Republicans hold the high ground in Floridas political battles.
They control the governorship and all the state Cabinet offices. Most of the Florida congressional delegation is Republican and they have veto-proof majorities in both chambers of the state Legislature.
But they cant quite get their act together in taking on Democrat U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who is seeking a third term in November.
A Suffolk University/7NEWS (WSVN in Miami) poll released on Thursday finds that Floridians remain behind the Stand Your Ground laws despite the death of Trayvon Martin -- but think that local law enforcement needs to keep a closer tab on neighborhood watches.
The two leading Republican candidates looking to challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson took off the gloves Thursday and ripped into each other on a range of issues.
Former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux took aim at U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, bashing the congressman for a mailer sent out to Floridians outside his district.
A poll released by Suffolk University/7News (WSVN in Miami) on Wednesday finds that President Barack Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, the overwhelming favorite for the Republican nomination, are in a close fight to win Florida in November, but the Republicans can increase their odds of carrying the Sunshine State if a favorite son -- namely former Gov. Jeb Bush or freshman U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. -- is added to the ticket.
On Wednesday, the scion of one political dynasty announced that he was backing the heir to another, as U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., endorsed Connie Macks bid to challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.
Macks father -- former U.S. Sen. Connie Mack -- held the seat for two terms before retiring in 2000. Paul, a rising star in the Republican Party and a favorite of the tea party movement, is the son of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who is currently making his second bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
This week, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania offered his endorsement to the man who appears to have beaten him out for the Republican presidential nomination -- former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts.
Santorum, who came out of nowhere to win contests in 11 states to emerge as the chief conservative opponent for Romney, sent out a message to supporters late on Monday in which he backed Romney -- but let his supporters know that he and Romney continued to have differences.
A national poll of likely voters released by Rasmussen Reports Tuesday shows that Ron Paul, who is the only major opponent that Mitt Romney faces for the Republican presidential nomination, would be a major factor if he made a third-party presidential bid in 2012.
As he continues his bid for the Republican nomination to challenge incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, U.S. Rep. Connie Mack is turning to prominent supporters to introduce him to Florida voters -- while his chief GOP primary rival, former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, attempts to characterize him in a new attack ad.
Mack turned to former presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., on Tuesday to reach out to conservatives in the Sunshine State. Bachmann announced last week that she was backing Mack in the Senate race.
During his bid for the Republican presidential nomination earlier in the 2012 election cycle, businessman Herman Cain scored his greatest success when he won the Presidency 5 straw poll held by the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) in Orlando back in September. While Cain -- unlike all other previous winners of the straw poll -- did not go on to win the Republican nomination, he is continuing to play an active role in the politics of the Sunshine State.
Now that Gary Johnson, the former New Mexico governor who sought the Republican presidential nomination before pulling out ahead of the Iowa caucus, has won the Libertarian Partys nomination, its clear that he is targeting supporters of a former rival for the GOP nod and a former Libertarian nominee -- Ron Paul.
