Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday gave an update on the search for Sen. Marco Rubio’s replacement in the Senate, now that the latter has been nominated for Secretary of State.
President-elect Donald Trump tapped Rubio for the post last week as one of his first cabinet nominations for the former president’s second term. Rubio, who is known for being a hawk on China and Iraq, is expected to be confirmed by the Senate next year, after he resigns his post in January.
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Florida officials say 34.6 million visitors spent time in the Sunshine State in the third quarter of this year, eclipsing the previous third quarter record by 1.7% and giving the state three consecutive quarters of record growth.
That comes despite Hurricanes Debby and Helene making landfall in the quarter. Milton, in the just started fourth quarter, made it three hurricanes in 66 days.
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Florida Republicans maintained their supermajority in both chambers of the Legislature after Tuesday’s elections.
House Republicans gained one seat for an 85-36 advantage, while the composition of the Senate remains the same with 28 Republicans and 12 Democrats.
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Florida voters gave a victory to Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday by rejecting two ballot initiatives on recreational marijuana and abortion rights that the second-term Republican opposed.
Amendment 3, a proposed recreational cannabis program in the state, failed with 55.75% approving out of 10.35 million ballots cast and 44.25% opposed according to preliminary results from the Florida secretary of state’s office.
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According to Florida data, 5.35 million voters cast ballots early after early voting ended on Saturday, up 38.14% from 2016.
Data from the Florida secretary of state’s office shows 2.83 million votes have been cast via mail, up 3.74% from the 2016 election when former President Donald Trump won his first term in office.
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A poll released by Florida Atlantic University shows former President Donald Trump with a big lead in the presidential race and also has good news for incumbent U.S. Sen. Rick Scott.
The poll of 913 registered voters by the Florida Atlantic University Political Communication and Public Opinion Research Lab and Mainstreet Research USA shows Trump with 53%, with 44% going for Vice President Kamala Harris and only 2% undecided.
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Local law enforcement in a Florida county announced the arrest of over 100 people who committed looting and similar crimes in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, with at least 41 of these suspects being illegal aliens.
As reported by Fox News, police officers on patrol for looters in Pinellas County have made the arrests over the course of the last three weeks. A total of 45 suspects were arrested on 68 different charges, ranging from robbery and burglary to grand theft, vandalism, and trespassing.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis cautioned Florida voters against passage of Amendment 3 that would make recreational marijuana legal in the Sunshine State.
DeSantis made his remarks at a news conference in Fort Myers on Thursday as he continues a campaign against two well-funded ballot initiatives.
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Florida is suing the Biden administration, alleging that it has not done its duty by verifying immigration records so the Sunshine State can get illegal migrants off the voter rolls.
In the lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital, Florida alleges that the Department of Homeland Security isn’t following the law by not verifying immigration records.
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After taxpayers spent more than $200 million on highway landscaping in the previous fiscal year, a report says Florida lawmakers might need to consider a cap on that spending.
Florida Taxwatch analyzed the Florida Department of Transportation’s spending on highway landscaping, which can provide benefits such as erosion reduction, safety enhancements and support of local ecosystems.
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National political reporter Neil W. McCabe reported live from the beach in Destin, Florida on Thursday’s episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show where he discussed the destruction Hurricane Milton left in the state just hours after the storm officially retreated out into the Atlantic Ocean.
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Mobilization for hurricane is larger for Milton than any previous in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis said from Lake City on Wednesday.
State officials say 6,000 Florida National Guard soldiers and 3,000 from other states await storm rescue and recovery efforts, along with 34 search and rescue aircraft and 500 tactical vehicles. Hurricane Milton is forecast for landfall Wednesday night into Thursday.
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Florida’s Tampa Bay area could face record storm surge flooding from Hurricane Milton as officials try to clean up debris from Hurricane Helene before Milton makes landfall late Wednesday night.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said crews will continue to work 24 hours a day to pick up debris in affected areas from Helene until Wednesday when it is no longer safe to continue. A record 15-foot storm surge is forecast in Tampa Bay.
