A day after Florida Office of Insurance Regulation Commissioner Kevin McCarty made a presentation to the Cabinet on new policies form his office, Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, urged Gov. Charlie Crist to fire McCarty.

With interesting battles shaping up in Florida for both the U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections, its natural that the other Cabinet seats would not receive as much notice. Thats confirmed in a recent Mason-Dixon poll showing many Floridians have no idea who they are voting for in the Cabinet races.

Politico is reporting that Tampa will be the site of the 2012 Republican National Convention -- the third time the Republicans will convene in Florida. Phoenix and Salt Lake City were also considered. The GOP met in Miami Beach in 1968 where it nominated Richard Nixon. The entire Florida delegation backed Nixon except Gov. Claude Kirk, who stuck with New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. The Republicans liked it so much in Miami Beach that they headed back there in 1972 to nominate Nixon again.

House members from both sides of the aisle are weighing in on Gov. Charlie Crists plan to call a special session to send a constitutional amendment letting Florida voters determine if there should be offshore drilling in state waters to the November ballot.

The international tourism industry will converge on Orlando early next week, and Florida is looking at it as an opportunity to allay fears that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has sullied Florida's beaches. The United States Travel Association International Pow Wow will bring more than 5,000 delegates from around the world to the Orlando International Convention Center. Between Sunday and Wednesday, it will give the tourist industries in Florida and elsewhere the chance to promote themselves.

Former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre, currently running in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, will be holding a campaign fundraiser on Sunday, May 30 in Kissimmee featuring numerous artists playing the music of Rafael Hernandez. Hernandez is a Puerto Rican legend and the airport of Aguadilla, in the northwestern part of the island, is named after him.

Sales of existing single-family homes in Florida rose 24 percent in first quarter of 2010, marking the seventh consecutive quarterly gain, the state Realtors association reported today. Condo sales were up for the sixth straight quarter as well, jumping 67 percent from a year ago. Sean Snaith, director of the University of Central Florida's Institute for Economic Competitiveness, noted, however, that median prices continue to fall in virtually every part of the state. But, he added:

Conservative businessman Rick Scott has come out in favor of Arizonas new laws on immigration--and is contrasting his record to that of his chief rival in the Republican gubernatorial primary, Attorney General Bill McCollum

Raise your hand if you think Gov. Charlie Crist's call for a special session is anything other than a fund-raising opportunity. Hands down, this is a blatant ploy to soak up more campaign contributions heading into the November elections. How? By tacking on plans to give tax incentives for utilities to diversify and explore renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power. The state House passed HB 7229 to incentivize investor-owned utilities (and bypass the Public Service Commission), but the Senate let the bill die in the waning hours of the 2010 session.

The Hillsborough County Republican Party is kicking off its second summer dinner series Friday with Congressman Trent Franks of Arizona as speaker. First elected in 2002, Franks is consistently ranked as one of the most conservative members of Congress. He earned a perfect 100 score from the American Conservative Unions congressional rankings and was listed by National Journal as the most conservative member of Congress for 2009.

House Republicans are turning up the heat on Gov. Charlie Crist and urging him to support HB 1143, the bill passed late in session prohibiting public funds to pay for elective abortions and requiring ultrasounds for women considering having an abortion in the first trimester. Unlike some social conservative groups like the Florida Family Policy Council and Florida Right to Life, the House Republicans are playing up the public funding aspect and not the ultrasounds in their most recent release.

Florida Democrats are praising President Barack Obamas nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. "As the first woman dean of Harvard Law School and the nation's first woman Solicitor General, Kagan is a pioneer in her own right who is driven by clear thinking, not ideology, said Congressman Kendrick Meek, who is running for the U.S. Senate. Her judicial temperament, intellect, and ability to bridge opposing viewpoints and build consensus make her a fitting choice to replace Justice Stevens.

On Friday, I reported that Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and Charlie Crist had a telephonic tete-a-tete that afternoon. It turns out that the governor/Senate candidate also got a call from another big-name Democrat -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The Wall Street Journal reported today that Reid called to wish Crist well in his independent campaign. No word if Kendrick Meek or any other Democrat in the field got similar encouragement.

With Washington abuzz that President Barack Obama will name Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court today, a quick glance into the recent past could reveal how the vote will go -- and how Floridas two U.S. senators will vote.

Big political news from the Panhandle. Rep. Dave Murzin, R-Pensacola, has dropped out of the race to take the state senate currently held by Durrell Peaden. Murzin will instead run for for a county commission seat in Escambia County. This leaves Rep. Greg Evers, R-Baker, and Mike Hill, a businessman and West Point graduate, battling it out for the seat.