Florida

Florida counts the number of ways to screw up a machine recount

The last two years have seen a great deal of handwringing about the future of democracy. Scores of commentators, left and right, have claimed America’s democratic institutions are under siege. Some, mostly on the left, advocate a variety of changes to the Constitution in order to make our electoral…

The midterm elections were a draw, with both sides able to make claims of victory. The Republicans bolstered their majority in the Senate, thanks largely to the Democrats’ shameful treatment of Brett Kavanaugh. The Democrats took the House, cutting off any chance that the GOP will pass major…

Rick Scott, Ron DeSantis defy predictions to win Senate, gubernatorial races.

A statistic that’ll be relevant for about five more days.

Gov. Rick Scott issues executive order to give eight affected counties more flexibility regarding election procedures.

Two very different Republicans try to win in the same state in a rough year.

That means you, Marco Rubio.

Plus, introducing the Secretary of Swagger.

No. It’s just amateur, unmarked, photoshopping.

SwingSeat update: We have updated forecasts in Texas, Arizona, and Florida.

Readers who’ve spent time before city or county councils may know how lawless these bodies can sometimes be. Many hold “public” meetings without announcing the time or place, disregard laws on raising taxes and the appropriation of public money, hide the details of procurement contracts and…

A teenage citizen-journalist battles the bureaucracy over the Parkland shooting.

Rick Scott is running to unseat Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in Florida.

The school walkout—or to speak correctly, the Enough! National School Walkout—took place on March 14. The point of the event was to call attention to the need for gun-control legislation. Students were to walk out of their classrooms at 10:00 a.m. for 17 minutes to remember the 17 people killed at…

Thousands upon thousands of Puerto Ricans have landed in Florida in the months since Hurricane Maria battered their island. They have simple priorities, but complicated needs.

Hours after the Parkland, Fla., school shooting, Zeynep Tufekci spent part of her evening calling out major media that aired video of students trembling while the noise of gunshots ruptured the air. “This is a snuff film,” she said of one such clip, which was embedded atop a New York Times story.…

Today on the Daily Standard Podcast, managing editor Christine Rosen and deputy online editor Jim Swift discuss the legacy of William F. Buckley, Jr. on the tenth anniversary of his death, the resurgence of the fringe candidate, and President Trump's most recent comments on the school shooting in…

Claims of “crisis actors” in the wake of the deadly shooting in Florida sounded off across the internet’s conspiratorial corners, garnering attention on sites such as Gateway Pundit and True Pundit.

Claims of “crisis actors” in the wake of the deadly shooting in Florida sounded off across the internet’s conspiratorial corners, garnering attention on sites such as Gateway Pundit and True Pundit.

On February 14, a deeply troubled young man named Nikolas Cruz walked into the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Cruz, 19, took an AR-15 rifle out of a black duffel bag and began firing at students in the hallways and in classrooms. In all, he murdered 17 people and injured…

Nikolas Cruz delighted in torturing animals. The Florida school shooter is reported to have killed frogs and squirrels, and sicced a dog on a neighbor’s piglets. Cruz’s social media feeds were replete with images of dead and maimed critters, apparently hurt by his own hand.

Students and teachers who survived a deadly high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, last week expressed opposition to arming teachers as a response to the threat of mass shootings during a CNN town hall with lawmakers Wednesday night.

When Matt Gaetz came to Washington last year, he could easily have been mistaken for the typical freshman member of Congress. The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call ran a short profile of him under the headline “The Least Interesting (Fresh) Man in the House.”

The Florida Supreme Court became one of the first courts in the world to air its proceedings live on Facebook.

How we got here with Roy Moore. On Twitter, Alex Burns has a (sad!) look back at how the GOP arrived at today's predicament with Roy Moore. It's a choose your own adventure. Remember those? Except with this one, Republicans always lose.

