News Service Florida Political Blog

Florida’s not-so-good-at-public speaking governor wants to speak at the Republican National Convention, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Here’s the top of their story

“This is unwelcome news for Mitt Romney: Florida Gov. Rick Scott expects a high-profile speaking slot at the Republican National Convention.

“I would hope so,” he told a newspaper editorial board this week when asked if he anticipates giving a prime-time speech in Tampa.

Nothing says “Elect Mitt Romney!” like an unpopular multimillionaire awkwardly making the case on national TV.”

Read the full Times story

Republican House candidate Travis Hutson was endorsed Friday by Rep. Bill Proctor, R-St. Augustine. Hutson is running for the newly drawn House District 24, which includes parts of Flagler, St. Johns and Volusia Counties.

“His real world business experience is just what we need in the Legislature,” Proctor said in a statement.  “He understands the policies needed to free up small businesses to create jobs and lead our economic recovery.”

Former U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon has been saying for a few days he was very likely going to jump into the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat open this year in Florida. He’s made up his mind

http://www.daveweldonforsenate.com/

On the site, Weldon says “someone has to provide a conservative solution to the problems the administration has created and the Senate has endorsed. I’ll work to change Washington, not be changed by Washington. That was why I left my medical practice in 1994 and ran and was elected to the U.S. House where I served 14 years before returning to medicine.”

Already in the GOP primary are U.S. Rep. Connie Mack,  George LeMieux, and Mike McCalister with the winner to take on incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, the Democrat.

Weldon’s also got a video ready - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwOyOgwHUFo&feature=player_embedded

This is good news for bar-hopping Republican convention goers. The Tampa City Council voted Thursday to let  bars to stay open until 3 a.m. during the Republican National Convention in the city in late August.

The Tampa Tribune reports on the 4-0 council vote.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney talked yesterday about adding another house to his collection – musing about moving to Florida because it is a low tax state.

Here’s the New York Times report on his remarks

Here’s a roundup of coverage of Romney in Jacksonville yesterday, starting with the straight C-Span item, which includes video from WTEV in Jax,  coverage from the Times-Union, which also includes video from First Coast News.

Also:

The Hill

AP

Used to be that to be Cuban and live in Miami meant you were not only Republican but staunchly so. It goes back to Kennedy’s Bay of Pigs, and the GOP’s stance over the years on communism and the Castro regime. But a half century after Castro took over, the picture of Cuban-Americans in Florida is now more subtle, and the GOP can’t take them for granted, reports Alex Leary:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0512/76351.html

Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown has often said he wouldn’t take a pension, but he is enrolled, with 3 percent of his paycheck going into the Florida Retirement System. The state has contributed to his retirement account about $13,000 with about $3,000 having come out of his own pay. His office said it was a mistake, and has asked to leave the system.”He realized his enrollment last week and promptly asked the state to let him leave the system,” mayor’s office said in a statement to the Florida Times-Union, which reported Monday that Brown is in the pension system. “He will not accept a state pension.”

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2012-05-14/story/despite-no-pension-pledge-jacksonville-mayor-signed-state-plan#ixzz1uw8GGLy2

A West Palm Beach publishing company, or maybe just its chairman, William Lee Hanley, Jr., is the Super PAC behind anti-Obama ads that ran in northeast Ohio and in Pennsylvania, Bloomberg reports.

As her first Mother’s Day without her son, Trayvon Martin, approaches, Sybrina Fulton has released an online video asking for supporters to oppose Florida’s controversial “stand-your-ground” law, as well as similar laws in other states. “Just like me, 30,000 mothers this year lost their children to senseless gun violence,” she said.  “Nobody can bring our children back, but it would bring us comfort if we can help spare other mothers the pain that we will feel on Mother’s Day and every day for the rest of our lives.” See the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QrWgdQFgUQ4

President Barack Obama and his presumptive GOP opponent, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, are in a statistical dead heat in the nation’s largest swing state about six months before voters head to the polls, according to a new poll from Suffolk University and WSVN-Miami. The survey shows Obama holding 46 percent of the vote to Romney’s 45 percent, with 7 percent undecided. But Romney’s selection of a running mate could swing the results — with 47 percent of voters backing a ticket with Romney and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, compared to 44 percent for Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. A ticket with Romney and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush would lead Obama-Biden by a 47-45 margin. In January, the Suffolk/WSVN poll showed Romney with a 47 percent to 42 percent lead over Obama as the Republican primary was getting underway.

“Despite locking up the Republican nomination and a strong showing in the Florida Republican primary in January, Romney still has a lot of work to do to win over Florida voters,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston, in a news release. “He would need to repair the fallout of negativity from the Republican primaries by being more likable and offering general-election voters a positive alternative to President Obama.” The poll, which has a margin of error of 4 percent, included telephone interviews of 600 registered voters from May 6-8.

The  LA Times has always had a lot of  interest in Florida despite being on the other coast. Here’s its take on the Suffolk poll