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A survey published this Tuesday shows how Cuban-American voters in Florida would become a key support for Republican candidate Donald Trump a few weeks before the general elections in the United States.
The revelation came to light after a survey conducted by Telemundo Station Group and Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, Inc. in the Sunshine State, revealing the decisions Latino voters would make in this year’s presidential election.
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Florida’s prepaid college tuition plan is generating enough revenue to provide refunds to parents in part because of strong earnings on the plan’s investments and low tuition statewide.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said this week part of those savings is how the state has held down tuition and other costs at the state’s colleges and universities. The plan factors in future tuition costs and when those costs don’t reach predictions, families can receive a refund.
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U.S. Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio on Thursday introduced a bill calling for increasing the reward for information leading to the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
The Ensuring Timely Payment Opportunities and Maximizing Rewards for Stopping Illegal Regime Officials (STOP MADURO) Act seeks to increase the reward amount from $15 million to a maximum of $100 million.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is asking law enforcement to “prioritize” the investigation into what may be “fraudulent” signatures on petitions to get a pro-abortion measure on the Nov. 5 ballot, according to a letter shared with The Daily Signal.
The Palm Beach Supervisor of Elections’ office received complaints from voters about their signatures being forged on constitutional initiative petitions circulated by Floridians Protecting Freedom, the pro-abortion coalition behind an amendment that would legalize abortion on demand up to birth.
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Chris Crowley, a conservative attorney in Florida, filed an appeal with the Florida Supreme Court last month contesting a 60-day suspension of his law license for exercising free speech during his political campaign for the state attorney’s office in Florida’s 20th Judicial Circuit.
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Republican incumbent Sen. Rick Scott and Democratic challenger Debbie Mucarsel-Powell aired Spanish-language ads this week while amplifying their attempts to reach the Latino vote.
Scott, who speaks fluent Spanish, has so far released several Spanish language television and radio ads targeting Latino voters, and a pro-Scott super PAC backing Scott is also airing a Spanish language ad in Spanish in Orlando this week.
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A new Florida condominium law is affecting the Sunshine State’s real estate market. The new measure requires costly inspections, significantly increasing homeowners’ costs.
The law — Senate Bill 4D — was passed during a special session in 2022 and requires condominium associations to retain adequate funds for building repairs. Buildings three stories or higher are subject to inspection requirements.
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A large group of Florida physicians recently united to oppose the state’s Amendment 4 initiative, warning voters about its potential impacts as it heads to the ballot in November. Florida’s Amendment 4, also known as the Right to Abortion Initiative, is sponsored by the Sarasota-based group “Floridians Protecting Freedom.” The amendment seeks to end the state’s six-week abortion ban by enshrining abortion rights in Florida’s constitution. While some physicians support the amendment, others have begun to caution voters against it.
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A coalition of book publishers and individual authors have filed a lawsuit against the state of Florida over its law banning sexually explicit books from school libraries in the state.
As the Daily Caller reports, the lawsuit was filed in the Orlando Federal Court on Thursday by a group of over a dozen publishers and authors, claiming that the bill signed into law in May of 2023 by Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) is a violation of both the First and 14th Amendments. The law, the plaintiffs claim, “interferes” with their ability to produce and distribute “constitutionally protected” books, insisting that the law is too vague in its description of “sexual conduct.”
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From a Romanian theft ring to a notorious Big Boi drug trafficking ring, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution is continuing to prosecute transnational criminal organizations.
She’s also issued a warning to criminals: “Florida law enforcement will track you down, and my Statewide Prosecutors will ensure you end up in prison.”
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized Democrats and the media for comparing President Joe Biden to America’s first president, George Washington.
DeSantis did so as Florida passed a milestone this month – more than one million Republicans are registered to vote in the Sunshine State than Democrats are.
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Jordanian national who currently lives in Orlando, Florida has been arrested and charged with destroying an energy facility and threatening the use of explosives to destroy multiple other businesses.
According to the Daily Caller, the charges were filed against 43-year-old Hashem Younis Hashem Hnaihen by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The charges were announced in a DOJ press release on Thursday, detailing his campaign of violence against multiple businesses in the Orlando area that resulted in over $700,000 in damage.
