Expect Florida once again to be the political frontline in November as a new poll shows a tight contest between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to take the 29 Electoral College votes in the Sunshine State.

A poll of likely Florida voters taken by Rasmussen Reports shows that Romney takes 46 percent of those surveyed while Obama is right on his heels with 45 percent. While 4 percent remain undecided, 5 percent say they plan on backing other candidates in the race.

The stakes are being raised in a competitive Republican primary battle between two incumbents, a congressman anda congresswoman, battling it out for a U.S. House seat in Central Florida.

On Tuesday, freshman U.S. Rep. Sandy Adams, who is facing a primary on Aug. 14 against fellow Florida Republican U.S. Rep. John Mica, played up her stances on immigration on Tuesday when Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the Arizona law enforcement official who has won national attention on immigration and investigating President Barack Obamas birth certificate, endorsed her.

The conservative group Americans For Prosperity-Florida has landed six current legislators to sign on to their new five-point solutions for the state as they released a list of 39 congressional, state and county candidates that have backed the plan.

In response to Friday mornings dismal jobs report showing yet another month of unemployment at 8.2 percent the chairman of Obamas Council of Economic Advisers, Alan Krueger said, "It is important not to read too much into any one monthly report.

Florida is both a model and a cautionary tale for other states grappling with violent crimes against homeless people, and on Tuesday it will play a lead role at a congressional hearing on the subject.

A model: Florida passed a law in 2010 making violence against the homeless a hate crime, including a corresponding increase in penalties. It was the second state to do so.

A cautionary tale: Florida led the nation in violence against homeless people last year and drew national headlines in late May because of the bizarre "face-eating" attack on a homeless man in Miami.

Get ready to cough up some answers, Governor. In the words of Ricky Ricardo, you've got some 'splainin' to do. Not that any of the "liberally convinced" in the Sunshine State will believe a word you say.

Comes now news from across the pond that executives at one of the world's most respected banks, Barclays, rigged Libor. Even the venerable Bank of England is apparently being investigated.

An educated and trained work force, a positive business climate and the states natural amenities are the biggest lure for companies that have recently come to Florida, the majority on their own without local or state incentives, according to the research arm of the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

Still, people running those businesses expressed somewhat of a burden from areas such as payroll taxes and health care costs, the Florida Chamber Foundation reported Monday.

There is something distinctly odd about U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., penning an autobiography. Rubio is a rising political star to be sure, and at the national level even. But he is still only 41.

Even as his chances of ending up as Mitt Romneys running mate seem to fade, there remains a feeling that Rubio is a man whose day will come -- but its not here yet.