Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson's highly paid spokesman crossed the line when he touted a political poll to a Florida newspaper, a Heritage Foundation fellow charged.

"Most [spokesmen] know they're supposed to draw a line on political activity. When a staffer is handing out materials that are not at all related to the business before the Senate, that's a problem," said Hans von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at the conservative Washington think tank.

Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlin made news of sorts on Oct. 6 when an Orlando Sentinel blog reported:

A newly formed small-business advocacy group praised Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday for his continued efforts to reduce regulations, but added that federal regulations continue to hinder economic growth.

Small Businesses for Sensible Regulations, a new coalition in Florida created by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, decried what they say are ramped-up efforts to impose regulations under President Obamas administration at the expense of small businesses and their customers.

A quartet of Senate Republicans made the $100,000 club in the third quarter to lead their chamber in fundraising efforts for the three months that ended Sept. 30.

Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, topped all candidates by taking in $154,725 for the latest campaign reporting period, according to reports filed with the Department of State. Latvala, a freshman legislator in name only, has been talked about as a possible future Senate president. He served eight years in the Senate from 1994 to 2002 and then after leaving returned in 2010.

Republican U.S. Senate contender George LeMieux stumped on his new campaign platform Wednesday during a visit to the Florida Press Center in Tallahassee -- and his main primary opponents camp was quick to label the plan as not being anything new or particularly imaginative.

LeMieuxs Four Freedoms Plan combines many of his earlier positions, separating them into employment, debt reduction, foreign investments and homeownership.

According to Public Policy Polling, a firm with connections to prominent national Democrats, businessman Herman Cain has jumped ahead of former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts to lead the pack of hopefuls for the Republican presidential nomination.

PPP released a national poll on Wednesday showing Cain with 30 percent and Romney trailing with 22 percent. Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich was barely leading Texas Gov. Rick Perry for third place, taking 15 percent, with the governor of the Lone Star State right behind him with 14 percent.

Pledging to make Florida "the nations leader in job creation and economic growth," Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday unveiled a seven-point plan to cut corporate taxes and require "re-employment" training for jobless workers.

Speaking at a precision-metal and plastics fabricator company in suburban Orlando, Scott also vowed to clean up Florida's troubled workforce development boards and prioritize education spending on technology, engineering and mathematics.

The Republican governor doubled down on business tax relief enacted earlier this year by proposing to:

On May 3, the chief of police in Beaver Meadows, Pa., stopped a man for speeding.