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The state of Florida reportedly has one million more registered Republican voters than Democratic voters.
There are 5.3 million active GOP voters and 4.3 million active Democratic voters, according to The Associated Press. Roughly 3.9 million voters in the Sunshine state don’t associate with either party.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says that he is against using state money to fund the construction of sports stadiums.
DeSantis, however, announced Thursday that he and the state will grant $8 million from the Governors’ Job Growth Grant Fund toward road infrastructure around the new construction of Miami Freedom Park by the Inter Miami soccer club’s ownership.
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by Andrew Powell The Sunshine State ranks second in the nation for the protection of religious liberty, according to a new report from the Center for Religion, Culture and Democracy. The report, “Religious Liberty in the States,” is a project that measures legal safeguards for religious liberty across the…
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The Florida Auditor General recently published a follow-up audit of the Sunshine State’s economic incentives programs and found some uncorrected issues remain.
The Florida Department of Commerce assists the governor in working with the Legislature, state agencies, business leaders, and economic development professionals. For fiscal 2023-24, state lawmakers appropriated approximately $1.8 billion.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis and first lady Casey DeSantis held a news conference Monday to recognize 13 top-performing Hope Florida CarePortal Churches.
Hope Florida’s mission is to create pathways to prosperity for communities and individuals, to help them become more economically self-sufficient and to instill hope. Casey DeSantis spearheaded the project, which is implemented through the Florida Department of Children and Families.
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Four members of the far-left militant group Jane’s Revenge pleaded guilty to felony charges in federal court for threatening and vandalizing crisis pregnancy centers in Florida last year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022.
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The Broward County School Board on Tuesday unanimously voted to restrict students’ use of cellphones in an effort to keep them focused and off social media during school hours.
Although the school district said restrictions on cell phone use were already part of the Student Code of Conduct, there will now be some changes that will go into effect when classes start on August 12.
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If recent polls and fundraising totals are to be believed, Florida incumbent U.S. Sen. Rick Scott will likely keep his seat in the GOP column.
Scott is leading in both the polls and fundraising efforts against his Democrat challenger Debbie Mucarsel-Powell ahead of the general election on Nov. 5.
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A new report from the Florida Legislature’s research arm found a significant decrease in the number of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation in the Sunshine State, but some services still sorely need improvement.
The Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability published its annual report on the sexual exploitation of minors in Florida and the data shows there has been an 11% decrease overall since 2020 in child victims of exploitation.A new report from the Florida Legislature’s research arm found a significant decrease in the number of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation in the Sunshine State, but some services still sorely need improvement.
The Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability published its annual report on the sexual exploitation of minors in Florida and the data shows there has been an 11% decrease overall since 2020 in child victims of exploitation.
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The Florida Auditor General’s office has released two reports that detail significant issues and financial trends in the Sunshine State’s charter schools, charter technical career centers and district school boards.
There are 720 charter schools and charter technical career centers operating in Florida, with the majority in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. State law requires these schools to be annually audited by an independent certified public accountant.
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Florida state officials said on Monday that litigation could affect cost estimates for a proposed constitutional amendment that could enact a right to abortion statewide.
The Office of Economic and Demographic Research held a Financial Estimating Conference Monday to review the financial impact of the ballot initiative, which will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot.
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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody welcomed new police officers to the state after they relocated from Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico and New York.
“Florida is the most pro-law enforcement state in the nation because we back our blue,” Moody said. “We’ve been spreading the word about all the great incentives to join our ranks, and individuals like the new Sarasota recruits have answered the call – leaving behind places where their service was not as appreciated as it is here.”
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New migration data from the Internal Revenue Service shows Florida added 245,334 residents in 2022, the most among states.
The total inflow, not adjusted against those leaving the state, was 466,210 in 2022 as 277,527 tax filers with a combined adjusted gross income of $26.6 billion decamped to Florida.
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The Jacksonville Jaguars became the second NFL team this week to get a large sum of public money for a stadium renovation when the City Council voted 14-1 to approve $775 million toward a $1.4 billion renovation of EverBank Stadium.
The Jaguars and NFL are expected to pay $625 million toward the project, using NFL G-4 loans along with funds from items such as naming rights through the new 30-year lease and non-relocation agreement.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis signed two bills on Thursday intended to support Florida veterans and their spouses.
House Bill 725 expands the eligibility for admissions to a long-term care facility for veterans to include spouses and surviving spouses of qualifying veterans.
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Customers of one of Florida’s largest utilities had the opportunity to voice their opinions during a public hearing held by Florida regulators last week.
The Tampa Electric Company filed a petition with the Florida Public Service Commission in April to increase base rates for 810,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Hillsborough County and portions of Polk, Pasco and Pinellas counties.
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Florida GOP Sen. Rick Scott is now essentially deadlocked in his November reelection bid with likely Democrat challenger former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, according to a new poll.
A Florida Atlantic University Poll released Wednesday shows Scott leads Mucarsel-Powell 45-to-43% among likely voters.
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The organization behind a ballot initiative that could reverse Florida’s six-week abortion ban goes to lengths to promote its “grassroots” credentials, all while taking in millions from liberal dark money groups and other deep-pocketed sources, campaign finance records show.
Floridians Protecting Freedom (FPF), one of the main groups pushing for a 2024 ballot measure that would enshrine the right to an abortion in the state’s constitution, touts its “grassroots” campaign and fundraising in several press releases it has sent out in recent months. However, the group has taken in massive sums of cash from a sprawling liberal dark money network and organizations backed by wealthy liberal donors.
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A federal judge in Florida on Tuesday struck down the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, which also imposed restrictions for some adults, touting the law as “unconstitutional” because it discriminated against transgender people.
The controversial law was passed in the state and signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023. It barred medical professionals from administering gender-affirming care to minors, including treatments like puberty blockers and hormones. Florida medical boards embraced rules barring doctors from performing gender surgeries on minors or prescribing hormone treatments for them in 2022.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference in Hialeah on Monday to announce $1.25 billion for teacher salary increases.
DeSantis said the funds for teacher salary hikes are earmarked in the budget over the next five years and pointed out that Florida has ranked tops overall in education by U.S. News and World Report for the past two years.
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A federal judge in Florida on Tuesday struck down the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, which also imposed restrictions for some adults, touting the law as “unconstitutional” because it discriminated against transgender people.
The controversial law was passed in the state and signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023. It barred medical professionals from administering gender-affirming care to minors, including treatments like puberty blockers and hormones. Florida medical boards embraced rules barring doctors from performing gender surgeries on minors or prescribing hormone treatments for them in 2022.
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Florida International University’s civics center has made an international impact in its first four years of existence by bringing together politicians and private sector leaders to promote individual and economic freedom.
The Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom at the Miami university came about through efforts by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state legislature to bolster Western democratic thought in higher education. In 2023, DeSantis signed additional legislation to boost civic education centers in the state’s public universities.
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On Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court ruled in favor of Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) over his decision to remove a far-left prosecutor from her post.
As Fox News reports, DeSantis first suspended State Attorney Monique Worrel in August of 2023, accusing her of “dereliction of duty” due to her soft-on-crime policies. Worrel subsequently sued the DeSantis Administration and demanded that she be reinstated, claiming that her firing was an “arbitrary, unsubstantiated exercise of the suspension power.”
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Florida officials are seeking feedback from the public about the Florida Energy Rebate programs currently under development.
The program still awaits approval from the U.S. Department of Energy. Florida has been allocated $346 million to assist residents in reducing energy costs by improving their home’s energy efficiency through qualified upgrades, retrofits and high-efficiency appliances.
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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody on Thursday called on U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to stop the agency’s “continued support of Cuba’s communist interests.”
She did so after Cuban-American lawmakers raised the alarm about Chinese spies operating in Cuba, reportedly targeting Cuban-Americans as well as about the Biden administration recently allowing Cuban regime officials to tour TSA facilities at the Miami International Airport.
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