After 10 Glorious Years, Sunshine State News and I Are Passing the Baton

Sen. Jim Norman, R-Tampa, is now listed as "Withdrew" from the Florida Senate District 17 race. Norman, a former Hillsborough County commissioner elected to the Senate in 2010, was rumored to be facing pressure not to complete the qualifying process before turning in all the paperwork last week. However, on Tuesday, with speculation again growing that Norman would bow out to avoid an expensive primary battle against House Speaker Pro Tempore John Legg, R-Port Richey, the state Division of Elections website has updated Normans status.

While there are five months to go until the 2012 presidential election, the gloves are coming off as Barack Obama and Mitt Romney hit the airwaves and go online to rip into each other. On Tuesday, the Obama team launched a new television ad hitting the airwaves in key battleground states -- including Florida -- that attacks Romneys record during his tenure as governor of Massachusetts. The ad attempts to play a little political jujitsu, taking Romneys attacks and turning them against him, slamming the Republicans record on running up government debt and on job creation.

Is anybody surprised that Democratic voters are more than twice as likely as Republicans to back New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's nanny plan to ban super-sized sugary drinks in the Big Apple? This, according to a new poll for The Hill.

Florida has filed a lawsuit against the federal government for failing to provide access to the Homeland Securitys SAVE database to help the state find noncitizens among Floridas registered voters. Gov. Rick Scott announced the lawsuit while on FOX News Monday afternoon.