The campaign trail took former House Speaker Marco Rubio, the leading Republican candidate in the battle for the U.S. Senate seat, to Daytona on Saturday. Rubio campaigned at the Coke Zero 400 NASCAR race before heading to St. Petersburg for Independence Day Former Tallahassee Mayor Scott Maddox, the Democratic candidate for state agriculture and consumer services commissioner, is saying U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam is a hypocrite for voting against Wall Street reform while supporting bank bailouts. In an e-mail, his campaign sent out Friday, Maddox also continued to pound Putnam for backing offshore oil drilling
Gubernatorial candidates Rick Scott and Attorney General Bill McCollum are not the only Florida Republicans taking President Barack Obama to task for his speech on Thursday promising tougher immigration reforms. U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw said that the president was more concerned about scoring political points than actually securing the border Basing his plan on the tax breaks backed by the federal government after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller is proposing similar tax breaks for businesses and individuals harmed by the oil spill in the Gulf. The Panhandle Republican said he mentioned the idea to Obama and the president seemed receptive to it Using his position as the ranking Republican on the U.S. House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, U.S. Rep. Connie Mack has taken the lead on federal efforts to aid El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras after the damage caused by Tropical Storm Agatha
While he does not have the backing of a political party, it looks like independent Gov. Charlie Crist will be getting some outside help from a 527 group which does not have limits on contribution amounts. Friends for Freedom and Prosperity has been founded by Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, and former Senate President Ken Pruitt Former U.S. Rep. Joe Scarborough, now hosting a morning show on MSNBC, stirredthings up in Republican congressional circles by questioning GOP U.S. House Leader John Boehners work ethic. Scarborough contrasted Boehners hours on the job with former Republican congressional leaders including Newt Gingrich
While Associated Industries of Florida offered Republicans more praise than Democrats in their report on the 2010 session, AIF singled out two Democrats for praise. Rep. Perry Thurston, D-Plantation, was named a Champion of Business due to his advocacy on international commerce issues and Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Margate, won the AIF Florida Maritime Councils Senate Legislator of the Year due to his work on port issues. The Maritime Council also praised Rings partner on ports bills in the 2010 session, Rep. Lake Ray, R-Jacksonville, who won the councils House Legislator of the Year
Orlando Magazine released its list of the most powerful people in Central Florida and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer led the list, beating out U.S. Rep. John Mica who landed in the second spot. U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson and Sen. Lee Constantine, R-Altamonte Springs, placed in the top 10, beating out some prominent Florida politicians, including incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Springs, and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson who both ended up in the top 15. One politician who cracked the top 25 was Sen. Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando Sponsored by Mica, the U.S. House named a post office in Maitland after former U.S. Sen. Paula Hawkins, who represented Florida from 1981 until 1987.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com, or at (850) 727-0859.
