With only a month until the primary election, the two leading candidates for the Democratic nomination in the U.S. Senate election are getting nasty, increasing the barrage of attacks against one another -- while polls show that Gov. Charlie Crist may be getting more Democratic support than either billionaire financier Jeff Greene or U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, and national pundits speculate whether Crist will join Democrats in the Senate if elected.

While he is not running in 2010, U.S. Sen. George LeMieux is already the subject of whispers that he will run against U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012 -- and history may not be against him as much as it is other politicians appointed to the Senate and looking to win elections.

While Florida gets ready for a special session of the Legislature that convenes Tuesday to ponder the future of oil drilling in state waters, the U.S. Coast Guard increasingly is playing a prominent role in combating the effects of the Gulf oil spill.

With candidates for federal office filing their second-quarter fund-raising numbers this week, and less than six weeks until primaries, the battle in Florida for congressional seats is taking clearer shape.

With U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart running in another district, this seat is vacant -- and has drawn major candidates from both parties.

Having raised more than $1.7 million for her bid for another term, Democratic U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas has more than $1.2 million on hand. Almost $765,000 of her funds come from PACs.

Veteran U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, a Democrat, appears headed for another term in Congress. With financial figures in from the second quarter of 2010, Hastings has raised more than $610,000 and has slightly less than $300,000 in the bank.

Republicans are saying this is the U.S. House seat they will pick up in Florida. Democratic congressman Ron Klein is facing challenges on two fronts. Air Force Vet Paul Renneisen is back to once again challenge Klein in the primary. Retired Army officer Allen West, who lost to Klein in 2008, wants a rematch, but he has to get by David Brady first for the Republican nomination.

Nobody in Floridas congressional delegation has an easier battle for re-election than congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, who jumped from the 25th Congressional District to the 21st, saying the seat his brother Lincoln was vacating was safer for a Republican. He doesn't have an opponent and had more than $320,000 on hand on June 30.

Democratic congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz has raised more than $514,000 from individuals so far and more than $785,000 in PAC money. With almost $876,000 in her war chest, Wasserman-Schultz appears headed for another term.