On Thursday, Rep. Jake Raburn, R-Valrico, became the 11th state legislator to back Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) Vice Chair Blaise Ingoglias bid for the Florida House. "Blaise Ingoglia has been a leader in Hernando and throughout our state advocating for lower taxes, less government, more personal responsibility and personal freedom," Raburn said in a statement on Thursday. "I also appreciate Blaise's strong commitment to strengthening Florida's education system, so each and every child has an opportunity to succeed.

Commissioner of Education Tony Bennett is expected to resign Thursday from his position after he cameunder fire for changing the grades of a charter school in his home state of Indiana that was run by Christel DeHaan, a big time Republican Party donor. He has only held the position as commissioner of education since last January.

With Floridians getting ready for the sales tax holiday on back-to-school shopping starting Friday, Dominic Calabro, the president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch, said the state can miss out on the revenue due to the Legislature being fiscally responsible

Rep. Mike Hill, R-Pensacola, is speaking out on the comments Rev. Jesse Jackson has made about the state of Florida. Hill, who has joined various other lawmakers and even Gov. Rick Scott himself, is calling Jackson out for his comments where he called Florida an "apartheid state" and likened Scott to famous segregationist George Wallace. Hill's statement read:

With the House Armed Services Committee getting a classified briefing on Wednesday on the attack that killed four Americans in Benghazi, U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., called for a congressional investigation of how the Obama administration handled it.

The gloves are coming off as Republicans start to position for the 2016 presidential race. On Wednesday, the Campaign for Liberty, chaired by former Congressman Ron Paul, attacked U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for voting to supply foreign aid to Egypt. Pauls son -- U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. -- and Rubio are both top contenders for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. The Campaign for Liberty sent out a statement on Wednesday attacking Rubio:

Democrats are calling for Commissioner of Education Tony Bennett's resignation after AP reported that Bennett had changed a charter school's grade in Indiana from a "C" to an "A." Media outlets have described the grade change as politically motivated due to the fact that the founder of the charter school in question, Christel DeHaan, is a big time GOP donor who has contributed over $2 million to Republican candidates and has given $130,000 to Bennett's campaign alone.

With Jesse Jackson going all out to attack Florida as an apartheid state as he calls for the Sunshine State to repeal the Stand Your Ground law, Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) Chairman Lenny Curry is taking Democrats to task in the Sunshine State for allying with him. Curry cited an anti-Semitic comment Jackson made during his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination about New York in a statement released on Wednesday afternoon.

Rep. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, drew a Republican opponent on Wednesday as business owner Mo Pearson announced he was running for the seat, which represents parts of Orange County, as a Republican. Stewart beat Bob Brooks for the open seat in November. Pearson founded 3E Consultants, an ecological services consulting firm. He has been active in the community, serving on numerous civic and business boards.

Gov. Rick Scott fired back at Jesse Jackson who had called Florida an apartheid state and the Selma of our times and demanded an apology. Jesse Jackson owes every Floridian an apology for his reckless and divisive comments, Scott said. It is unfortunate that he would come to Florida to insult Floridians and divide our state at a time when we are striving for unity and healing. Floridians are a strong, resilient people. We are fortunate to live in a great state where all Floridians enjoy opportunities to get a great job and a world-class education.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.. has introduced an amendment to a Senate transportation funding bill that would essentially end military aid to Egypt, and other members of the Senate are speaking out. Paul's amendment would redirect the money to domestic infrastructure projects rather than providing it to Egypt, which has been mired with controversy and unrest since the overthrow of democratically-elected leader Mohamed Morsi earlier this month.

Finally, movement on the University of South Florida's request to begin the exhumation of remains at the site of the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna. The Florida board of trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund has on its calendar for Aug. 6 a vote on a joint land-use agreement with the Department of Environmental Protection to permit the excavation of human remains on the Dozier property.

U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is expressing his thoughts on some of the lead actors on Floridas political stage.

Gov. Rick Scott headed to Palm Beach Wednesday, breaking ground at Galaxy Aviation's newest facility at the Palm Beach International Airport.The new facility expands Galaxy Aviation's 1 million square feet of space currently occupied at the airport, and is expected to create 200 new jobs.

Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, announced on Wednesday that he would be creating a new select committee of Health Care Workforce Innovation. Rep. Jose Oliva, R-Hialeah, who is scheduled to become House speaker after the 2018 elections, will chair the new committee. Freshman Rep. Cary Pigman, R-Sebring, who is an emergency-room physician, will be the vice chairman.