We're going to 20! My Cleveland Indians are red hot right now, having won 15 games in a row. Impressively, the Indians also won 14 straight last season. An Ohio roofing and window company celebrating its 15th anniversary thought it'd be a fun contest to offer customers a 100 percent refund on work…

Pensacola, Fla.

Florida governor Rick Scott told reporters Tuesday that he wouldn't rule out a run for Senate in 2018, the year voters will choose his successor on account of his being term-limited.

In crucial states for Trump's path to the White House, incumbent Republican senators have cruised to victory in what had been previously expected to be close reelection contests.

Republican senator Marco Rubio is maintaining a six-point lead against Democratic congressman Patrick Murphy, according to a University of North Florida (UNF) poll released Thursday.

Florida Republican senator Marco Rubio has held on to a slight lead over Democratic congressman Patrick Murphy ahead of their final Senate debate in the Sunshine State Wednesday.

When Florida Democrat Randy Perkins faced off against his Republican opponent Brian Mast at an editorial board meeting last month, the two had some unpleasant exchanges, including one in which Perkins badgered Mast, a wounded veteran, about his health care:

For the first time ever, the Democratic platform is explicitly calling for a repeal of the Hyde amendment, a longstanding budget measure that prohibits federal funding of abortion except in very rare cases.

Like almost every Republican incumbent in a battleground state this year, Florida senator Marco Rubio had to survive the Donald Trump portion of a debate Monday night before he could focus the event on his own race. He succeeded in doing both—and he took advantage by outmaneuvering Democratic…

The latest surveys of swing states in the election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton find the GOP candidate lagging in critical battlegrounds, with both nominees still sitting below 50 percent in expanded three- and four-candidate fields.

Hillary Clinton added a wrinkle to her consistent criticism of Donald Trump's "strongman" approach to governing Friday, using the near-dictionary definition of a despot to describe the GOP nominee for president.

Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez was killed in a boating accident Sunday morning. The 24-year-old right-hander was 16-8, with an ERA of 2.86, and he had the second-most strikeouts, 253 in 182.1 innings, in the major leagues. On Wednesday, he pitched 8 innings of shutout baseball against the…

Two recent Quinnipiac University polls have some good news for Senate Republicans.

Brian Mast, a first-time candidate and political novice, won a crowded Republican primary for a South Florida House seat Tuesday. Among the candidates he beat were the wife of the state senate president. The 35-year-old father of three isn't just a multi-tour combat veteran of Afghanistan—he's a…

The low point for Marco Rubio came on March 15 when he was trounced in the Republican presidential primary in Florida, his home state, by Donald Trump, 46 to 27 percent. At that point, it appeared Rubio would finish his Senate career at the end of the year and leave politics behind.

Executive editor Fred Barnes discussed Tuesday's tightest and most significant congressional primary races with the Wall Street Journal's Mary Kissel.

The top spokesman for the Republican National Committee defended Donald Trump's outreach and appeal to black voters, citing the color-blind membership policy of the GOP nominee's swanky South Florida Mar-a-Lago golf club.

Hillary Clinton is leading Donald Trump in the battleground states of Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, and Colorado, according to four NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist polls released Friday.

Florida congresswoman Corrine Brown and her chief of staff were recently indicted for fraud. Prosecutors allege Brown and chief of staff Ronnie Simmons used a charity as a personal slush fund to pay for things like the "use of luxury boxes for an NFL game and a Beyoncé concert."

Now that Marco Rubio is vying to keep his Senate seat, he has one serious challenger in the primary: Carlos Beruff.

Congressman Patrick Murphy of Florida has long been considered by national Democrats as the party's best chance to snatch Republican Marco Rubio's seat. The young, attractive, establishment-friendly House member (from a wealthy family, no less) looked like a much surer and smarter bet when Barack…

Miami

Fox News reports:

Over the next two weeks, the non-Donald Trump candidates (except for Ben Carson) will stay in the race. That's fine. And the good news (if you're in the anti-Trump camp) is that all they have to do is pursue their enlightened self-interest, and that their interests pretty much coincide.

