On Tuesday, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland bashed U.S. Senate Majority Harry Reid, D-Nev., and the Democrats controlling the Senate for not passing a yearly budget in 888 days.

After attending former Gov. Claude Kirks funeral in Palm Beach on Monday, Gov. Rick Scott said he may want to pick up one of the late Sunshine State promoters staples. Scott said he was told Kirk was famous for signing documents only with orange ink, a reflection of Floridas citrus industry. He said his job was to promote the state, Scott said of Kirk. Scott brought up the ink after recognizing that state Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam has been providing Florida Cabinet members at their meetings with orange juice.

A national poll released by Quinnipiac University found former Gov. Mitt Romney leading the pack of Republican presidential hopefuls -- with businessman Herman Cain brushing past Texas Gov. Rick Perry for second place. The poll found that Romney topped the field with 22 percent. Cain, who has surged in polls at the state and national level since winning the Presidency 5 straw poll in Orlando last month, took second with 17 percent, followed by Perry with 14 percent.

On Tuesday, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey announced that he would not enter the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Speaking at a news conference in Trenton on Tuesday afternoon, the governor of the Garden State reiterated his desire to stay out of the race. My job here in New Jersey is my passion, said Christie, who said he did seriously consider entering the contest. I have a commitment to New Jersey that I simply cant abandon.

The Florida Cabinet is taking its next meetingon the road to the Space Coast. Gov. Rick Scott announced Tuesday that the Oct. 18 Cabinet meeting will be held at Cape Canaveral. No agenda was immediately available for the meeting.

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas will be focusing on two of the crucial early states as he continues his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Paul will be speaking to the National Press Club in Washington on Wednesday before heading to North Carolina on Friday. After speaking to the Values Voter Summit in Washington on Saturday, Paul will head to Iowa -- home of the first presidential caucus -- on Mondayand New Hampshire -- which hosts the first primary -- for the debate next Tuesday.

Republican presidential candidate former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts announced on Tuesday that Phil Handy would be joining his team as co-chair of his Florida Advisory Committee and of his National Education Policy Committee. I am pleased to earn the support of Phil Handy, said Romney in a statement. Phil will be critical to my campaign in Florida and will be a trusted adviser on education policy. I look forward to working with him as I reach out to voters in Florida and across the country.

A new national poll from the Washington Post and ABC News found that businessman Herman Cain is surging in the Republican presidential race after his win at the Presidency 5 straw poll in Orlando last month. Former Gov. Mitt Romney topped the poll with 25 percent while Cain tied Texas Gov. Rick Perry for second with 16 percent -- a reversal of fortune for both men from a Washington Post/ABC News poll taken at the end of August and start of September. In that poll, Perry led with 29 percent and Cain lagged well behind the front-runners with 4 percent.

With Senate Democrats starting to feel election-year heat over President Obama's $445 billion jobs package, Sen. Bill Nelson told Sunshine State News on Monday that he is undecided on a provision that would raise taxes on people making more than $200,000 a year. But 10 months ago, Nelson voted for cloture on a bill that would have let the Republican tax cuts expire on individual incomes over $200,000 and joint filer making $250,000. Senate records show Nelson joined 51 other Democrats in that vote on Dec. 4, 2010.

A fourth member of the Florida House of Representatives is behind businessman Herman Cains bid for the Republican presidential nomination. State Rep. Elizabeth Porter, R-Lake City, joins three of her fellow Republicans in the House -- Larry Ahern of St. Petersburg, Scott Plakon of Longwood and Carlos Trujillo of Miami -- in backing Cain who won the Presidency 5 straw poll in Orlando last month. Porter, a freshman who beat a Democratic incumbent in 2010, represents all of Gilchrist, Lafayette and Suwanee counties, and parts of Alachua, Columbia and Dixie counties.

Four freshmen Republican congressmen from Florida joined other GOP House members in calling attention to "888" on Tuesday. Today marks the 888th day since the Democratic-controlled Senate last passed a budget, said Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation. He was joined by Reps. Sandy Adams, R-Orlando; Steve Southerland, R-Tallahassee; and Richard Nugent, R-Brooksville, in making the announcement.

Military bases in Florida will bring nearly $2.5 million to surrounding communities, Gov. Rick Scott announced Monday. These programs work to protect a $65 billion economic impact, and the over 686,181 direct and indirect jobs which the defense industry annually infuses into Florida, Scott stated in a release.

The Obama administration announced on Monday that they would be sending stalled free-trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea to Congress later this week.

Longtime Florida Republican activist Paul Senft endorsed Gov. Rick Perry of Texas for the GOP presidential nomination on Monday. Senft has been active with the Republican National (RNC) Executive Committee, serving as a national committeeman for Florida since 2004. Senft has also been active in his home base of Haines City, having led the Polk County Republican Executive Committee.

On Friday, Florida moved its presidential primary up to Jan. 31. On Monday, the South Carolina Republican Party moved its presidential primary up to Jan. 21 -- leapfrogging the Sunshine State. Chad Connelly, the chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, had harsh words for the committee that moved up the Florida primary.