Former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre, overshadowed in the Democratic primary in theU.S. Senate raceby the bitter battle between U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek and billionaire financier Jeff Greene, is trying to get back into the race by focusing on renewable energy and offering a vision for a new economy.

Sen. Joe Negron, R-Palm City, says his decision to quit statewide law firm Akerman Senterfitt had nothing to do with the firm's decision to represent BP.

"My professional move was unrelated to Dan Gelber's situation," he told Sunshine State News, referring to the Democratic senator's decision to resign from the law firm Thursday because BP is its client. "I'm reconnecting with my litigation career."

Negron says he quit the firm two weeks ago to join business law firm Gunster, which has offices in West Palm Beach and Stuart.

Republicans Karen Harrington, Robert Lowry and Donna Milo have launched bids to knock off U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz -- hoping to tap into the anti-incumbent mood shaping the national political landscape. They are also throwing a few jabs at the incumbent, saying she is vulnerable come November.

Its not just an anti-incumbent mood for Debbie, said Milo. Her base is moving away from her.

At a meeting of Gov. Charlie Crist's Gulf Oil Spill Economic Recovery Task Force Wednesday, the president and CEO of the state's public-private marketing corporation lamented that the state was running out of advertising money from BP.

Florida was given $25 million by BP last month to fund local and state advertising campaigns meant to combat the negative press caused by the oil spill, but Chris Thompson of Visit Florida told BP that allotment of cash is not enough. Thompson, speaking at the Pensacola meeting, told the public face of BP that the tourism industry needs more.

The Arab American Institute is criticizing Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Greene for insensitive remarks on Muslims made in an article last week that appeared in the Washington Post.

The tourism industries in states impacted by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill will need $500 million more from BP for a marketing campaign to counter bad perceptions created by the spill, USA Today reports.

Former Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Holly Benson, currently in a tight battle for the Republican attorney general nomination, weighed in on the Supreme Court decision on Monday, striking down local gun-control laws.

This decision by the Supreme Court is a monumental victory for freedom and the Second Amendment in America, said Benson. The highest court in the land has reaffirmed that our Second Amendment rights are absolute, and that government interference of these rights, at any level, will not be tolerated.

Jeff Greene scored an endorsement in the backyard of his chief rival for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday. The Liberty City Democratic Network Club backed Greene over U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek.

Anxieties about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill have combined with a slow economy to cut June consumer confidence in the state by 3 points compared to last year at this time.

A University of Florida survey reports that between this year and last, consumer confidence fell from 70 to 67 points, and perception of personal finances fell from 54 to 45 points. Perceptions of personal finance for the coming year fell from 79 to 75.

John Stemberger, president and general counsel of the Florida Family Policy Council, endorsed Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp for attorney general on Tuesday.