Earlier today in Saraosta, Florida, Marco Rubio gave a speech to supporters outlining his views on economic policy, and contrasting himself with Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

The super PAC supporting former Florida governor Jeb Bush for president told the New York Times that it plans on using its resources to hit Florida senator Marco Rubio over his pro-life record as well as missed votes in the Senate. The Times reported Tuesday that Right to Rise, which has raised…

The Florida Republican party has released video of Hillary Clinton supporters being unable to name an accomplishment of the former first lady, senator, and secretary of state. To make matters worse, the supporters the Florida GOP interviews are at a Clinton campaign event.

While their fireworks have earned Carly Fiorina and Donald Trump the most attention after Wednesday night’s Republican debate in California, the winner for the most detailed and substantive performance may go to Marco Rubio. 

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, came out swinging against several of the Republican candidates for president in a Thursday breakfast with reporters. The Florida congresswoman reserved most of her fire for her fellow Sunshine Staters, calling Marco Rubio a…

A new OpinionSavvy/InsiderAdvantage poll shows Donald Trump doing better in the South than he is nationally. In Georgia, The Donald’s 30 percent is nearly double his closest competitor, Jeb Bush (17 percent), Ben Carson’s at 10 percent, and the rest of the field is single digits—or zero, as in the…

In his run for the GOP nomination in 2000, George W. Bush successfully united establishment Republicans and social conservatives. As a Chamber-friendly evangelical who could speak honestly about how Jesus Christ “changed my heart,” Bush created an unbeatable coalition that energized the socially…

Both Florida Republicans running for president are tied for first among registered voters in their party, according to a new poll of the Sunshine State from Quinnipiac.

On Thursday, reason.com published a genuinely outrageous report about two parents who had been arrested, strip-searched, jailed overnight, and charged with felony child neglect simply because their 11-year-old son had been left alone to play basketball for 90 minutes in his own backyard.

A new poll of Florida Republican primary voters finds a tightening race between the Sunshine State's two favorite sons in the 2016 GOP presidential primary. According to St. Leo University's Polling Institute, former governor Jeb Bush has 30 percent support among likely Republican primary voters in…

Florida press is knocking Hillary Clinton for hiding during her visit to the Sunshine State.

Oklahoma City

Since announcing his candidacy for the president last month, Florida senator Marco Rubio has surged in the polls for the Republican nomination. He's now tied with Wisconsin governor Scott Walker and trails former Florida governor Jeb Bush by two points in the Real Clear Politics average of polls.…

It was the biggest weekend of the spring, with people coming from all over to a little strip of beach known as “Perdido Key,” for a gathering known as the FloraBama Mullet Toss. It has been going on for three decades and every year it grows; it now claims to draw numbers in the “tens of…

Nowadays when you mention the book Profiles in Character to Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida and, as it happens, the coauthor of Profiles in Character, he immediately cracks wise.

Miami

The president is taking Air Force One to Florida this week. He is going there, unsurprisingly, to make a speech. On Earth Day, about climate change. He could make the speech in Washington, of course, but he needs a prop—in this case, will be the Everglades, which he describes as “one of the most…

Marco Rubio told ABC News's George Stephanopoulos that the United States is at a "generational moment"—a further sign the 43-year-old Republican senator will make his youth a focus of his presidential campaign against older candidates in both the primary and general election.

Florida senator Marco Rubio is running for president. The Associated Press reports Rubio told donors Monday he would seek the Republican nomination. Here's the AP:

Marco Rubio, the Florida senator who is expected to announce he is running for president next week, has released a video titled "A New American Century." The five-and-a-half-minute video stitches together several speeches Rubio has given since his 2010 run for the U.S. Senate. The patchwork speech…

A front-page story in Tuesday’s Washington Post examines former Florida governor Jeb Bush’s record on ending affirmative action for college admissions. Through a 2000 executive order, Bush banned racial preferences in Florida’s public universities and colleges. The move was controversial at the…

