The Republican Party of Florida announced on Wednesday that their chairman, Sen. John Thrasher, R-Jacksonville, would be hosting a dinner in September at Lake Buena Vista with the GOP candidates for statewide office and former RNC boss and possible 2012 presidential hopeful, Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi The three candidates in the Republican race for attorney general are starting to hit the airwaves and mailboxes. Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp and former Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi have launched TV commercials and they, and former Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Holly Benson, have launched direct-mail campaigns. Bondi received the endorsement of former RPOF Chairman Al Cardenas earlier this week, while Kottkamp reinforced his conservative credentials by defending Floridas law prohibiting homosexual couples from adopting and by praising Attorney General Bill McCollums challenge to new federal health-care laws backed by President Barack Obama Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, continues to build his team in Broward County for his campaign for the Democratic attorney general nomination. Gelber was endorsed by former Sen. Skip Campbell on Wednesday
The campaign trail takes former House Speaker Marco Rubio, the favorite to be the Republican candidate in the U.S. Senate race, to Orlando on Thursday. Rubio will be speaking to the Florida Home Builders Association in the morning and then at a town hall event in the afternoon Alan Levine is headed back to Florida, taking over as senior vice president for health development at Health Management Associates, a company based out of Naples that runs almost 60 hospitals in 15 states. Levine had been secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals but is best known to Floridians for his time as CEO of Broward Health and as a staffer to former Gov. Jeb Bush, ending up as secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration Independent gubernatorial candidate Bud Chiles continues to make alternative energy one of the cornerstones of his campaign. Chiles was at SDI Solar in Lake Park on Wednesday, criticizing the other candidates in the race for their support of oil companies and blasting the two parties for being controlled by the special interests
U.S. Rep. Connie Mack generally focuses on Latin-American affairs but the Republican congressman will be teaming up with U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, a Democrat from New York, to urge the Obama administration to recognize Kosovo. Mack, Engel and Kosovos prime minister will be holding media events on Thursday to push the administration to recognize the Balkan nation Mack is not the only Florida Republican in Congress getting more active in international affairs. U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw has become the leading Republican in the House backing a bipartisan act against child marriage which looks to make changes in foreign aid, hoping to prevent the practice of underage weddings U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan is increasingly becoming active in national politics, backing his fellow House Republican Zach Wamp who is facing a crowded primary for the GOP gubernatorial nod in Tennessee
With billionaire financier Jeff Greene making forays into Liberty City, his chief rival for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, held a rally there on Sunday with more than 200 people in attendance. Liberty City has traditionally backed Meek and his mother, former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek, over the years but Greene has made efforts there in recent weeks Craig Meyer, best known for his service as an aide to Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson, but also a chief of staff for Senate President Bob Crawford, is heading back to work in the Senate. Meyer will be running the Senate budget office under Incoming Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island Conservative Minnesota U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann formed a Tea Party Caucus in the House and two Florida Republicans have signed up -- Gus Bilirakis and Cliff Stearns.
Contact Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or (850) 727-0859.
