Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday defended his decision to hire tea party activist Robin Stublen as a new "deputy director of public liaison" at $70,000 a year, pledging to "hold him accountable" to the taxpayers.

Stublen is one of seven people working around the state with a goal of keeping their ear to the ground for what the public wants, Scott said. While Stublen is just one of two deputies in the office, his hiring drew immediate criticism from Democrats and other critics of the Republican governor, who has gotten heavy backing from the tea party movement.

For an energy source once touted as too cheap to meter, nuclear power bills sure are piling up. U.S. taxpayers are on the hook for a growing, multibillion-dollar tab to dispose of tons of radioactive waste and Florida's two biggest utilities are seeking another round of rate increases to help pay for new reactors.

The cost of nuclear power takes center stage Wednesday when the state's Public Service Commission opens a series of rate hearings.

With a debate between the Republican presidential candidates scheduled for Thursday night and the Iowa straw poll in Ames on Saturday, GOP hopefuls continued to work the Hawkeye State Tuesday, looking to build momentum.

Five of the candidates -- U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, businessman Herman Cain, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania -- campaigned across Iowa, hoping to gain traction since former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, the front-runner in the race, is downplaying the straw poll.