Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and is widely expected to do so again in 2012, has been encouraging his backers to support Republican congressional candidates all this week though his Free and Strong America PAC. On Thursday, Romney announced his latest 10 candidates for his supporters to back. He included in this fifth wave of candidates former House Speaker Dan Webster, the Republican congressional candidate looking to defeat Democratic U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson.

Seven Florida metro areas populate the list of top 20 highest foreclosure rates for the third quarter, released Thursday by Realty Trac, a California-based company that tracks foreclosed properties.

Proclaiming "We're way ahead in the polls," an ebullient Rick Scott began another leg of his bus trip across Florida today. Making his first stop in Vero Beach, the Republican gubernatorial candidate took verbal swings at the state capital. "You don't become a genius because you're in Tallahassee. Local governments make much better decisions," Scott told a crowd of about 200 well-wishers who gathered for his 8 a.m. appearance. Accompanied by family and lieutenant governor candidate Jennifer Carroll, Scott appeared loose and confident, but not cocky.

Former Tallahassee Mayor Scott Maddox, the Democratic candidate for state agriculture and consumer services commissioner, continued unleashing fire on his Republican rival, U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam. The Maddox campaign released a web video on Thursday morning featuring Maddox and his wife Sha. In the video, Maddox tears into Putnams congressional record.

U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, the Republican candidate running to be the states next commissioner of agriculture and consumer services, unveiled backing from prominent Florida Democrats on Thursday. Adam Putnam reaches across party lines to ensure all Floridians have a voice at the table, said former Gov. Wayne Mixson, who backed Putnam over Democratic candidate Scott Maddox. Our state will be united under his leadership, and Floridians will finally see real solutions taking priority over politics.

Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat wants to give Kendrick Meek the ball. The NBA superstar sent out an e-mail on Wednesday on behalf of U.S. Rep. Meek, the Democratic nominee in the U.S. Senate race, and will be holding an early voting event with the candidate on Thursday. Kendrick has always fought to give our kids better schools and access to the health care they need, wrote Wade. In my foundation, I've been proud to work on the same kinds of issues. Reaching a kid who needs guidance is even more rewarding than finishing a fast break.

Quinnipiac University released two polls on Thursday morning, looking at the U.S. Senate election and the gubernatorial contest. The poll of the Senate race found that, while Republican Marco Rubio was still ahead, Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running with no party affiliation, was starting to close the gap at the expense of Democratic nominee U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek. Rubio took 42 percent with Crist in second with 35 percent; Meek lagged in third with 15 percent. The last poll Quinnipiac did in early October had Rubio with 44 percent, Crist at 30 percent and Meek with 22 percent.

The Democratic Party of Florida may be feeling haunted by the ghosts of the 2010 'Enthusiasm Gap.' In an attempt to chip away at support for one of its opponents, Republican Senate District 25 candidate Ellyn Bogdanoff, the party began circulating ads using dripping-blood-style writing in its Halloween-themed, Angel of Death ads. The online ad shows Bogdanoff's face photoshopped onto the body of the Grim Reaper, with the title 'Ellyn Bogdanoff, the self-described Angel of Death' scrawled across the top of the page.

Rep. Alan Grayson might want to call his polling people over to cash in on a few tips. After Sunshine State News released its poll of the CD 8 race between incumbent Democrat Grayson and Republican challenger Dan Webster, Grayson either naive or desperate -- issued a press release, challenging its accuracy and validity. The poll, incidentally, put Webster ahead of Grayson by 7 points.

In a tweet on Alex Sink's Debategate saga, one Florida scribe suggested that Brian May, the infamous texter, could not be "fired" by Sink because he did not, technically, work for the campaign. Indeed, May was an "adviser," who really works for the Florida Insurance Council, while representing other big corporate clients (and campaign contributors), including U.S. Sugar. That being the case, who does Alex Sink really work for?

With U.S. Senate candidate Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running without party affiliation, attacking Republican front-runner Marco Rubio for being backed by Sarah Palin in a new television ad, Democratic nominee U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek is attacking Crist for once having supported Palin. "This is beyond the pale. Governor Crist has moved from politically convenient flip-flopping to outright deception," said Abe Dyk, Meek's campaign manager. "These are the facts.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who moved to Florida earlier in the year, took aim at U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi late Wednesday afternoon. No new deficit spending, was the promise that Nancy Pelosi made to the American people when she took office as speaker in 2007, wrote Huckabee to supporters. Huckabee ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and may do so again in 2012. Since then, the national debt has exploded by almost $5 trillion. America cannot afford one more day of Speaker Pelosi and Democrat control of the budget.

A judge on Wednesday dismissed a complaint looking to knock congressional candidate Rep. David Rivera, R-Miami, off the ballot. Rivera responded by taking aim at Democratic rival Joe Garcia. Joe Garcia failed in his last-ditch effort to become a member of Congress today, said Rivera. His publicity stunt of a lawsuit that was aimed at confusing voters and circumventing the democratic process was dismissed by a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge this afternoon.

Rep. Sandy Adams of Oviedo, the Republican candidate taking on U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, came out swinging on Wednesday against new federal health-care laws backed by President Barack Obama. The tax-and-spend liberal policies of Washington, D.C. insiders must stop and be replaced by spending less, not taxing more, wrote Adams in an e-mail to supporters.Real health-care reform should actually lower costs and increase choices, not mandate coverage, increase taxes, and cut Medicare benefits.

According to a statement released by Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, simple oversights in filling out the financial disclosure paperwork are to blame for the mistakes cited in a report released Wednesday by the Florida Ethics Commission. Haridopolos says he has corrected the mistakes. Here is the Senate president-designate's statement: