribes too many opioids,” the nation’s top cop said Wednesday during a visit to the downtown Tampa office of the U.S. Attorney for the Middle […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 7, 2018

Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, a Fort Myers Republican who chairs the Rules Committee, shepherded her bill designed to curb opioid abuse through that panel Wednesday. SB 8 calls for a three-day prescription limit for acute pain, with a seven-day limit allowed in cases of medical necessity. The House version (HB 21) still has a committee stop; Rules was […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 7, 2018

Florida’s next governor will be someone who knows the state the best, Adam Putnam said during a campaign appearance Wednesday in Southwest St. Petersburg. As the presumptive favorite for the GOP gubernatorial nomination this year, Putnam met with veterans and other supporters at the Veterans Art Center Tampa Bay, a nonprofit that provides economic and therapeutic support […]

Ana CeballosFebruary 7, 2018

As the Senate motored through a long list of budget amendments on Wednesday, a proposal to boost funding to deal with the mounting clemency case backlog was tossed. Sen. Darryl Rouson, a Pinellas County Democrat, withdrew his own amendment, which would have given the Florida Commission on Offender Review $500,000 in ongoing state funds to […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 7, 2018

Senate Minority Leader-Designate Audrey Gibson, a Jacksonville Democrat, extensively questioned Gov. Rick Scott‘s job growth fund Wednesday on the Senate floor. The Governor and Republican lawmakers want to see another $85 million appropriated to the fund in the next budget. Gibson’s hard stand against the spend is notable, as Scott chose Jacksonville on Wednesday to message on the […]

Tag: Rick Scott
Image via LinkedIn.

Jacksonville Bold for 2.9.18 — Drive, or be driven

Pam Bondi says Rick Scott deserves lion’s share of credit for Florida’s economic growth

Outlier? New poll shows Rick Scott up ten points over Bill Nelson

Florida Cabinet recognizes Mark Ober, David Gee in Tampa

Rick Scott: Department of Health doing ‘everything it can’ on medical marijuana

Visiting Tampa, Jeff Sessions says opioid addicts should ‘tough it out,’ take aspirin

Three-day opioid prescription limit ready for Senate floor

Adam Putnam blasts Ron DeSantis campaign as ‘Washington-centric’

Senator’s proposal to boost funding for clemency case backlog withdrawn

Audrey Gibson questions job growth fund after big Jacksonville spend