A tea party bus tour will begin Saturday in Florida and make six stops around the Sunshine State. The "Rallying for Victory" tour will stage events in Jacksonville, Winter Park, West Palm Beach, The Villages, Gainesville, Panama City and Pensacola in the run-up to Tuesday's presidential primary. Tea Party Express, which bills itself as the nations largest tea party political action committee, said it is conducting the tour to demonstrate "strength and determination in pursuing and promoting tea party values."

Sunshine State News is honored to serve as a media sponsor for the League of Women Voters of Florida's 2012 Old Capitol Gala -- "The Future of Florida: Young Electeds to Watch" -- 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Feb. 22, at the Florida Historic Capitol Museum in Tallahassee. Jessica Lowe-Minor, executive director of the League, said the occasion is an opportunity to honor Florida's new class of elected leaders. "We're looking forward to introducing these bright, young leaders to a statewide audience," said Lowe-Minor. Tickets to the gala are $75 per person.

Republican presidential hopeful Congressman Ron Paul of Texas is downplaying the Florida primary on Tuesday to focus on other states. After the debate in Jacksonville on Thursday night, Paul is heading up to Maine, which holds its caucus from Feb. 4-11. Paul will campaign in Bangor, Waterville and Lewiston on Friday and will hit Gorham, Freeport and Alfred on Saturday.

A bill backed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, that seeks to eliminate a loophole she says has allowed scam artists to thrive on people seeking to quickly sell timeshares, got the backing of the Senate Regulated Industries Committee onThursday.

While she is no longer in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota offered her thoughts on the role of the Florida primary. In a taped segment for the OReilly Factor on Fox News that will air on Thursday night, Bachmann, who announced earlier in the week that she will run for another term in Congress, said the Florida primary on Tuesday will be crucial.

With the Republican Presidential Preference Primary looming on Tuesday, the stakes are high for both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich for Thursday nights debate at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, according to a Sunshine State News poll. The poll, which was conducted by Harrisburg, Pa.-based Voter Survey Service (VSS), finds that Florida Republicans have been tuning in to the procession of debates between the Republican presidential hopefuls with 85 percent of them having watched at least one. Fifty-five percent say the debates have influenced their vote.

Florida state Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, announced on Thursday he is backing former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania for the Republican presidential nomination. Plakon, who represents parts of Orange and Seminole counties, was an early supporter of businessman Herman Cain earlier in the race.

Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas, the Republican presidential candidate who lost out to Bill Clinton in 1996, tore into Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, who was speaker of the U.S. House. Dole has backed Mitt Romney for the GOP nomination -- and his statement attacking Gingrich was forwarded by the Romney team on Thursday.

A Monmouth University poll unveiled on Thursday finds that Mitt Romney holds a solid lead over Newt Gingrich in the Florida Republican presidential primary which will occur on Tuesday. Romney garners 39 percent with Gingrich in second with 32 percent. Rick Santorum is in third with 11 percent followed by Ron Paul with 9 percent. The poll of 540 likely Florida Republican voters was taken from Jan. 24-25 and had a margin of error of +/- 4.2 percent. Keep an eye on Sunshine State News which will unveil a new poll on Friday morning.

A "bad-faith" insurance reform bill was narrowly defeated Thursday at the House Civil Justice Subcommittee. Supported by insurance companies and the National Federation of Independent Businesses, but opposed by trial lawyers, HB 427 would have set standards for filing third-party claims against recalcitrant insurers. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples. Full story upcoming in Sunshine State News.

Florida became a state on March 3, 1845 -- the last full day that John Tyler served as president. That was almost 167 years ago, but despite all that time passing, two of Tylers grandchildren are still alive. Tyler is probably best known for being the Tyler Too of Tippecanoe and Tyler Too, though he had a tumultuous presidency that was very far from dull. With William Henry Harrison dying a month into his presidency, Tyler faced mass defections from his Cabinet and was a man without a party after he vetoed the Whig proposal to restore the Bank of the United States.

According to a poll of likely Republican primary voters released by Rasmussen Reports on Thursday morning, Mitt Romney has regained a solid lead over Newt Gingrich in Florida, which holds its primary on Tuesday. Romney leads the poll with 39 percent, followed by Gingrich in second with 31 percent. Rick Santorum stands in third place with 12 percent and Ron Paul follows with 9 percent. Seven percent are undecided and 4 percent back other candidates.

The House is moving forward with a version of a bill(that differs from the Senate effort)inspired by the emotional outburst that resulted following a courtroom drama in Orlando last summer.

Restaurant executive Craig Miller, who is running in a crowded Republican primary field looking to challenge incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, announced on Thursday morning that he is backing Newt Gingrich for president.

The TEA Party of Florida endorsed Newt Gingrich in the Florida presidential primary, saying the former House speaker has "articulated direct and serious steps designed to reduce spending, cut our deficits, pay down our national debt, and return liberty to our citizens in doing so." Reconstituted from the party whose candidates garnered 310,000 votes in 20 races in 2010, TEA is pursuing a broader outreach strategy this year.