Former state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner picked up the backing of another prominent national conservative on Tuesday when Colin Hanna, the president of right-of-center policy group Let Freedom Ring, backed his bid for the Republican nomination to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012.

Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Connie Mack said on Monday that President Barack Obama was playing politics over free-trade agreements (FTA) with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. The agreements have been stalled throughout 2011 as the White House looked to extend the Trade Adjustment Assistance program (TAA), which provides benefits for American workers who have lost their jobs due to international trade agreements.

Former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, who is running in a crowded Republican primary to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012, came out swinging against the incumbent on Monday over immigration. LeMieux bashed Nelson for doing nothing to combat illegal immigration during his two terms in the Senate.

With all eyes on the Republican presidential debate in Tampa on Monday night, the camps of the two leading candidates -- Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts -- keep getting larger.

Supporters of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, took aim at the two leading Republican presidential candidates in a web ad released on Sunday. The ad, backed by Revolution PAC, hammers Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts on a number of fronts, and contrasts their records and positions with Pauls.

Activist Fred Karger, a veteran of many Republican campaigns, will not be included in the Republican presidential debate being held in Tampa on Monday night -- but he will still be getting his message across. The Karger camp released a statement on Monday with the news that they will be running a commercial during the debate, including in Florida markets.

The Faith and Freedom Coalition (FFC) will be holding a kickoff for the Republican Party of Floridas (RPOF) Presidency 5 event next week in Orlando. The FFC event will be held on Thursday, Sept. 22, the first day of Presidency 5.

On Monday afternoon, U.S. Rep. Thad McCotter of Michigan, a dark horse candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, will unveil his plan to save Social Security.

McCotter spoke to supporters in a conference call on Monday morning and opened a new line of attack in the debate on Social Security reform. The only Republican presidential candidate who is younger than President Barack Obama, McCotter, who is 46, referred to himself as a member of Generation X and insisted that voters his age were worried about Social Security.

Software company owner Ron Rushing released a web video over the weekend as he continues his bid to challenge Florida Senate Leader Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, in the Republican primary next year. In the new video, Rushing, who beat Gardiner handily in a straw poll among conservative activists at the Conservative Roar on I-4 event earlier in the month, plays up the fact that he is a citizen activist and not a politician.

A month after he ended his own bid for the Republican presidential nomination, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota endorsed former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts for the GOP nod.