Des Moines

Scott Walker may not be a candidate for president yet, but the Wisconsin governor’s growing political action committee staff is already going after a potential rival in the Republican primary. GOP strategist Liz Mair, CNN reports, has just signed on to consult for Walker’s Our American Revival PAC,…

Republican senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah have returned to the pages of the Wall Street Journal to tout their latest tax reform proposal. The Republicans call their plan both "pro-growth" and "pro-family," and say it addresses inequities in the tax code for businesses and…

Florida congresswoman and chairman of the Democratic National Committee Debbie Wasserman Schultz might have been the subject of a federal investigation, suggests a former Democratic politician and ex-con. Politico reports that Wasserman Schultz "offered to change her position on medical marijuana…

Marc Caputo reports at Politico that Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz is eyeing a seat in the Senate:

News today came that Marco Rubio looks likely to run for president. What to make of this?

Back in the late 1970s, when I worked for Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan, our office followed the changing data about the Empire State closely.  It was a habit of Pat Moynihan’s, indeed almost an obsession, to chart the state’s decline.

Jeb Bush is considering running for president in 2016, but he might have run in 2008 if not for the reasonable belief the country wouldn't elect brothers to the White House successively.

Charlie Crist has lost his race for governor in Florida, falling short to Republican incumbent Rick Scott, the Associated Press projects.

Health insurance is going to be more expensive in 2015 for those in Florida who purchase it on the individual market's exchange set up by the Obamacare. The Miami Herald reports:

It looks like Florida legislators are heading back to the drawing board—literally. On July 10, Tallahassee circuit court judge Terry Lewis ruled that the GOP-run legislature violated the state constitution by redrawing two congressional districts “with the intention of obtaining enacted maps…

A new poll shows Florida Republican governor Rick Scott behind his most likely opponent, Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat Charlie Crist, by 10 points. The Quinnipiac poll of registered voters found 48 percent support Crist while 38 percent support Scott. Scott's fortunes would improve…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with executive editor Fred Barnes on the GOP win in the special election in Florida, and what it means for 2014.

Republican David Jolly won Tuesday's special election for an open House seat in Florida over Democrat Alex Sink, a former chief financial officer for the state and a 2010 candidate for governor. Jolly, a lobbyist and one-time congressional staffer, is succeeding his former boss, the late Bill…

A Florida TV station reports that a man has spent 50-60 hours trying to cancel his Obamacare plan, and he still can't get off it:

A new ad slated to start airing this weekend targets Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz for opposing Iran sanctions:

Seems that New York is about to be overtaken by Florida as the nation’s third most populous state. As Jesse McKinley of the New York Times reports, this is:

Hollywood, Fla.

One Florida woman is going from paying $54 a month to $591 under Obamacare, CBS reports:

Charlie Crist, the former governor of Florida who lost a race for U.S. Senate in 2010, has a new ad that looks a lot like a campaign ad. Watch the video below:

Democratic congressman Alan Grayson of Florida used an image of a burning cross to spell "Tea Party" in a recent fundraising email:

A Florida TV station reports that people's credit score's will "have a big impact" on how much they pay for Obamacare:

The trial of George Zimmerman over the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was actually two trials in one.

Pablo Pantoja made news this week by publicly leaving the Republican party to become a Democrat. "In a letter released by The Florida Nation on Monday, RNC State Director Of Florida Outreach Pablo Pantoja announced that he is changing his political affiliation to the Democratic Party," the…

Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz made a special request of the United States Capitol Police for her staff members to be treated well during sequester:

Terry McAuliffe, who is running for governor in Virginia, recently traveled down to Florida for a political fundraiser. And in an interview yesterday, the host of that Florida fundraiser, John Morgan, mocked Virginia as "a state that some of us have never heard of, it’s off the coast of D.C."

