A poll unveiled by Viewpoint Florida on Friday revealed that voters in the Sunshine State on the whole were content with the deal to raise the federal debt ceiling. A majority of those surveyed -- 58 percent --said they would be more likely to back congressional incumbents who voted to raise the debt ceiling, while 36 percent said they were less likely to back them.

The team behind former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, now running in the Republican primary to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012, went on the attack on Friday, bashing Nelson for taking part in a fundraiser hosted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in Lake Tahoe.

Two of the Republicans looking to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012 weighed in on the newly named members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction was set up as part of the deal to break up the stalemate in Washington over raising the federal debt ceiling. The new committee consists of six members of each party, divided equally between senators and congressmen.

While some pundits -- namely, one who used to live down the street from the candidate in Moorestown, N.J. -- thought that Herman Cain needed to do more in the Republican debate on Thursday, a much bigger name was impressed with the former CEO of Godfathers Pizza (yes, Vanilla Ice is a bigger name than your humble blogger, but I bet he can't name every president and vice president in order).

Supporters of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota are looking to rally conservatives behind their candidate by launching a quick strike against a candidate who has not officially entered the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

While Floridians can be excused if their focus was on other matters on Thursday night -- namely, the Jacksonville Jaguars being utterly routed by the New England Patriots in their first NFL pre-season game -- the debate held in Iowa by the various Republican presidential candidates marked the state of a different stage of the contest. For the first time, the Republican hopefuls went after each other, and there were some interesting clashes between the various candidates.

A survey by the Food Research and Action Center reported Thursday that nearly one out of every three Florida households with children reported not having enough money for food at some point during the last 12 months. Data compiled by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index project showed that 50.4 percent of respondents with children in the 17th Congressional District in Miami said they had been unable to afford enough food for their families. The food hardship rating for households without children was 17.7 percent.

On Thursday, former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, now in the Republican primary looking to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012, unloaded on President Barack Obama and Floridas senior senator on the economy.

With the 12 members of the bicameral supercommittee named and looking to cut federal spending, a Florida Republican renewed his call to ensure all of the new bodys meetings would be open to the public.

Saying personal injury protection (PIP) fraud is driving up auto insurance premiums in Florida, the state's Insurance Consumer Advocate Robin Westcott announced Thursday she is creating a work group dedicated to developing solutions to the problem. "My goal is to formulate real solutions in response to the escalating rates burdening Florida's consumers. Every option should be on the table before car insurance becomes completely unaffordable and Floridians opt to go without protection," said ICA Westcott.

State Rep. Scott Randolph, D-Orlando, asked Speaker Dean Cannon Thursday for expenditure records related to a lawsuit the House is waging against a Fair Districts constitutional amendment approved by voters last year.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., completed the shutout of Florida on Thursday when she named the three final members of the debt-deficit "supercommittee." Her choices -- Reps. James Clyburn of South Carolina, Xavier Becerra of California and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland -- have all vowed to protect entitlement programs and push for tax increases. Previously, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced his three selections to the 12-member panel: Reps. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, and Dave Camp and Fred Upton, both of Michigan.

Former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, now running in the Republican primary to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, weighed in on immigration on Wednesday. He called for bringing an Arizona-style law on immigration to Florida.

Following an announcement by Secretary Tom Vilsack of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Thursday to provide financial assistance to Florida agriculture and assist with wetlands restoration, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services released this statement from Commissioner Adam Putnam:

The nonstop grousing by the Florida League of Women Voters and assorted other "progressive" groups got a smack-down from Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon Wednesday. Responding to complaints about a lack of redistricting maps and unsubstantiated allegations that the fix was in for Republicans, Cannon, R-Winter Park, responded to calls from the LWV, NAACP, Democracia U.S.A. and Florida Common Cause demanding a "time certain" for the legislative approval of Floridas new maps. In a statement, Cannon said: