Election 2024
RNC says Gov. DeSantis will be the only FL Republican in first GOP debate; Suarez didn’t qualify
The Republican National Committee (RNC) has announced the eight candidates who will appear on stage Wednesday night for the first Republican primary debate in Milwaukee, and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is not on that list. Suarez’s failure to qualify, according to the RNC, is a blow to what has already been an uphill battle for […]
Register caucus poll shows ‘hands off’ approach to Trump isn’t working
The first Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll of the Iowa caucus race, published Monday, was a blowout. Former President Donald Trump holds more than a 2-to-1 lead over his closest rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Here’s the topline: Trump, 42% DeSantis, 19% Tim Scott, 9% Nikki Haley, 6% Mike Pence, 6% Chris Christie, 5% Vivek Ramaswamy, […]
Biden-Harris ad campaign targets Hispanic voters in FL, as well as key battleground states
The Democratic Biden-Harris reelection campaign is running ads to reach Hispanic voters in Florida, part of a 16-week, $25 million effort to target markets in key battleground states. The ads are in Arizona: Phoenix; Georgia: Atlanta; Michigan: Detroit, Grand Rapids; Nevada: Las Vegas; North Carolina; Raleigh, Charlotte; Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre-Scranton; Wisconsin: Milwaukee, Green Bay, […]
Presidential candidates wrap up state fair political events
Presidential hopefuls Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Libertarian Chase Oliver held the final political stops at the Iowa State Fair Saturday, finishing out the parade of 2024 candidates who came to campaign in the first-in-the-nation state. As of Friday, more than 800,000 people had walked through the state fair gates. Among attendees have been 14 […]
DeSantis on Trump skipping GOP primary debate: ‘I think everyone should debate that qualifies’
Gov. Ron DeSantis gently criticized Donald Trump Friday — although not by name — for skipping next week’s scheduled GOP presidential primary debate. DeSantis commented a few hours before Trump, after weeks of playing coy, announced he would not appear next Wednesday in Milwaukee, potentially leaving DeSantis the only presidential candidate from Florida on the […]
Miami Mayor Suarez claims he qualified for GOP presidential debate; Trump says he’ll steer clear
In a video on Friday, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said he had qualified for the Republican presidential debate on Aug. 23 in Milwaukee. But, Republican National Committee officials said that wasn’t the case. In fact, senior advisers of the RNC told the Associated Press that he had not met the criteria for the debate, and […]
Vets group airing TV ad calls on U.S. Sen. Rick Scott to ‘stop the block on military promotions’
A progressive veteran’s group is airing a TV commercial in the Tallahassee media market, calling on Florida’s U.S. Sen. Rick Scott to end the blockade on hundreds of military promotions. The delays, which have gone on for months, relate to U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and his protest over the Pentagon’s abortion travel policy. […]
Dems tout poll showing Debbie Mucarsel-Powell running competitively against Rick Scott in ’24
Is Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida vulnerable against a Democrat in his bid for reelection next year? The Democratic Senatorial Congressional Committee (DSCC) thinks he is — if it’s former South Florida U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. A poll conducted by the Global Strategy Group says that after voters heard “positive profiles of both […]
Pence defends Georgia election after Trump indictment, announces states’ rights plan
Former Vice President Mike Pence defended Georgia’s elections in a speech Wednesday morning — days after former president Donald Trump was indicted in that state — even as he denounced what he framed as politically motivated attacks on his former boss. “Despite what the former president and his allies have said — for more than […]
FL political analysts say latest Trump indictment doesn’t change POTUS race, at least not yet
Former President Donald Trump has dominated the GOP presidential race this summer, and political observers believe that won’t change despite the latest legal challenges Trump is now facing. The former president was hit with his fourth criminal indictment Monday night, when Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis charged him and 18 others with attempts […]
No-party-affiliation ‘NPA’ voters look to find their place in Florida politics
UPDATED. Orlando resident Debbie Smith has been an independent voter for 45 years — ever since she registered to vote while attending college in Missouri. By now, she’s weary of the media and the pollsters for ignoring voters like herself because she’s registered with a no-party-affiliation, or NPA. “As a lifelong NPA, I watch these […]
Democratic challengers to President Joe Biden speak at Iowa State Fair
While much of the political attention at the Iowa State Fair was focused on the Republican 2024 presidential contenders, two Democratic challengers to President Joe Biden also took the stage Saturday at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox. Democrats Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who are running for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination, […]