After not seeing Barack Obama all weekend, the press are finally being let into the Floridian, the exclusive golf club that's hosted the president the last few days. Via the pool report: 

The president, down in Florida for vacation without his family, will spend the day golfing. The press, meanwhile, is on a "party bus," according to the pool report:

The White House confirms today that President Barack Obama will be vacationing in Florida this weekend. His wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, will be in Colorado. The two daughters will be with Michelle. 

President Barack Obama will vacation this weekend in Palm Beach. 

The relationship between lobbyists and legislators is a delicate subject and cloaked in language that is meant to obscure and confuse. But the lobbyist is always looking to get something for his client and sweet reason is not necessarily sufficient to make the case.  There are legislators who…

Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican senator elected in 2010, will give the Republican response to Barack Obama's state of the union address next week. From a joint statement from House speaker John Boehner and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell:

The FBI has raided the West Palm Beach office of Dr. Salomon Melgen, a local doctor with close ties to New Jersey Democratic senator Bob Menendez. The Miami Herald first reported the story Tuesday night:

On Laura Ingraham's radio show this morning, Florida senator Marco Rubio, a Republican, said the media opposes the Second Amendment.

Late last night, the former Republican governor of Florida, Charlie Crist, announced on Twitter that he had officially joined the Democratic Party:

At Real Clear Politics, Tom Bevan and Carl Cannon rightly note that “[Mitt] Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan cheered fiscal and social conservatives within the Republican Party and provided a much needed shot in the arm for Romney’s campaign.”  But they also argue that, “by choosing Ryan, Romney…

A woman wearing an MIT t-shirt was barred from voting Florida, according to a local report. MIT stands for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, not Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

President Obama is on board Air Force One on his way to Orlando, Florida for campaign events. "[Obama] is bound for Orlando to squeeze in some campaigning before Sandy really bears down," according to the pool report.

The Tampa Bay Times, the paper that puts out (and funds) the supposedly unbiased PolitiFact, has just enthusiastically endorsed President Obama for a second term.  The Times writes that “[w]ithout hesitation” it “recommends Barack Obama for re-election as president.” The paper cites Obama’s “steady…

The Florida chapter of the AFL-CIO appears to be encouraging folks to break the law. In a message on the homepage of their website, the union writes, "There is a mantra that we --at the Florida AFL-CIO-- like to live by, 'Vote Early, Vote Often'."

A new ad knocking Florida Republican congressman Allen West features actors claiming they will become sick or injured in the future, and that West's opposition to embryonic stem cell research, will, in effect, kill them. The 60-second ad was produced by House Majority PAC, a Democratic group…

Mitt Romney has broken the 50 percent threshold of support in Florida and leads Barack Obama by four points in the Sunshine State, according to a new poll from Rasmussen. Of the 750 likely Florida voters polled, 51 percent support Romney and 47 percent support Obama. That's Romney's largest lead in…

Newly released polls from Rasmussen Reports and WeAskAmerica show that Mitt Romney has overtaken President Obama in Florida in the wake of the first presidential debate.  Three weeks ago, Rasmussen showed Obama with a 2-point lead in the Sunshine State (48 to 46 percent).  That margin has…

Freshman House Republican Allen West has a new ad highlighting his service as a lieutenant colonel in the Army--and his Democratic opponent's 2003 arrest at a South Florida night club. "Two men, a country in crisis," the ad's voiceover says. "You decide." Watch the 30-second ad below:

President Barack Obama is far ahead of Mitt Romney in three important swing states, according to a new poll from Quinnipiac. Obama leads Romney by 12 points in Pennsylvania (54 percent to 42 percent), by 10 points in Ohio (53 percent to 43 percent), and by 9 points in Florida (53 percent to 44…

Tampa

The Miami Herald reports on a suspicious mailer that seems to be tied to Marco Rubio ally David Rivera:

The Villages, Fla.

