After spending Wednesday exchanging fire with GOP primary rival U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, Republican Senate hopeful former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux shifted his focus onto the Democrats on Thursday -- namely President Barack Obama and incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who are campaigning in South Florida on Thursday.

A new player has entered the Michigan Republican primary battle -- President Barack Obama. The Democrat incumbent is hitting the airwaves -- and the Republican presidential hopefuls -- in a new ad in Michigan. With Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney in a close battle heading into the Tuesday primary, Obama takes jabs at both of the Republican hopefuls -- but Romney draws a little more fire as the ad includes a quote from Romney reading let Detroit go bankrupt. Romney generally does better against Obama than Santorum in general election match-ups.

With the Michigan Republican presidential primary looming on Tuesday, a poll unveiled on Thursday finds Rick Santorum with a small lead over Mitt Romney in the Great Lakes State. Santorum leads the American Research Group poll of likely primary voters with 38 percent followed by Romney with 34 percent. Ron Paul places third with 12 percent, while Newt Gingrich lags in single digits with 7 percent. The race is still up for grabs, as 8 percent are undecided while 1 percent back other candidates

Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum unleashed a new ad attacking GOP rival Mitt Romney on Thursday. The ad features a host of quotes from Romney in which the former governor of Massachusetts said he would support legalized abortion and opposed the NRA on gun control. Santorum is contrasted with Romney as a trusted conservative.

Republican National Committee Co-Chair Sharon Day "welcomed" Barack Obama to South Florida Thursday with the following statement: President Obama promised to be a leader on energy policy when he was campaigning in 2008, but gas prices have skyrocketed since hes been in office, with most Floridians paying well above the national average. "Whether its gas prices or the economy, President Obama has repeatedly failed to keep the promises he made to voters in 2008 and we are all paying because he hasnt lived up to them.

The Senate unanimously supported a resolution, sponsored by Sen. Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, to Clay County Sheriff's Office Narcotics Detective David White, who was killed during a gunfight Feb. 16 in Middleburg. White, a nine-year veteran, was investigating a tip about a meth lab at a home, according to the Florida Times-Union.

As Barack Obama prepared to deliver an energy speech in Miami on Thursday, Republicans posted a video on the president's energy policies. Backed by a soundtrack of Obama singing an Al Green song, the video shows the effects of the president's energy program -- namely, gasoline prices that have jumped from $1.85 to $3.59 in the past three years. View the video here.

A national poll released by Quinnipiac University on Thursday finds that Americans are feeling better about the economy -- but that shift in thinking is doing little to improve Democrat incumbent President Barack Obamas chances for a second term in November.

A poll from Rasmussen Reports finds that less than a third -- 31 percent -- of likely voters in November believe the nation is headed on the right track. Sixty-one percent of those surveyed think the nation is headed in the wrong direction. Pretty abysmal to be sure, but the percentage of Americans thinking the country was on the right path in Rasmussen polls from the latter half of 2011 was in the teens. The poll of 3,500 likely voters was taken from Feb.13-19 and had a margin of error of +/- 2 percent.

Gov. Rick Scott, joined by Florida Highway Patrol Major Ernesto Duarate, continued his push to reform during a meeting with members of the media Wednesday afternoon. Scott has favored how the House of Representatives is trying to revamp the states no-fault insurance program.

A bill to name auto racing as the official sport of Florida sped through a green flag in the Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee Wednesday. Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Daytona Beach, the sponsor of SB 266, said Florida is the only state with three major speedways and the sport is a major economic engine, drawing tourists and auto parts makers.

Republican Ron DeSantis on Wednesday named the initial members of his finance committee for his run in the 6th Congressional District. They are: Mike Hightower, co-chair; Nancy P. McGowan, co-chair; Jay Demetree. Joseph G. Fogg; and Duane Ottenstroer. All are from Jacksonville except for Fogg, who is from Naples. DeSantis, 33, of Ponte Vedra Beach, is a former federal prosecutor and Iraq War veteran, and is making his first run for public office.

Massachusetts Republicans are hoping some of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's star power -- and fundraising prowess -- will help the Bay State Republican hold on to his seat against a challenge from a left-liberal former top official in the Obama administration. U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., is on the second of a two-day swing through Florida, including a fundraising dinner tonight being hosted by Rubio, the Boston Globe is reporting.

Attorney General Pam Bondi released the following statement after the House on Wednesday approved HB 1175, which would expand the list of banned synthetic drugs: The House of Representatives demonstrated strong leadership by unanimously passing a bill that will protect Floridians from dangerous synthetic drugs, Bondi stated in a release. We will not allow these creative chemists to skirt state law and pose serious harm to our residents.

Felons convicted of drug possession will have to jump through more hoops to get food stamps or other taxpayer-funded assistance under a billbacked by the Senate Criminal Justice Committee on Wednesday. Senate Bill 1128 would require anyone seeking state assistance who had been charged with a felony possession offense once the bill becamelaw -- July 1, if the bill is signed into law -- to first complete a state-approved substance-abuse treatment program.