Civil War aficionados, sporting both the Union Blue and the Confederate Gray, will be gathering this weekend some 15 miles east of Lake City, in the middle of the Osceola National Forest and right off of I-10, to re-enact the battle of Olustee -- the largest Civil War battle in Florida. Monday marks the 148th anniversary of the battle.

While there will be a parade and festival being held in Lake City the entire weekend, the highlight will be the 36th re-enactment of the battle which will be at the Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park on Sunday starting at 1:30 p.m.

A poll released on Friday from American Research Group (ARG) finds that Rick Santorum continues to rise in Michigan while Newt Gingrich is sinking in the Republican presidential primary which is scheduled for Feb. 28.

Santorum takes 37 percent of the poll of likely Michigan Republicans while Mitt Romney, who carried the state presidential primary back in 2008 and whose father was governor during the 1960s, places second with 32 percent. Ron Paul comes in third with 15 percent while Gingrich takes 10 percent.

With the Arizona Republican presidential primary coming up on Feb. 28, a poll from Rasmussen Reports released on Friday finds that Mitt Romney leads over Rick Santorum in the Grand Canyon State.

Romney tops the poll of likely Republican primary voters with 39 percent with Santorum in second place with 31 percent. Newt Gingrich places a distant third place with 15 percent while Ron Paul lags behind in single digits. Three percent back other candidates while 5 percent are undecided.

Ohio ranks as one of the chief states Republicans want to pick up from President Barack Obama in November -- and a poll released on Thursday finds Rick Santorum is heading for a major victory in the March 6 primary.

Santorum, who hails from neighboring Pennsylvania, takes 42 percent in a poll of likely primary voters released by Rasmussen Reports on Thursday. Mitt Romney places second with 24 percent followed by Newt Gingrich with 13 percent and Ron Paul with 10 percent. Three percent of those surveyed back other candidates, while 8 percent are undecided.

Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio announced on Thursday that he was introducing a companion measure to U.S. Rep. Steve Southerlands, R-Fla., bill forcing the federal EPA to adopt the states water standards -- and keep it from imposing its own draconian standards on the Sunshine State. The bill, entitled the State Waters Partnership Act, would ensure the EPA follows the standards that unanimously passed the state Legislature earlier this month.

With the Michigan primary looming on Feb. 28, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is looking to get back in the game in the Great Lakes State. It should be friendly territory for Romney. He won the primary there in 2008, beating John McCain by 9 percent, and his father, George Romney, served as governor during the 1960s.

A Detroit News poll of likely Michigan Republican primary voters released on Thursday confirmed the findings of four other polls unveiled earlier in the week, with Rick Santorum leading over Mitt Romney in the GOP's Feb. 28 presidential primary.

Former state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner who is running for Congress unveiled a major endorsement on Thursday -- former Gov. Jeb Bush.

"I am proud to endorse my friend Adam Hasner for the U.S. House of Representatives in District 22, Bush said. Adam has a passion for reform and for common-sense conservative solutions, and he will take that passion to a Washington that is certainly in need of both.

TrailingRick Santorum in the polls of Michigan, where his father served as governor during the 1960s, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney unveiled the support of former state Attorney General Mike Cox, former state Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, three state representatives (two current and one former) and five county GOP chairmen. Michigan holds its primary on Feb. 28

Sunshine State News is hitting the radio airwaves on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. I will be on the Ed Dean radio show, which is hosted by one of the most feisty, informative and entertaining conservatives in Florida. It can be heard online here and on two stations in Florida -- 89.3 on the west coast and 90.3 on the Atlantic coast.