A Florida super PAC affiliated with a Democratic congressional candidate has a new ad criticizing Florida Republican Allen West. The ad depicts West, a freshman House member, as a boxer who "socked it to seniors" and "whacked women." The animated West punches an elderly woman, a younger woman, and…

Republican congressman Allen West, a freshman from Florida, has a new television ad featuring Robert Delgado, a retired Army sergeant. In the ad, Delgado claims West saved his life when the two men were serving in Iraq. Watch the ad below:

MItt Romney reportedly asked Florida governor Rick Scott to "downplay" the Sunshine State's improving job numbers, according to Bloomberg News:

A new poll from Quinnipiac shows incumbent Democratic senator Bill Nelson of Florida maintaining a slight lead over his likely Republican challenger, Congressman Connie Mack. The poll shows Nelson with 43 percent support from registered voters in Florida, with Mack receiving 39 percent. This margin…

Former Florida senator George LeMieux has dropped his bid for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic senator Bill Nelson. Congressman Connie Mack, who has lead in the GOP primary since entering the race last fall, remains the frontrunner, with former congressman Dave Weldon also running…

Mitt Romney has endorsed Florida congressman Connie Mack for Senate, according to a campaign statement.

The latest Purple Strategies poll finds that, in Florida, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is running slightly ahead of President Barack Obama, 47 percent to 45 percent. Seven percent of the poll's respondents are undecided.

George Zimmerman, the accused murderer of Florida teen Trayvon Martin, has been released from jail on bail. Meeting Zimmerman's release are calls (on Twitter) for him to be killed. As Twitchy reports, "Twitter lynch mob: George Zimmerman is out on bail? Let’s kill him!"

President Obama is in Florida to tout his economic policy of raising taxes on the wealthy. But first he's holding a fundraiser. And it seems that many in the Palm Beach Gardens gated community, where the fundraiser is being held, are excited to see the president.

“This is the last time this person talks about politics.”

ABC News reports that former Florida governor Jeb Bush has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney:

The latest Rasmussen poll of likely general election voters in the “core four” swing states of Florida, Ohio, Virginia, and North Carolina shows Rick Santorum leading President Obama by 4 percentage points (48 to 44 percent), while Mitt Romney trails Obama by 4 points (46 to 42 percent) — an…

In the biggest prize among November's swing states, the latest Rasmussen poll of likely voters shows Rick Santorum faring slightly better than Mitt Romney versus President Obama. In Florida, Santorum trails Obama by 2 percentage points (45 to 43 percent), while Romney trails Obama by 3 points (46…

A new story in the Miami Herald details some of Republican congressman Connie Mack IV's past financial and legal troubles. Mack, who is running for Senate in Florida, reportedly spent more than he earned and missed a payment to his first wife, Ann, according to divorce proceedings. Mack also…

Associated Press: "House votes to keep pay freezes for federal workers in place"

Phil Klein: " Romney aces Florida test"

Mitt Romney won a decisive victory last night in Florida, carrying 46 percent of the vote. Let’s take a close look at how he did it.

Here’s how many votes the respective Republican presidential candidates got in Florida for every $1,000 that they or their super PACs spent on TV advertising in the state (according to ad figures published by the Washington Post as of Friday): 

I wonder if three features of the race as it stands today aren't being a bit neglected:

Mitt Romney’s challenges aren’t over yet. Sorry to say that after his impressive defeat of Newt Gingrich in the Florida presidential primary. He’s improved as a candidate, but he needs to get better before facing President Obama (assuming he captures the GOP nomination).

Orlando, Fla.

Mitt Romney delivered the following remarks following his victory in tonight's Floriday primary:

Just seconds after polls closed in the western Panhandle, Fox News, ABC News, CNN, CBS News, NBC News, and others projected that Mitt Romney is the winner of the Florida primary. According to the New York Times, with 47 percent of precincts reporting, Romney currently leads Newt Gingrich in the…

Polls in the eastern part of Florida closed at 7 p.m. Eastern, and with over 11 percent of precincts reporting, Mitt Romney is receiving 51 percent of the vote,  with Newt Gingrich at 29 percent and Rick Santorum at 12 percent.

