Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami, who is leaving the Legislature after almost two decades in the House and Senate, bailed on the Republicans to back Sen. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach, the Democratic nominee for attorney general. Despite having served as the Republican leader in the Senate,Villalobos also backed Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running in the U.S. Senate race without party affiliation.

Ken Connor of the Center for a Just Society cautioned conservatives on Friday that Beltway Republicans look to absorb and ultimately undermine the ideals of the tea party movement.

Before forming the Center for a Just Society, Connor served as chairman of the Family Research Council and with Florida Right-to-Life. He made a bid for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 1994, losing to Jeb Bush.

All eyes will be on Hollywood on Friday when Vice President Joe Biden helps U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, the Democratic nominee in the U.S. Senate race -- including those of the Republican in the race, former House Speaker Marco Rubio.

"Every time the president or vice president sets foot in Florida, we are reminded of their unfulfilled promises to tackle unemployment and the resulting debt from their failed stimulus experiment, said Rubio early on Friday.

Conservative leader Gary Bauer, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination back in 2000, weighed in on the Pledge to America unveiled by congressional Republicans on Thursday.

House Republicans today unveiled their much-anticipated 'Pledge To America,' which many pundits are comparing to the 1994 Contract With America, wrote Bauer to supporters. With the elections now 40 days away, House Republicans understand that most voters want something to vote for; they want to know what the GOP would do differently.

While most Florida politicians and parties are remaining distantly quiet on three appeals court judges striking down the states 33-year ban preventing homosexuals from adopting, there is one exception -- the state chapter ofAmericas Independent Party which ran conservative leader Alan Keyes for president in 2008.

On a busy Thursday in Washington, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis was able to show off his conservatism.

Bilirakis praised the Pledge to America backed by his fellow House Republicans.

U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, a Republican who represents the First Coast and parts of North Florida in Congress, was recognized on Thursday by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The NFIB awarded Crenshaw --who served as Senate president before his stint in Congress --the name of Guardian of Small Business.

While Sen. George LeMieux may be leaving Washington later this year, the Florida Republican, who was appointed to the Senate last year, scored a major victory on Thursday.

LeMieux helped draft the Small-Business Lending Act, which passed the Senate last week and made it through the House on Thursday. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the measure into law.

The Republican Party of Florida is trumpeting an op-ed written by three former secretaries of the Agency for Health Care Administration taking aim at Democratic attorney general candidate Sen. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach. Ruben King-Shaw, Alan Levin and Holly Benson, who lost to Pam Bondi in the Republican attorney general primary, argued that Gelbers plan, if elected, will dismiss the legal challenge launched by Attorney General Bill McCollum against new health-care laws backed by President Barack Obama.

On Thursday afternoon, U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw praised the Pledge to America being backed by his fellow congressional Republicans -- no surprise since the congressman from the First Coast is a deputy minority leader in the House. Crenshaw said the Republican agenda is needed to revive the economy and roll back massive spending backed by President Barack Obama and Democrats in Washington.