One of the leading conservatives in the Florida Legislature -- Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala -- announced on Wednesday that he was backing former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux for the Republican nomination to challenge Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in November.

Baxley, who led the Christian Coalition of Florida and represents parts of Marion County, stressed LeMieuxs conservative credentials in his endorsement and played up the fact that former presidential candidate Herman Cain announced on Friday that he was backing LeMieux.

Two years after the oil spill in the Gulf, a poll released on Wednesday finds that most likely voters think it will have little in the way of long-term consequences to the environment.

Chief Executive magazine released its survey of 650 CEOs on Wednesday which ranks Florida as the second best state to do business. While Texas tops the poll for the eighth year in a row, the Sunshine State--which placed third in last years survey --vaulted ahead of North Carolina for the second spot. Tennessee comes in fourth followed by Indiana in fifth. California ranks at the bottom of the survey, which dealt with issues ranging from quality of life, taxes, education and infrastructure.

Congressman Connie Mack, who is running in the Republican primary to challenge Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in November, unveiled the endorsement of a prominent conservative on Tuesday afternoon -- U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2012 election cycle.

Newt Gingrich let out the worst-kept secret in politics on Tuesday when, in a video to supporters, he revealed that he was suspending his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Wednesday. While there has been buzz that he would back Mitt Romney, Gingrich did not mention the GOP front-runner in the video.

Over the weekend, businessman and former presidential candidate Herman Cain announced that he was backing former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux for the Republican nomination to challenge Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.

The LeMieux team highlighted the backing from Cain, who won the Presidency 5 straw poll in Orlando back in September in a major upset.

Battling for the Republican nomination to challenge Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, U.S. Rep. Connie Mack scored some endorsements in South Florida on Monday as he continues his bid for the Senate seat his father held for 12 years.

Mack won the support of much of the Hialeah Republican leadership, including Mayor Carlos Hernandez, former Mayor Julio Robaina and all the members of the City Council. Mack also unveiled the support of Mayor Yioset De La Cruz of Hialeah Gardens.

From his perch on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., whose name continues to garner buzz about ending up as Mitt Romneys running mate, went to bat for Chen Guangcheng, the Chinese activist who opposed that nations one child policy. In April, Guangcheng escaped house arrest and reportedly made his way to the U.S. embassy.

On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the Republican presidential candidate who lost out to Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, announced that he was backing Ozzie deFaria to challenge U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., best known nationally for being the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.

Most presidential and vice presidential candidates do not emerge from the Cabinet. There have been exceptions, of course. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan used being secretary of state as a launching pad for their successful bids for the presidency. But since the Civil War there have been only a handful of presidents -- William Howard Taft and Herbert Hoover -- and vice presidents -- Henry Wallace and Dick Cheney -- who have moved up from the Cabinet. George H.W.