Last night, Sean Hannity asked Sarah Palin whether she’d vote for Newt Gingrich in Florida. Palin replied, “Yeah, I’d keep the process going.” The 2008 vice presidential nominee and former Alaska governor said the key question is, “Who is best able to defend our republic?”  She argued, “We find out…

Tampa, Fla.

Suffolk reports on its latest poll of likely Republican voters in Florida: 

Mitt Romney and his allies have spent over $15 million on paid media ads in Florida, $12 million more than what was spent on behalf of Newt Gingrich. Politico reports:

Jeb Bush’s decision not to endorse Mitt Romney before Tuesday primary raises three possibilities about the former Florida governor’s role in the 2012 presidential election.       

Two weeks ago, a top adviser to Newt Gingrich told me that his candidate would stay in the Republican race through the convention, regardless of the outcome in South Carolina. Gingrich reiterated those plans in comments to reporters over the weekend.

The Villages, Fla.

Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Tim Mak of Politico reports on the latest Quinnipiac University poll:

More than anyone else during any of the previous Republican presidential debates, Rick Santorum took dead aim tonight at the similarities between Romneycare and Obamacare. Arguing that those similarities could pose great problems for the Republican party and for the prospects for repeal if Mitt…

Between Sunday and Wednesday, Newt Gingrich went from leading Mitt Romney by 8 points to trailing Mitt Romney by 8 points in the Florida GOP primary polls. Thursday night's debate in Jacksonville was Gingrich's best opportunity--and most likely his only--ahead of Tuesday's primary to reverse…

A new Rasmussen poll of Florida primary voters shows Mitt Romney maintaining an 8-point lead over Newt Gingrich, 39 percent to 31 percent. Rick Santorum and Ron Paul, both of whom have effectively pulled out of the Sunshine State, are polling at 12 percent and 9 percent, respectively. Here's more…

Cocoa, Fla.

Miami

The Miami Herald's Marc Caputo reports:

Naples, Fla.

Sarasota, Fla.

St. Petersburg, Fla.

After two combative debates in South Carolina that helped change the trajectory of the Republican race, the first of two debates in Florida was relatively low key and seems unlikely to change anything. With good answers and very good luck, Mitt Romney recovered after a tough week that had two…

I’ve got to think Monday night’s debate further swelled the groundswell of support for Mitch Daniels. The liveliest part of the debate was at the beginning, when Mitt went after Newt—and Republicans all over America watched with fascinated horror at the thought that these are the two GOP…

In response to charges from Mitt Romney that the former House speaker 'lobbied' for Freddie Mac, Newt Gingrich campaign surrogate J.C. Watts, a former congressman from Oklahoma, argued that his work as a 'consultant' to the mortgage giant actually makes Gingrich a better candidate for president.

From Rasmussen's latest poll of Florida:

A new poll from Florida conduced by InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Research finds 34.4 percent of Republican voters going for Newt Gingrich and 25.6 percent for Mitt Romney. Ron Paul has support from 13.1 percent, while Rick Santorum gets 10.7 percent.

Courtesy of one friend, an old pro, three perhaps overlooked points in the sea of analysis of South Carolina and beyond:

The latest Florida poll from American Research Group: 

I’m flattered to be welcomed by Karl Rove, writing in today’s Wall Street Journal, to membership in the GOP establishment. I’m even more pleased by Rove’s statement that “No group of power brokers can pressure others into uniting behind one candidate. Millions of primary voters and caucus-goers…

Manchester, N.H.

A new Quinnipiac poll shows that President Obama is now trailing both Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney among independents in the crucial swing states of Florida and Ohio. The poll shows that, among independents, Gingrich leads Obama by 4 percentage points (45 to 41 percent) in Florida and by 1…

And here's the second poll out today showing Newt Gingrich with a whopping lead over Mitt Romney in Florida:

The Florida Times-Union reports: 

Florida congressman Connie Mack IV is now the front runner in the Republican Senate primary race, according to a new Quinnipiac poll. Mack, who has not yet officially announced his candidacy, leads all other Republicans vying for the spot, including former U.S. senator George LeMieux, who was…

Four-term Republican congressman Connie Mack will be running for the U.S. Senate in Florida, Politico's David Cantanese reported yesterday. Mack, who passed on a bid to challenge incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson earlier this year, will join a crowded field that includes former Republican senator…

The latest polls from CNN/Time show that Mitt Romney is leading or tied for the lead in all four of the first states to vote in the Republican primary next year.

