The Florida newspapers owned by the New York Times Media Group and the University of South Florida Polytechnic in Lakeland conducted a new poll that found Gov. Charlie Crist holding a solid lead in the U.S. Senate race come November. The poll had Crist, who is running without party affiliation, leading former House Speaker Marco Rubio, the likely Republican candidate in the race, up by a larger margin than other recent polls.

Earlier this week Jeff Greene took aim at U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, his chief rival in a bitter battle for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate election, noting that the congressman was included as part of a roster of corrupt candidates listed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). CREW looked at Greenes record -- and promptly put him on the list along with Meek.

House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, has not been front and center in the bitter Republican gubernatorial primary between Rick Scott and Attorney General Bill McCollum. But Cretul, a backer of McCollum, emerged to take a shot at Scott late Friday.

Big win for health-care executive Rick Scott, the front-runner in the race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, as a federal judge issued an injunction against GOP rival Attorney General Bill McCollum receiving additional dollars courtesy of taxpayers if Scott exceeded the $24.9 million spending cap.

With a little over three weeks to go until the primary, Republican congressional candidate Craig Miller, the former CEO of Ruth's Chris, is sending out a mailer attacking his two main rivals for the nomination. Miller took aim at Rep. Sandy Adams, R-Oviedo, and Karen Diebel, his two main rivals in the Republican battle to take on U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, calling their conservatism into question.

Incoming Senate President Mike Haridopolos increased focus on Medicaid and health-care issues is earning the praise of Sen. John Thrasher of Jacksonville, the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. "Medicaid reform needs to be a top priority of the Republican-led Legislature, and it is imperative that we listen to all sides of the issue and fully understand how the state can implement a cost-saving, patient-centered reform plan," said Thrasher. Haridopolos is making a tour of medical facilities next week across the state.

Trying to catch health-care executive Rick Scott in a bitter contest for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, Attorney General Bill McCollum released the details of the energy plan he will enact if he is elected governor. McCollum said his plan would blend together free-market solutions while supporting alternative sources of energy including biomass, wind and solar power. The attorney general said he opposed cap-and-trade policies and hoped to reduce Florida's dependency on foreign oil.

A GOP candidate in Florida's 24th Congressional District wants two of his opponents to stop attacking a fourth fellow Republican. Deon Long today called on Craig Miller and Sandy Adams to "cease their personal attacks" on Karen Diebel. I am concerned about the spurious personal attacks emanating from the Miller and Adams camps against Karen Diebel," Long said, suggesting that they could end up giving more ammunition to Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach, in the November election.

The Florida Home Builders PAC announced on Friday they were backing Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp over two rivals for the Republican nomination for attorney general. Im honored to receive the support from Floridas home builders, said Kottkamp. They help drive Floridas economy and are a vital factor as the state begins making a full rebound.

Withlittle more than three weeks to go until the primary, a poll taken by Quinnipiac University found U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek trailing Jeff Greene in the battle for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate election. Meek released his second TV ad on Friday morning, looking to counter the ads Greene has been running for weeks. Polls show that Meek remains unknown to many Florida voters, including a sizeable number of likely Democratic primary voters, but he does little to introduce himself in the new commercial, preferring to hack away at Greene.

Gov. Charlie Crist's triangulation strategy appears to be working. The Republican-turned-independent leads a three-way U.S. Senate race, according to a Quinnipiac Poll released Friday. Crist garnered 37 percent, followed by 32 percent for Republican Marco Rubio and 17 percent for Jeff Greene, the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination, according to the latest survey by the Connecticut-based pollster. If U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek were the Democratic nominee, Crist's lead would be even larger -- 39 to 33 percent for Rubio and 13 percent for Meek.

Dr. Rudy Moise, one of the leaders in a crowded Democratic primary to take the place of U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, received the backing of Hollywood Mayor Peter Bober on Thursday. Moise is the outsider in the race, running against a field of officeholders -- which is exactly why Bober was backing him. It is because of Rudys real-world experience as a doctor, successful businessman, devoted family man and colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve that I wholeheartedly endorse him as my candidate in this race for Congress, said Bober.

A few hours after former Tallahassee Mayor Scott Maddox --the Democratic candidate in the race for agriculture and consumer services commissioner -- announced the backing of the International Union of Police Associations, Republican rival U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam announced his own law-enforcement endorsement by the Florida State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) for the GOP nod. The group has backed Maddox for the Democratic nod.

With immigration becoming one of the chief issues in the race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, Attorney General Bill McCollum, trying to catch up with front-runner Rick Scott, sponsored a motion at Thursdays Cabinet meeting for state offices to use E-Verify to ensure that no illegal aliens are hired. E-Verify is a service provided at no cost by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration that compares completed I-9s filled out by potential employees to information held by the federal government.

The Florida State Board of Administration (SBA), which handles investments for state employees and retirees, announced that it oversaw solid growth in the Florida Retirement System (FRS) pension fund -- adding almost $10 billion to its market value in the 2009-2010 fiscal year and paying more than $4.5 billion to retirees. This represented an increase of more than 14 percent from last year.