Floridas gubernatorial race next year is shaping up as one of the main events of the 2014 election cycle--and its already starting to get national attention. Thats to be expected since the Sunshine State remains the leading swing state in the nation. But theres also high drama as Charlie Crist, having switched party affiliations twice in the last two and a half years, is looking to win his old job back--this time as a Democrat.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, appears to have the edge over potential Republican presidential rival U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fl, in Iowa, the home of the first caucus according to a Quinnipiac poll released on Friday morning. While Barack Obama carried Iowa twice, Republicans remain competitive there in the general elections.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is in the tricky position of trying to lead the fight for immigration reform while still retaining the support of conservatives, which the junior senator from Florida will need if he runs for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.

From his perch as chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, First Coast Republican U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw will be looking into the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Crenshaw announced on Thursday that his committee will examine on June 3 how the IRS allocates its funding. Acting IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George will be testifying before Crenshaws committee.

Al Lawson might have led Democrats in the Florida Senate but the party establishment is showing signs of supporting Gwen Graham over him to take on Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland in 2014.

With family ties to the NFLs Pittsburgh Steelers and with three sons who want to play football, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney is more than a little concerned about concussions and brain injuries. This week, Rooney joined New Jersey Democrat U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell to sponsor a bill requiring children and high school students playing football use helmets meeting safety standards to protect against concussions and other brain injuries. The bill, which has a Senate version by Sen.

A new poll finds Americans generally remain convinced that increased government spending hurts the economy. Rasmussen Reports unveiled a poll on Thursday which shows 47 percent of likely voters across the nation think more government spending hurts the economy while 31 percent of them believe more government spending helps the economy. A much lower percentage of those surveyed -- 12 percent -- thinks increased government spending has no impact on the economy one way or the other.

Despite leading Democrats in the Florida Senate and having entered the race more than a year ago, Nan Rich has made little progress in her gubernatorial campaign. In recent weeks, though, Rich has started to become more visible in the media and is staking out more liberal positions as she seeks to define herself. Theres some indication that she is making progress even as the likes of Charlie Crist and Alex Sink continue to ponder entering the race. In recent days, Rich won the backing of the National Organization for Women (NOW).

Veteran First Coast Republican U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw teamed up with U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., this week to launch the GSP Update for Production Diversification and Trade Enhancement Act (GSP UPDATE Act). This bill will help the American travel goods industry by opening newopportunitiesin Asia, namely in the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand and making some travel goods as duty-free.

Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin is already a folk hero to Republicans for standing up to government employees on collectivebargainingand becoming the first governor in American history to defeat a recall effort. Walker won the recall effort by a larger margin than that which propelled him to victory in 2010.

This week, Florida closed the books on paying back the federalgovernment$3.5 billion which went to the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund. Besides Florida, 13 other states have fully repaid the federal government for these funds but 22 other states are still repaying the borrowed money. The money was borrowed from August 2009 until earlier this month to help with unemployment compensation.

A new poll finds Americans arent buying the Obama administrations line that Internal RevenueService(IRS) employees inCincinnatiacted alone in targeting conservative and tea party groups.

From her perch as chairwoman of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee (MENA), on Thursday, South Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen offered her thoughts on the State Departments International Religious Freedom Report for 2012 -- and warned that anti-Semitism was on the rise across the globe.

Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross has a new committeeassignment This week, with U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, R-Ohio, winning acovetedspot on the Ways and Means Committee, Ross took the seat he left open on the House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance. With his new assignment in hand, Ross took aim at the controversial Dodd-Frank reforms.