Gwen Graham, the daughter of Florida political legend Bob Graham, is running for the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla. In an op-ed published in the Tallahassee Democrat late on Tuesday, Graham slammed both Southerland and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for voting to increase student loan rates.

Former U.S. Rep. Allen West, who has opened the door to a political comeback in 2016, continued to attack the Obama administrations handling of the Benghazi attack last September.

From his perch in the Congressional Privacy Caucus, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., pointed to a report last week that the National Security Agency (NSA) engaged in almost 2,800 illegal incidents where they obtained personal communications, and called for Congress to back major reforms.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), took aim at Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday for standing in the way of implementing President Barack Obamas health care law. On Wednesday morning, the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) fired back at Wasserman Schultz.

Responding to a constituent, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., insisted, when Congress returns to Washington in September, it will be the last chance to stop President Barack Obamas health care law. Rubio has been a vocal champion of defunding the law in recent weeks.

Former U.S. Rep. Allen West weighed in on Tuesday on a murder case in Oklahoma where three teenagers admitted they killed a college athlete from Australia because they were bored. West, who has been very active in hammering President Barack Obama and other liberals for playing up the death of Trayvon Martin while ignoring a bus beating in Pinellas County last month, demanded to know where the president and Hollywood stood on the murder in Oklahoma.

Gov. Rick Scott made his arrival at the St. Lucie lock and dam around 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, and throngs of protesters were there to greet him at the gates. Many protesters -- around 500 -- gatheredwith signs to protest water discharges from Lake Okeechobee.

The Dream Defenders may have left the Florida Capitol last week, but the battle to repeal the controversial Stand Your Ground law in Florida is far from over. Rep. Alan Williams, D-Tallahassee, filed legislation (HB 4003) Monday to repeal the law, which gathered considerable media attention after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet approved the purchase of nearly 21,000 acres of conservationland as part of a partnership between the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, The Trust for Public Land and landowner M.C. Davis after Florida was awarded $1.75 million from the U.S. Department of Defense as part of the 2013 REPI Challenge.

On Monday, Rep. Debbie Mayfield, R-Vero Beach, added her name to the growing list of supporters for state representative hopeful Blaise Ingoglia, who is running for State House District 35. HD 35 covers most of Hernando County.

On Tuesday, Gov. Rick Scott announced that PODS Enterprises is expanding its headquarters in Pinellas County, creating 40 new jobs and adding $2.1 million to the local economy.

U.S. Congressman Steve Southerland, R-Fla., met with business owners Tuesday in Tallahassee to discuss the impact of overregulation challenging small-business owners.

Lenny Curry, the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF), is having a field day with the Florida Democratic Partys support last week and retreat this week from Allie Braswell who was, for four days, running to be state CFO.

Former U.S. Rep. Allen West, a favorite of the tea party movement, slammed President Barack Obamas handling of the Middle East on Tuesday.

A majority of Americans want the U.S. to end its aid to Egypt, according to a new Pew Research Poll. The poll found 51 percent of Americans want to cut off military aid to Egypt in order to pressure the Egyptian government, while only 26 percent want to continue to provide such aid.