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

A new national poll from the Washington Post and ABC News found that businessman Herman Cain is surging in the Republican presidential race after his win at the Presidency 5 straw poll in Orlando last month. Former Gov. Mitt Romney topped the poll with 25 percent while Cain tied Texas Gov. Rick Perry for second with 16 percent -- a reversal of fortune for both men from a Washington Post/ABC News poll taken at the end of August and start of September. In that poll, Perry led with 29 percent and Cain lagged well behind the front-runners with 4 percent.

A fourth member of the Florida House of Representatives is behind businessman Herman Cains bid for the Republican presidential nomination. State Rep. Elizabeth Porter, R-Lake City, joins three of her fellow Republicans in the House -- Larry Ahern of St. Petersburg, Scott Plakon of Longwood and Carlos Trujillo of Miami -- in backing Cain who won the Presidency 5 straw poll in Orlando last month. Porter, a freshman who beat a Democratic incumbent in 2010, represents all of Gilchrist, Lafayette and Suwanee counties, and parts of Alachua, Columbia and Dixie counties.

Military bases in Florida will bring nearly $2.5 million to surrounding communities, Gov. Rick Scott announced Monday. These programs work to protect a $65 billion economic impact, and the over 686,181 direct and indirect jobs which the defense industry annually infuses into Florida, Scott stated in a release.

Longtime Florida Republican activist Paul Senft endorsed Gov. Rick Perry of Texas for the GOP presidential nomination on Monday. Senft has been active with the Republican National (RNC) Executive Committee, serving as a national committeeman for Florida since 2004. Senft has also been active in his home base of Haines City, having led the Polk County Republican Executive Committee.