Lost in the shadow of the presidential contest, the race to become Florida’s next U.S. senator was shaped greatly in the past year, setting the stage for what is expected to be one of the most important contests in the nation as the GOP looks to preserve its majority in 2016.
The end of December 1778 proved an awful Christmas for the fledgling United States but a great Yuletide for Florida.
While East Florida was not, by any means, one of the focuses of attention during the Revolutionary War, the British and Americans battled for the region during the early stages of the war. East Florida, then a separate colony from West Florida, remained with the British during the American Revolution despite numerous attempts by the Americans to capture St. Augustine during the early stages of the war.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, announced on Monday that he was suspending his dark horse bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
Graham has not made much of a splash in the national polls or in surveys of key states, including his home base of South Carolina which holds its primary after Iowa and New Hampshire have their say. While Graham had won applause from the pundits for his witty debate performances, he remained stuck in the undercard debate with other dark horse candidates.
The Florida congressional delegation endured a year of highs and lows as they focused on veterans issues, the Middle East and leadership contests even as redistricting back home made them keep their focus on 2016.
The three Democrats running for the presidency clashed in a debate Saturday night in New Hampshire, home of the first primary. While the fight for the Republican nomination has been receiving the most attention, in recent days the Democratic contest has been front and center after news broke that Bernie Sanders’ campaign tapped into unauthorized voter files housed by the DNC. That was expected to be a major bone of contention but the issue fizzled after the first minutes.
As part of the $1.1 trillion omnibus bill Congress passed this week, $7.5 million will go to fight citrus greening which has devastated agriculture in the Sunshine State in recent years. The funds will go to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Huanglongbing Multiagency Coordination Group ((HLB-MAC) and Citrus Health Response Program to battle citrus greening.
Noting more than a million jobs were created on his watch, Gov. Rick Scott announced on Friday that there were 35,600 new private sector jobs in Florida last month as the unemployment rate dropped to 5.0 percent.
Despite losing to Paul Ryan in the House speakership race at the end of October, Dan Webster has kind words for his victorious rival even as he looks ahead to a difficult 2016.
A Florida congressman an teamed up with U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to offer a bill ensuring the federal government screens the social media of everyone who applies for a visa to visit the United States.
The business community is going to bat for Gov. Rick Scott’s call to cut the state’s commercial lease tax.
