Subject: Adam Putnam

• Florida's Congressional Delegation Shockingly Not That Old

  USA Today reports that the incoming Congress will be the oldest on record for both houses. The average representative is 57, while the average senator is 63. New Times has the same high-tech tool as USA Today -- a calculator -- and decided to probe further. Since Florida has the oldest average population of any state, you'd figure we'd be sending cases of Fixodent and Depends to Washington with our congressmen, but it turns out the average age of a representative from Florida rounds down to

  January 6, 2009

• Oh, Look, We Already Have Front Runners for 2014

  They don't share political idealogies, but they do share a hair stylist. It's a sign of just how much dominance Charlie Crist has in Florida politics that both races he could conceivably run in 2010 - Governor or, less likely, Senator - are having a hard time attracting big name candidate, but the next open race in Florida - for Governor all the way in 2014, barring Bill Nelson's retirement - already have front runners on both sides. After Democratic CFO Alex Sink decided not to seek the senate

  January 30, 2009

• News Round Up

  Bill Clinton dropped by Miami on Friday night and helped Kendrick Meek raise $300,000 for his Senate race. [Naked Politics]That thing we posted about the 2014 Governor's race already having front runners is legit. Boy wonder Republican Congressman Adam Putnam announced he'd give up his legislative seat and run for Agriculture Commissioner in 2010. [Ledger]What? A local former priest caught with dirty picture of little boys on his computers? Next you're going to tell me their are Republican polit

  February 2, 2009

• Bill Nelson Caught up in PMA Mess

  Last week, ABC News broke news that the FBI had raided PMA Group, a lobbying firm, this past November. PMA, which specialized in lobbying for earmarks for defense contracts, had close ties to Democratic Rep. John Murtha, but also donated heavily to other politicians -- many of them Democrats, but some Republicans as well. The Washington Post uncovered campaign donations given in the names of people listed as PMA employees, but many turned up to have never heard of the group nor of the candidate

  February 17, 2009

• With Crist's Announcement Imminent, the Dominos Begin to Fall

  With the end of the legislative session in Tallahassee last week, and Charlie Crist widely expected to announce his Senate intention tomorrow the dominoes should quickly fall as down ticket politicos all over the state start positioning themselves for 2010. So far, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, who has been mentioned as a possible democratic candidate for Governor or Senate, has decided to serve out her term. St. Pete's Republican Mayor, Rick Baker, won't be running for anything either. When Alex Sink,

  May 11, 2009

• Let's Play Identity Politics For a Moment

  So after the NRSC endorsed Charlie Crist over Marco Rubio in the Republican Senate primary, a lot of people implied it was a snub to Hispanics. We thought this was silly. Crist has won three statewide campaigns in a row, is an extremely popular governor, and has a national profile. He's going to win the primary unless there's some shocking surprise. But, it does raise an important point. Both parties in Florida need to embrace the Hispanic population, and the future of Florida's government

  May 15, 2009

• Is Bill McCollum Too Boring to be Governor?

  Not exactly Mr. Charisma. If politics really does come down to which candidate you'd rather have a beer with, then Bill McCollum's candidacy might as well be dead on arrival. The guy has never really screamed excitement or personality, but that hasn't stopped him from seeking stat-wide elected office in Florida now for four time (loosing two, winning one, running in the fourth). Daniel Ruth of the St. Pete Times ponders in his column today if McCollum is, well, just

  May 22, 2009

• Man on Gas Pumps Will Not Run For Gov

  via Joakim Lind's flickrFlorida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson will not run for Governor. Not that any one is that surprised, since the state party and major fundraisers were already congealing around Attorney General Bill McCollum. Bronson had earlier claimed that since his name was displayed on every gas pump in the state it would help with his name recognition. So sad we will never get to use the nick name "Governor Gas Pumps." Bronson will instead serve out the rema

  May 21, 2009

• Paula Dockery Looking into Governor's Race

  So much for the state Party's efforts to playdown the importance of primaries during the 2010 election cycle. Attorney General Bill McCollum is the establishment favor to take the Republican's nomination for the Governors race. So much so that it seems Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson was pressured out of the race, but the grass roots and others in the party aren't so happy with the heavyweights crowning their favorites with out a challenge. Coming off news last week

  May 26, 2009

• Florida: 47th Most Powerful State in DC

  ​Florida ranks 47th our of the 50 states in terms of influence and seniority in the US Congress according to an analysis by The Sarasota Herald-Tribune. A dismal ranking by any means, but even more so considering we're the 4th most populace state. Our legislators have less swagger on the hill than those from tiny states like Vermont and Rhode Island -- States where the total population is less than half of all of Miami-Dade County. The Herald-Tribune took into account Roll Call's annual i

  September 9, 2009