The Republican field has already attracted 15.5 percent of the 4,063,853 potential voters for Tuesdays Presidential Preference Primary, according to the Florida Division of Elections. Early voting drew 293,760 voters, while -- as of Monday morning --330,753 absentee ballots had been cast. Another 24,011 votes had been cast in separate ballot issues and races across the state.

According to a poll of likely Florida Republican primary voters released on Monday from Suffolk University and 7NEWS (WSVN-Miami), former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts is headed for a big win in Tuesdays primary. Romney takes 47 percent in the poll followed by former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich with 27 percent. Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania stands in third with 12 percent followed by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas with 9 percent. Five percent are undecided.

The State Board of Administration announced Monday that Ken Chambers, the inspector general for the Florida Supreme Court, will become the inspector general with the SBA. The inspector general oversees audits and investigations. His first day will be Feb. 13. According to the release from the SBA:

Term limits could be applied to county commissions, but not others elected countywide, under a bill proposed for the state Constitution that was backed by the Senate Community Affairs Committee on Monday. This bill does not impose term limits. All this bill does is it says if a local county were to impose term limits then the Constitution would allow that, said Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Margate. The bill, SB 1070, would allow state voters to make the change to the state Constitution.

On Monday, restaurant executive Craig Miller announced that he is dropping out of the crowded Republican primary looking to take on Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in November to run for Congress. The district that Miller is targeting -- as it stands now in the fluid redistriciting process -- stretches on the Atlantic coast, south of Jacksonville to include parts of Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns and Volusia counties.

A Rasmussen Reports poll of likely Florida Republican primary voters released on Monday morning finds that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney holds a commanding lead in the Sunshine State, which holds its primary on Tuesday.

GOP presidential hopeful Fred Karger, a veteran Republican strategist and campaign operative, told Sunshine State News that he has no intention of bolting the party. While he is not on the ballot in Florida, Karger is focusing on Michigan. Maryland, North Carolina and Puerto Rico are also on his radar screen.

Battling Ron Paul for distant third place in the polls, Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum is getting out of the Sunshine State before the primary on Tuesday. On Monday, Santorum will give a jobs speech in Cottleville, Mo., before holding a town hall meeting at a Pizza Ranch -- a chain he is very familiar with after his grassroots win in Iowa -- in Luverne, Minn. When Florida Republicans vote on Tuesday, Santorum will be holding a campaign rally in Lone Tree, Colo., and will watch the results come in at an event in Las Vegas.

With the Florida Republican presidential primary looming on Tuesday, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has taken a large lead, according to a poll released early Monday from Quinnipiac University. The poll of likely voters finds that Romney takes 43 percent followed by former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich with 29 percent. Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul are tied for third with 11 percent each. Seven percent say they are undecided. Less than a quarter -- 24 percent -- say they could change their minds before they vote.

Time is running out on an E-Verify immigration bill at the Florida Legislature. With just a week to clear three assigned subcommittees -- a virtual impossibility -- House Bill 1315 appears all but dead. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Gayle Harrell, R-Port St. Lucie, would require employers to run the names of all new hires through the free federal E-Verify system to determine legal status.

Asked Sunday morning which GOP candidate he backs for the presidential nomination, Florida Gov. Rick Scott -- though inspecific -- said Mitt Romney has the winning credentials. "We need jobs," Scott told Candy Crowley during an interview on CNN's State of the Union, "that's the message that every candidate in the campaign should be shouting out every day. They're not, but that's what people want to hear, and Romney does have real business experience. "Job-creating business experience," the governor reiterated.

A Seminole County physician has been sentenced to 25 years in state prison for trafficking in prescription pain pills including oxycodone. The attorney general's office announced that Jose Carlos Menendez-Campos, who had been working out of a Physician Care Associates office in Poinciana, must also pay a $500,000 fine for the investigation andprosecutorial costs.

Gov. Rick Scott has appointed Maitland resident Heather Pinder Rodriguez to the 9th Judicial Circuit Court. Heathers commitment to the rule of law has been strengthened by the opportunities she has had to witness firsthand the atrocities possible without it, Scott stated in a release. Her dedication to her community and willingness to work hard will serve her well on the bench. According to a release from the governor's office:

Gov. Rick Scott appointed Judge Gregory M. Keyser to the 15th Judicial Circuit Court. Since serving on the county bench, Judge Keyser has gained invaluable insight into the patience and fairness needed in the judicial process, Scott stated in a release. His previous 30 years of practicing law have given him a good understanding of the issues facing the people of the 15th Circuit. According to a release from the governors office: Judge Keyser, 56, has served on the Palm Beach County Court since 2011.

Gov. Rick Scott has reappointed Gail Kavanagh and Jerry H. Sansom to the Florida Inland Navigation District board of governors. According to a release from the governor's office: "Kavanagh, 69, of Port St. Lucie, is the executive vice president of Treasure Coast Builders Association.She is reappointed for a term beginning Jan. 26, 2012, and ending Jan. 9, 2015. "Sansom, 64, of Rockledge, is the executive director of the Organized Fishermen of Florida. He is reappointed for a term beginning Jan. 26, 2012, and ending Jan. 9, 2015.