A new pair of polls from NBC News and Marist College shows Herman Cain with a slight lead over Mitt Romney in South Carolina and Florida, two key early primary states. MSNBC reports:

Matt Strawn, the chairman of the Iowa Republican party, announced the 2012 Iowa caucuses will be held on January 3, moving up from the planned February 6 date. From the press release:

The St. Petersburg Times reports: 

The Associated Press reports: 

Mitt Romney and Ron Paul both trail President Barack Obama by one percentage point in Florida, according to Public Policy Polling. In a survey released today, PPP found that in hypothetical general election matchups, Obama edges out Romney 46-45 and Paul 45-44. Rick Perry, meanwhile, would be 7…

A stunning poll from SurveyUSA shows businessman Herman Cain parlaying his straw poll victory in Florida into a dead heat with Mitt Romney:

A new Public Policy Polling survey shows Mitt Romney with a six-point lead, at 30 percent, among Florida primary voters. Rick Perry is in second with 24 percent--the first time the Texas governor has not lead in a PPP poll in a Southern state since he entered the race.

CNN reports that Florida is likely to move up its Republican presidential primary to January 31:

Herman Cain won today's Florida Republican party straw poll with 37.1 percent of the vote. Rick Perry came in second at 15.4 percent, with Mitt Romney not far behind in third at 14 percent. Michele Bachmann, who won last month's straw poll in Ames, Iowa, came in last today with only 1.5 percent.…

ABC News reports that Rick Perry is emphasizing the importance of today's Florida GOP P5 straw poll in Orlando, Florida, where he made his case in person this morning:

We’re just a few months away from the start of primary elections, and the Republican race is clearly shaping up as a two-man contest between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. And, so far, all signs point to Florida being a big deal this cycle, perhaps the decisive battle.

Washington Post:

According to a new InsiderAdvantage poll, Texas governor Rick Perry has a nine-point lead over his closest rival, Mitt Romney, in Florida. The poll finds that 29 percent of respondents would vote for Perry in a primary election, while 20 percent would vote for Romney. None of the other candidates…

Per a new Sachs/Mason-Dixon poll, Christian Heinze at the Hill points out that Mitt Romney is remaining strong in Florida:

Yesterday, the Des Moines Register reported that former New York governor George Pataki, who has been considering a run for the Republican nomination for president, will travel to Iowa's Polk County this weekend for a local GOP fundraiser:

Mike Haridopolos, the Republican president of the Florida state senate, announced this morning that he is dropping out of the race for the United States Senate. In a press release, Haridopolos says he wants to focus solely on his current job:

Our current issue features a short, provocative piece by David Gelernter, arguing that too often Republican politicians fail to speak plainly and forcefully to the American people. Based on his remarkable performance during the 2010 campaign and his fine speech on election night, Florida senator…

Florida’s Mike Haridopolos, the current state senate president running for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, doubled down today on his opposition to Medicare reforms in the 2012 House Republican budget proposal, saying that he would not want to see major reforms to the entitlement…

The left has been slamming the Koch brothers’ donations to education after the Charles G. Koch Foundation’s made an agreement with Florida State University to sponsor an academic position in the university’s economics department. The real controversy is not related to the academy at all, of course:…

This is quite remarkable. Senate candidate and Florida state Senate President Mike Haridopolos was dumped off a conservative talk show in the sunshine state for refusing to say whether he'd support Paul Ryan's medicare plan. From the transcript with radio host Ray Junior:

Steve Hayward: "Mulling a Daniels Run"