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Mitch Perry has covered politics and government in Florida for more than two decades. Most recently he is the former politics reporter for Bay News 9. He has also worked at Florida Politics, Creative Loafing and WMNF Radio in Tampa. He was also part of the original staff when the Florida Phoenix was created in 2018.
DeSantis piles up endorsements from GOP state lawmakers in U.S. — and this time from FL
By: Mitch Perry - May 18, 2023
As the official announcement of his campaign for president draws near, Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to pile up endorsements from legislative Republicans around the country. On Wednesday the big reveal was that 99 of the 112 Republicans currently serving in the 160-member Florida Legislature announced that they are endorsing his upcoming bid for president. That […]
In Tampa, DeSantis declines to speak with reporters following electoral night disappointment
By: Mitch Perry - May 17, 2023
Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared at a bill signing event at a Christian evangelical school in Tampa on Wednesday, touting measures banning transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers and an expansion of a law to prohibit classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity through the 8th grade. But unlike other bill-signing events […]
When he enters POTUS race, DeSantis’ cash haul will likely overwhelm competitors — but it depends
By: Mitch Perry - May 17, 2023
As Gov. Ron DeSantis prepares to officially declare his candidacy for a GOP presidential run in 2024, one thing seems clear leading up to his announcement: DeSantis expects to start out with a hefty campaign chest larger than any others in the race. A federal political action committee, Never Back Down, which was formed to […]
DeSantis sends FL National Guard to Texas to help border security; claims Biden ignores the crisis
By: Mitch Perry - May 16, 2023
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday that he’s sending the Florida National Guard, law enforcement officers, boats and planes and other personnel to the southern border to help “secure America’s border,” following a letter from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. The list includes 800 Florida National Guard soldiers, 200 Florida Department of Law Enforcement officers (in teams […]
Attorney General Ashley Moody weighs in against legalizing recreational cannabis in FL
By: Mitch Perry - May 16, 2023
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has submitted ballot language to the Florida Supreme Court for a proposed 2024 constitutional amendment to legalize recreational cannabis in Florida. She also informed the court that she opposes the measure. Moody told the high court that she believes the proposed amendment “fails” to meet the requirements of Florida law, […]
Florida’s top GOP legislative leaders back Ron DeSantis for president in 2024
By: Mitch Perry - May 16, 2023
Florida’s two most powerful members of the state Legislature – Senate President Kathleen Passidomo and House Speaker Paul Renner– said they will endorse Gov. Ron DeSantis for president in 2024 — if he plans to run. DeSantis still has not announced his bid for the presidency, though he has been crisscrossing the country for months […]
Ron DeSantis not ready to say that he’ll announce his presidential candidacy
By: Mitch Perry - May 15, 2023
Gov. Ron DeSantis would not confirm a report Monday that he is expected to announce his candidacy for president of the United States within the next two weeks. NBC News reported over the weekend that the Florida governor was set to move his political operations into a new building in Tallahassee on Monday, and that the […]
Brevard School Board member Jennifer Jenkins ‘considering’ a run for U.S. Senate
By: Mitch Perry - May 12, 2023
As the Florida Democratic Party continues to search for candidates to challenge GOP U.S. Senate incumbent Rick Scott next year in his bid for re-election, Brevard County School Board member Jennifer Jenkins’s name has popped up as an emerging possibility. In an interview with the Phoenix on Friday, the 36-year-old said she will support any […]
Florida Young Democrats ponder the future
By: Mitch Perry - May 12, 2023
Florida Democrats, who haven’t even managed yet to find someone to run against Rick Scott for re-election to the U.S. Senate next year, are finding recruitment of candidates for down-ballot races difficult, too. Their plight was made stark during an exchange at a Florida Young Democrats workshop during the state party convention in Tampa last […]
Poll: More Florida Republicans accept that human actions cause climate change
By: Mitch Perry - May 11, 2023
A survey of more than 1,400 Floridians shows that 65% believe that the causes of climate change are predominantly due to human action, and that includes nearly half of all Republicans (49%). The poll shows that more half of Floridians (52%) say they would be willing to pay a $10 month infrastructure improvement tax to […]
Gov. DeSantis signs the most restrictive bill on illegal immigration in the country
By: Mitch Perry - May 10, 2023
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed what both he and his critics agree is the strongest anti-illegal immigration bill passed by any state legislature in the country on Wednesday. Speaking in Jacksonville behind a podium with a sign reading, “Biden’s Border Crisis,” the governor blasted the president for the large influx of undocumented immigrants that has occurred […]
In St. Petersburg, Uhuru members deny federal charges in Russian-influence case
By: Mitch Perry - May 10, 2023
For the first time since a federal grand jury indicted members of the St. Petersburg-based Black nationalist group known as the Uhuru Movement last month on allegations that they worked on a Russian political-influence campaign in the U.S., three members of the organization have vehemently denied the charges. “My crime is my absolutely belief in […]