The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) started running robo-calls against six Republican congressmen on Wednesday, hammering them on ethics issues. Two of the six targeted Republicans -- U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan and U.S. Rep. David Rivera -- are from Florida. The DCCC calls attack Buchanan for campaign contributions that came from a car dealership that he used to own and hammer Rivera on a number of fronts While state Rep. Luis Garcia, D-Miami, has already announced that he plans to challenge Rivera, the Republican congressman may face another Democratic challenger. Annette Taddeo, a businesswoman who ran against Republican U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in 2008 and for the Miami-Dade County Commission in 2010, is considering entering the race. Despite having the most money of any of the candidates in the field, Taddeo failed to make the runoff in 2010 ... While Rivera has been using his perch on the House Foreign Affairs Committee to weigh in on everything ranging from free-trade agreements to North Korean diplomacy, the congressman continues to build ties across his South Florida district. On Monday, at an event making Independence Day, Rivera offered the keynote address to a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services naturalization ceremony in Kendall, welcoming the new citizens
With the last space shuttle scheduled for Friday, Gov. Rick Scott and his administration are looking to focus on new tech jobs, including companies pushing private space flight. Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll will be on the Space Coast on Thursday, visiting SpaceX, a company which is based at the Kennedy Space Center looking to push commercial space flight. Carroll will also tour the Rivian Automotive company in Rockledge. Working with NASA employees, Rivian is hoping to unveil a sports car that gets 60 miles per gallon Brian Hughes, who served as Scotts deputy director of communications, has been chosen to be the director of communications for the Republican Party of Florida. Hughes, a Tallahassee veteran, also served as the communications director for Jeff Atwaters successful bid to become state CFO in 2010 ... Former state Attorney General Jim Smith, who stepped down from Smith & Ballard has moved over to the Southern Strategy Group. Southern Strategy was founded by Paul Bradshaw who helped Smith in the crowded 1994 Republican gubernatorial primary which was won by Jeb Bush
The team behind state Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, is noting their candidates fundraising in the second quarter of 2011 as he runs for the Republican nomination to take on Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012. The Haridopolos teambrought in $900,000 for that period. While the Haridopolos camp raised $2.6 million in the first quarter, they noted that their candidate was less concerned with fundraising and more focused on presiding over the Senate during the 2011 session Haridopolos lost his Senate communications director this week. David Bishop, who also served as the press secretary for then-Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamps bid to become attorney general in 2010, is headed to the state lottery where he will serve asdeputy secretary for brand management and handle communications A Republican has emerged to challenge U.S. Rep. Connie Mack in the 2012 primaries -- and its not Chauncey Goss. Its Timothy Rossano, a service engineer best known for running numerous times with a distinct lack of success for office in Rhode Island
Former U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez appeared on NBCs "Meet the Press" on Sunday morning. Martinez continued his push for the federal government to provide a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens, noting that Congress could do it in stages, starting with reforming visas for skilled workers State Rep. Patrick Rooney, R-West Palm Beach, has filed a bill for 2012 which would prohibit protests near funeral services for members of the armed forces, children, first responders and public officials. This in response to the Westboro Baptist Church, the Kansas-based church led by Fred Phelps, which pickets funerals of fallen servicemen. Phelps and his congregation maintain that 9/11 and the deaths of military personnel since that time have been Gods retribution for American acceptance of homosexuality On July 4, the Florida Libertarian Party sent out a letter to each of the 67 county sheriffs across the Sunshine State, urging them to arrest TSA personnel who perform pat-downs and intrusive searches during screenings at airports.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
