The First Amendment permits states to ban judicial candidates from personally soliciting campaign funds, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a divided opinion. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joined with the court’s liberals to uphold the Florida judicial conduct rule that bars judicial candidates from personally asking for campaign donations. His opinion (PDF)…
The state House sent an initial budget offer to the Senate on Thursday, an apparent effort to jump-start moribund efforts to reach an agreement on a spending plan for the year that begins July 1. It wasn’t clear if the proposal was enough to get lawmakers talking about their budget differences, which have now ensured…
Marco Rubio leads the GOP field in a new national poll and runs best against Hillary Clinton, a big shot for his campaign that’s just over a week into effect. Rubio takes 15 percent of the GOP primary vote, according to the Quinnipiac poll, with Jeb Bush earning 13 percent and Scott Walker 11 percent.…
TALLAHASSEE — As he approached the side entrance to the Senate chamber a day after delivering a fiery speech condemning Florida’s high-stakes testing of schoolchildren, Sen. Tom Lee encountered a throng of women holding posters emblazoned with some of his words. The women squealed, waved and called out their appreciation before cajoling him into posing…
TALLAHASSEE | Florida lawmakers are barred from raising campaign cash during the legislative session. But during the days and hours before the annual session started March 3, about $1.3 million poured into lawmakers’ campaign accounts — with large chunks of money coming from businesses or groups with interests in the Capitol, according to newly filed…
TALLAHASSEE – Exactly who is going to be Florida House Speaker in 2020 is probably the last thing on the minds of Central Floridians. But the subject is paramount among top Republicans all over Florida as allegations of “treason,” strong-arm tactics and a “House of Cards” mentality emerged Sunday, revealing a contentious fight over the…
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Republicans easily won a trio of Northeast Florida legislative seats Tuesday during special elections triggered by the resignation last year of former Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, to become president of Florida State University. Given the GOP’s dominance in the region and the significant fundraising edge of the Republican candidates, the…
TALLAHASSEE — By 2007, Richard Corcoran was a well-paid and deeply entrenched Florida political operative tied to several House speakers and Gov. Jeb Bush. But, ambitious and restless, he quit his job as chief of staff to House Speaker Marco Rubio to run for office himself. “I’d get moments of frustration,” Corcoran said. “Someone finally…
TRINITY — The club with clout is suddenly the club without. The West Pasco Republican Club, a fixture in local political circles for four decades, faces a likely demise after party leaders declined to renew the group’s charter this week. The club president called it a political vendetta against one of the group’s former longtime…
A new poll shows U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., starts off as the favorite if he decides to run for a second term in the U.S. Senate in 2016, but if he opts to run for president the contest is wide open. Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm with connections to prominent Democrats, released a…