With the fate of Floridas public campaign finance law before a federal court, Republican Bill McCollums campaign continues to work the margins with millions of dollars swirling around and passing between murky political committees.
Republican Rick Scott seemed to push the right buttons Thursday, appearing before about 300 Sarasota County GOP activists, calling for tougher immigration laws, a smaller state government and turning Florida into a hub of job creation.
Even as Florida Democrats pushed Monday for wide-ranging action, House Republicans continued to signal that this weeks special session could end with a thud and within minutes of its opening.
Republican Rick Scott lost his bid Wednesday to have part of Floridas public campaign-finance law overturned, but even the judge siding with opponent Bill McCollum conceded the 23-year-old measure may not survive this election season.
With the push for an Arizona-style immigration law already playing a central role in the Republican primary for governor, a pair of Florida legislators Tuesday sought to add the issue to next weeks special session on oil drilling.
Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, and Rep. Kevin Ambler, R-Tampa, unveiled measures that would make it a crime for aliens in Florida not to carry registration documents required by federal law, while authorizing state and local law enforcement officials to question the immigration status of residents.
Supporters of Gov. Charlie Crist are taking steps to armor his independent U.S. Senate campaign against an expected massive spending campaign by the national Democratic and Republican parties.
Florida Republican gubernatorial contenders Bill McCollum and Rick Scott have been blasting each other over immigration, but joined together Thursday in criticizing President Obamas proposed overhaul.
In his first major address on immigration, Obama urged Congress to approve legislation toughening border security and creating a path toward citizenship for the estimated 11 million people illegally in the U.S.
Obama also repeated his opposition to Arizonas law giving law enforcement officers broad authority to question the immigration status of residents.
Florida Democrats joined with Republican Rick Scott in demanding Wednesday that gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum appoint an independent prosecutor to continue the criminal case against the states former GOP chairman, saying the current probe has forced the attorney general into a legal conflict.
Florida Democrats heightened the pressure Tuesday on ruling Republicans to call a special session soon on a range of issues stemming from the BP oil spill.
Incoming House Democratic Leader Ron Saunders of Key West said local governments and property owners along the Gulf Coast are already absorbing millions of dollars in costs associated with the spill and deserve a swifter response from the state Legislature.
Senate President-designate Mike Haridopolos is looking like the latest top Florida lawmaker putting his money behind fellow Republican Bill McCollum in his primary fight with multimillionaire Rick Scott.
Haridopolos Freedom First Committee recently took in $500,000 from three Broward County companies, but quickly transfered most of the cash to another political committee whose leaders are supporting McCollum in the Republican primary for governor.
