Gov. Rick Scott hit the national airwaves on Thursday, appearing on Fox Business Network to showcase Floridas economy and to take aim at President Barack Obamas health care law.

Republicans are pouncing on a comment made by former state CFO Alex Sink which will air Sunday on the Tampa Bay Times Political Connections. Sink is the Democratic candidate in a special election being held for an open congressional seat in Pinellas County. She faces Republican David Jolly and Libertarian Lucas Overby in the March 11 election.

Pro-casinos group Best for Florida today responded to those opposed to "a badly needed overhaul of Floridas patchwork gaming policy" reforms that would boost Floridas economy and stop the gaming creep free-for-all that has plagued the state.

No Casinos trotted out some of the biggest names in Florida politics on Thursday as it continued to fight against expanded casino gambling in the Sunshine State. The No Casinos Statesmens Council includes three governors in Democrats Bob Graham and Wayne Mixon and Republican Jeb Bush, and two U.S. senators in Graham and current U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.

Former Gov. Charlie Crist might like former Gov. Jeb Bush but he would back former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over Bush in the 2016 presidential election. Crist, the favorite for the Democratic nomination to challenge Gov. Rick Scott in November, despite spending most of his political career as a Republican, appears on Thursday nights edition of Politicking with Larry King on Ora.tv.

The polls keep coming in the special congressional election to replace the late U.S. Rep. Bill Young, R-Fla.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., continues to go to bat for U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who is running against U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., in one of the most competitive Senate races in the nation. Rubio sent out an email to supporters of his Reclaim America PAC on Thursday, urging supporters to back Cotton.

St. Pete Polls released a poll taken for Saint PetersBlog on Thursday which finds Republican David Jolly with a small lead in the special congressional election for the seat held for decades by the late U.S. Rep. Bill Young, R-Fla. Jolly leads with 46 percent while former state CFO Alex Sink, the Democrat in the race, is right behind him with 44 percent. Libertarian Lucas Overby garners 6 percent while 3 percent are still undecided.

Former U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., offered a contrast between past leaders and the current crop of politicians in an early Presidents' Day message. Despite losing to Democrat Patrick Murphy in 2012, West has opened the door to a political comeback in 2016. As we head into Presidents' Day weekend, we remember some of America's greatest leaders George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, West emailed supporters on Thursday. Unfortunately, we're also reminded of the lackluster leaders in Washington today.

A Tampa Bay Times/Bay News 9/WUSF Public Media released late on Wednesday night shows former state CFO Alex Sink out in front in the special election for an open Pinellas County congressional race. Sink, the Democrat, takes 42 percent while Republican David Jolly garners 35 percent. Libertarian Lucas Overby takes 4 percent. The poll of 603 likely voters was taken by Braun Research from Feb. 4-9 and had a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.

The Florida House of Representatives Appropriations Committee passed a series of bills Wednesday aimed at strengthening laws to protect children from sexually violent predators. It's part of the Legislatures Work Plan 2014 Protecting Floridas Vulnerable initiative. Bills included in the Houses initiative to deal with violent predators are the following:

Almost 300,000 Floridians had signed up for health insurance under theAffordable Care Actas of Feb. 1, federal officials announced on Wednesday.Nearly 3.3 million people had signed up for President Barack Obama's signature health-care plan in total. People aged 18 to 34 accounted for about a quarter of the sign-ups. The majority of sign-ups, however, came from those aged 55 to 64.

Charlie Crist will be making a pit stop in Jacksonville to promote his new book "The Party's Over," but the party has just begun for Duval County Republicans. According to an email, the Duval GOP will be hosting a "Hey Charlie Party" at the Books-A-Million to welcome Crist to Jacksonville. Anti-Charlie Crist protesters showed up in Fort Myers earlier this week where Crist kicked off his statewide book tour. Jacksonville is the third stop for Crist's nine-city book tour. Other stops are also planned for Tallahassee, Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale and St. Petersburg.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) released a new ad attacking former state CFO Alex Sink, the Democratic candidate in the special election for an open congressional seat in Pinellas County, for supporting President Barack Obamas health care law. Sink takes on Republican David Jolly and Libertarian Lucas Overby in the March 11 election.

Whatever you think of Joe Garcia, the Democratic congressman from Miami knows poison when he sees it. And Obamacare isn't a potion he wants to take him out in 2014. So -- Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz's Obamacare love letters aside -- in its latest ad, the House PAC supporting Garcia is insulating him against claims he's an Obamacare apologist. The ad doesn't even mention Garcia's most potent rival, Carlos Curbelo.