Its a good day for boxing references. On Sept. 22, 1927, Gene Tunney defeated Jack Dempsey to keep the heavyweight title in the famous long count match. On Sept. 22, 1932, Ingemar Johansson -- the Swedish boxer who upset Floyd Patterson to win the heavyweight championship in 1959 -- was born.

Florida legislators will earn $29,697 each for the 2011-12 fiscal year, with the Senate president and House speaker in line for $41,181 each, according to a report fromthe Office of Economic and Demographic Research.

Businessman John Lindsey is challenging Rep. John Wood of Haines City in the Republican primary to represent parts of Polk County in the Florida House. Lindsey sat down to talk with Sunshine State News in Orlando at the Republican Party of Floridas (RPOF) Presidency 5 event.

Businesswoman Karen Harrington ran as the Republican candidate against South Florida Democrat U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Harrington wants a rematch in 2012 and, at the RPOFs Presidency 5 event on Thursday, she sat down to talk to Sunshine State News.

U.S. Rep. Thad McCotter was supposed to join the field of Republican candidates speaking to the Freedom and Faith Coalition in Orlando on Thursday, but he did not appear. Less than two hours later, he announced why he was not in Orlando -- he was pulling out of the presidential race to run again for his congressional seat. He also backed former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts for the Republican nomination.

DNC Chair and U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fort Lauderdale, posted a letter declaring that tonights GOP P5 Debate in Orlando will confirm that the Republican candidates have no vision for moving our country forward. DNC Memo From: DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz To: Interested Parties Date: September 22, 2011 Re: A Preview of Tonights Republican Debate, GOP Weekend Events in Florida

Susan Auld, the chair of the Martin County Republican Party, said she wants to hear the GOP candidates discuss key issues during the Presidency 5 Convention in Orlando. I want to see key principles, key issues for moving forward. We have a lot to repair and a lot to plan for the future, she said.

While being interviewed before the P5 debate at the Orange County Convention Center, Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos said he expects Florida will follow South Carolina in the primary schedule.

Floridas anticipated early primary adds pressure to tonights debate, says University of South Florida Political Science Professor Susan MacManus, who is attending the debate at the Orange County Convention Center.

With jobs and immigration likely topics of sharp debate at tonight's Republican debate in Orlando, a new report estimates that newly arrived immigrants have filled a majority of new jobs created in Texas, home to GOP front-runner Gov. Rick Perry. "Of jobs created in Texas since 2007, 81 percent were taken by newly arrived immigrant workers (legal and illegal)," says the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that advocates reduced levels of both legal and illegal immigration.

The Florida Womens Political Network -- which is affiliated with the National Republican Womens Network -- has a booth set up at the Republican Party of Floridas (RPOF) Presidency 5 event in Orlando. With almost 20 chapters set up across the Sunshine State, when the Florida Womens Political Network calls on Republicans in the Legislature, the elected officials listen -- and they will have a lot to say on a host of issues in 2012.

Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson continues to lead all Republican challengers. But amid a high level of undecided voters, the GOP has cause for hope. A Quinnipiac poll released Thursday reported that 44 percent of Floridians surveyed think Nelson deserves a second term, versus 34 percent who say he doesn't. Among Republicans, 58 percent said they are undecided, with former Sen. George LeMieux at 17 percent, followed by businessman Mike McCalister with 11 percent.

Add another name to the list of prominent Florida Republicans backing the presidential bid of Gov. Rick Perry of Texas -- Van Poole. Poole led the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) 1989 to 1993 and served in the state Senate as minority leader and leader pro tempore. He currently works for Dutko Poole McKinley in Tallahassee.

While Texas Gov. Rick Perry is leading the field of Republican presidential hopefuls in most national polls, New Hampshire -- home of the first primary -- is solidly behind former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts. According to a Suffolk University/7NEWS (WHDH TV)poll of likely Republican primary voters released late on Wednesday, Romney was routing the field in the Granite State. Romney took 41 percent of those surveyed with U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas in second with 14 percent. Former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah stood in third with 10 percent.