Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp announced on Friday that his campaign for the Republican attorney general nomination brought in more than $214,000 in the second quarter of 2010 -- with more than $150,000 of that in cash while the rest was through in-kind donations.

Looks like there is a third member of the Florida congressional delegation in Minnesota Republican U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmannsnew Tea Party caucus -- U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw. Crenshaw joins fellow Florida Republicans U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis and U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns in the new organization. Congressman Ander Crenshaw is a member of the Tea Party caucus, an informal group of members dedicated to promoting Americans call for fiscal responsibility and limited government, wrote the Crenshaw staff.

While former Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Holly Benson, running in a close Republican primary for attorney general, is trailing at least one of her rivals when it comes to fund-raising, she did receive some praise for her conservative credentials from Marion Hammer, former president of the NRA and now executive director of the Unified Sportsmen of Florida. Bensons bid to be attorney general received an A+ from the NRA and the Unified Sportsmen of Florida.

Marco Rubio is "proud to earn the endorsement of U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the leading voice of job creators," according to a tweet he posted this morning. An article in the Associated Press states that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is pledging to help the presumed Republican nominee for U.S. Senate pull ahead in a tight three-way race. Currently, Rubio lags behind Gov. Charlie Crist in the polls. The AP reports the chamber will announce Saturday at an event in Orlando that Rubio will benefit from roughly $75 million they expect to spend on campaigns in the fall.

Independent challenger Troy Stanley is criticizing U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, his Republican opponent in November, for not joining the 38 members of Congress who formed the Tea Party caucus. Americans deserve to know who their trusted allies are in the fight to decrease government spending, lower taxes, and remove intrusions upon individual liberties, said Stanley who vowed to join the Tea Party caucus if elected.

Republican gubernatorial front-runner Rick Scott says he won't take the $130,000 salary if he becomes governor. The revelation came this morning on a Jacksonville radio talk show when Scott was asked point blank if he would. "That's not important to me," he said. "I'm really not doing it for the salary." A campaign spokesperson later added, "Rick is running for true reform and accountability in Tallahassee and not for compensation."

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink announced today she raised more than $1.1 million in the second quarter, bringing her total to nearly $7.3 million. The state's chief financial officer and former bank executive said she had $5.7 million cash on hand as of June 30 -- far more than the $800,000 that Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bill McCollum listed in court documents earlier this month. McCollum and GOP rival Rick Scott have yet to file their second-quarter financial reports.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced on Thursday that, with no oil in the area having been spotted for the last 30 days, they were reopening more than 26,000 miles to fishing. Most of the newly reopened area is southeast of the Deepwater Horizon spill off the coast of Florida -- between 190-220 miles away from where the spill originated.

Apparently, buyers are getting the word. Sales of existing homes in Florida rose 15 percent in June, the 22nd consecutive monthly year-to-year increase, the Florida Realtors Association said. A total of 18,038 single-family homes sold statewide last month compared to 15,732 in June 2009. But prices continued to slump. The median price of $143,400 was 3 percent lower than a year ago. But, encouragingly, the June price was 2.1 percent higher than the previous month's figure. Condominium sales followed a more extreme pattern.

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, currently in the middle of a bitter battle with Jeff Greene for the Democratic nomination in the U.S. Senate race, praised Congress for extending unemployment benefits on Thursday -- and turned his fire on the Republicans for looking to block the measure.

Joshua Green over at the Atlantic makes an excellent case for why former Gov. Jeb Bush represents the best candidate for Republicans looking to win the White House in 2012. Green reviewed the pack and PACs of 2012 Republican hopefuls, noting that former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts hauled in the most money.

Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, announced two mayors were backing his bid to win the Democratic attorney general nomination on Thursday afternoon.

While recent polls show that Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running for the U.S. Senate without party affiliation, has built a lead over likely Republican candidate Marco Rubio, a poll released by Rasmussen Reports found the race was a toss-up -- and whether Crist or Rubio is ahead depends on which Democrat is at the bottom of the poll. The poll had Rubio ahead with 35 percent, Crist in second with 33 percent and U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek --currently in a close primary battle with Jeff Greene for the Democratic nomination --at 20 percent.

Public Policy Polling keeps revealing its poll of Florida voters from July 16-18 in bits and pieces. On Thursday,poll numbers from the hotly contested Republican gubernatorial primary battle and the fight for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate were revealed.

Cruising toward confirmation, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan appears ready to vote against Florida's challenge to the new federal health-care law. Kagan won't say so, of course, but the Wall Street Journal has read the tea leaves and says it's increasingly clear where President Obama's choice stands on the lawsuit filed by Florida and 20 other states.