Jorge Bonilla, a Navy veteran who also served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, announced on Monday that he is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla. Bonilla, a court interpreter, is hoping his Puerto Rican heritage will help win over the growing population of Puerto Ricans in Central Florida.

A poll from Quinnipiac University finds Booker far ahead of his Democratic rivals. With 53 percent, Booker crushed two congressmen -- Rush Holt and Frank Pallone -- while 23 percent are undecided. Holt takes 10 percent and Pallone garners 9 percent. The poll was taken before New Jersey state Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver jumped in the race.

On Monday, Gov. Rick Scott announced that GardaWorld Cash Services has employed more than 500 Floridians in the two years since moving its American headquarters from California to Boca Ration.

Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio continues to insist that if more border security is not added as part of his immigration reform bill, he would be open to voting against the measure he has publicly championed. Appearing on Univision on Sunday, Rubio offered his thoughts on the bill.

Most American voters -- more than half -- are opposed to the governments secret collection of phone records, according to a new Rasmussen Reports poll released Sunday. Just last week, it was revealed that the National Security Administration had collected the phone records of millions of Verizon Communications customers -- many of them Americans. The Obama administration defended the seizure of the records, claiming they were used as part of U.S. counterterrorism efforts.

The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) continues to attack former Gov. Charlie Crist on a number of fronts. Having held three state offices as a Republican, Crist left the GOP to run for the U.S. Senate with no party affiliation in 2010. At the end of 2012, Crist joined the Democrats and it is widely expected that he will challenge Gov. Rick Scott under his new partys banner.

During his almost two decades in the Legislature, Rep. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, has taken on the Republican leadership more than a few times. Still, House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, must have some appreciation of Fasanos experience. On Monday, Fasano revealed Weatherford had named him to the Housing Development Corporation of Floridas Board of Directors.

On Friday, Gov. Rick Scott looked back on the trade mission to Chile he led last month and noted it has already generated more than $39 million in expected sales and $30 million in exports.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., did an interview with Catholic network EWTN on Friday in which he shared his thoughts on immigration refom and how his religious faith guides his decision-making.

On Friday, the Republican Party of Iowa announced that U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas will be appearing at an event on their behalf in Des Moines on July 19. With Iowa being the first caucus state, this will only increase speculation that Cruz will run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.

On Friday, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., demanded President Barack Obama provide answers after reports emerged that the National Security Agency (NSA) gathered information on Americans from phone records from AT&T, BellSouth and Verizon The American people dont want the government snooping into their private lives, said Buchanan, who is a member of the Privacy Caucus. They deserve answers as to why this amount of information was deemed vital to national security.

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., one of the leading Republican voices in Washington on international affairs, joined with 10 Republican colleagues to write Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday and demand North Korea be redesignated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST).

Nearly three quarters of Americans say the government should allow free speech without interference, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll released Thursday.

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., announced at the end of May that she will not run for another term in Congress -- but opened the door to running for other offices, including another bid at the presidency. Bachmann appeared on Sean Hannitys show on Fox News on Thursday in her first interview since announcing she would be leaving Congress in 2014. While she slammed President Barack Obama and looked back at her time in Congress, Bachmann insisted she would remain active in public life.

I wish Sen. Dianne Feinstein were a Floridian. I'd like to rip her right now. Figuratively speaking, of course. The California senator is putting politics ahead of the United States Constitution, and thank goodness, it's getting noticed. Feinstein emerges as a key defender of the administration in collecting everyone's call data.