In the aftermath of Wednesday nights Florida gubernatorial debate -- which was overshadowed when Gov. Rick Scott, R-Fla., did not come out immediately due to sparring with former Gov. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., using a fan -- the Florida Press Association (FPA) and Leadership Florida (LF), which sponsored the debate, released a statement on Thursday afternoon in which the FPA insisted the Crist campaign violated the rules of the debate. The statement reads as follows:

Republican candidate Carol Platt insists she has momentum as she looks to upset U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., in November.

Having just won the endorsement of the Orlando Sentinel, Platt released an internal poll on Thursday showing her closing in on Grayson. The campaign poll from Data Targeting shows Grayson with 40 percent, Platt with 35 percent and Marko Milakovich, who is running with no party affiliation, with 7 percent.

Opponents of Amendment 2, a proposal to expand medical marijuana in Florida, pointed to a World Health Organization researchers study on the impact of marijuana.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has a solid lead over her rivals in a new poll.

The poll of likely voters from Viewpoint Florida, which was unveiled on Thursday, shows Bondi taking 50 percent while former DCF Sec. George Sheldon, the Democratic nominee, gets 41 percent. Tallahassee attorney Bill Wohlsifer, the Libertarian candidate, gets 6 percent and 3 percent are undecided.

A new poll shows Florida CFO Jeff Atwater routing Democratic businessman William Rankin.

The poll of likely voters from Viewpoint Florida finds Atwater taking 54 percent while Rankin garners 38 percent and 7 percent are undecided.

Atwater has the GOP base nailed down, taking 81 percent of Republicans while Rankin has the support of 69 percent of Democrats. Voters outside the two major parties break for Atwater, 56 percent to 35 percent.

After reports emerged that Amber Joy Vinson, the second health care worker who came down with Ebola in recent days, flew across the country on a Frontier Airlines flight on Monday, Gov. Rick Scott called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to contact passengers who were on that airplane that day.

U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., cheered the news that Kent Fuchs, currently the provost of Cornell University, will be the next president of the University of Florida (UF). Yoho is certainly familiar with UF. Besides living in Gainesville for 35 years, Yoho did his undergraduate and graduate work at UF before embarking on his career as a large-animal veterinarian.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, offered his take on the Ebola threat in an op-ed published by CNN on Wednesday. In the op-ed, Rubio backed a travel ban on African nations impacted by the disease.

Lost in the hoopla over Wednesday nights Florida gubernatorial debate -- and former Gov. Charlie Crists fan -- was another debate impacting the politics of the Sunshine State.

U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla., squared off in a debate with Gwen Graham in Tallahassee and the Democratic challenger is getting some national notice for her answers.

From his perch on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., weighed in on the Ebola threat on Wednesday night.

I am deeply concerned about the threat Ebola poses to public health, Bilirakis said. We must continue to provide diligent oversight of the response and preparedness efforts. The priority must be ensuring the safety of Americans, and stopping this outbreak in West Africa and around the world. In order to guarantee no further importation to the U.S., the Ebola virus must be immediately eradicated in West Africa.