With a week and a half to go in the Republican primary in the special election to replace former U.S. Rep. Trey Radel, R-Fla., in Congress, Florida Senate Majority Leader Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, pointed toward her support of conservative items on the legislative calendar on Friday.

Today is one of the Legislatures busiest days of the year, Benacquisto said on Friday. The Florida Senate will convene at 9:30 a.m. to hear 30 bills up for vote on final passage and 28 additional bills that will come up on the calendar to be discussed and vetted.

On Thursday, the University of Floridas board of trustees kicked off the process to find a replacement for retiring President Bernie Machen. UF hopes to name a new president by the end of the spring 2015 semester.

Steve Scott, the vice chairman of the board, was tasked to lead the search committee to find a new president as Machen intends to retire by the end of the year. Scott is expected to name search committee members in the weeks to come.

On Thursday, the U.S. House passed the budget proposal from U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., on a near party-line vote. The measure passed 219-205 with newly elected U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla., joining 11 other Republicans to break with the GOP and voting against it.

Floridas congressmen weighed in afterward with Republicans praising the proposal and Democrats continuing to oppose it.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., has a slight edge on other potential Republican presidential candidates in 2016 when it comes to media mogul Rupert Murdochs support. Speaking with Fortune magazine, Murdoch played up his support of Bush and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., while downplaying the likelihood he would back U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., is set to have a Republican primary opponent come August. Retired Navy Capt. Ryman Shoaf, who briefly served on the staff of U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., last year announced on Wednesday that he had made the ballot by petition to challenge Crenshaw on the First Coast.

From his perch on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee on Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., showcased how the fiscal year 2015 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MILCON) Appropriations Bill will help the defense community on the First Coast.

A poll from Suffolk University released on Wednesday shows the pack of possible Republican presidential candidates, including those with ties to the Sunshine State, knotted together in Iowa, home of the first presidential caucus.

Pointing to a 400 percent growth in the states prison population over the last 35 years, Florida TaxWatch released a study on Wednesday which finds Florida could save significantly by cutting down on the incarceration of nonviolent felons. The study calls for a review of third-degree felonies, insisting some of those could be lowered to misdemeanors.

Congressional candidate and businessman Curt Clawson is facing the rare sight of his three Republican primary opponents -- Florida Senate Majority Leader Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, former state Rep. Paige Kreegel and Michael Dreikorn -- demanding to know about his ties with Glen Borst, a convicted child molester who lived in a home owned by Clawson in Utah.

Floridas newest state university has narrowed down its search for its first president to two candidates.

Florida Polytechnic Universitys presidential search committee held a public meeting on Tuesday morning in which it announced that the choice came down to Randy Avent, currently the associate vice president for research and the associate provost at North Carolina State University, and Robert McGrath, the senior vice president and director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute.