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Florida Politics

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Jay Collins, a former Green Beret and decorated veteran, speaks moments after being sworn in as Florida’s new lieutenant governor on Tuesday, Aug. 12, at the Tampa Green Beret Association’s Team House outside MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. Collins is weighing a run for governor in 2026.
In the 2026 governor’s race, what exactly is Jay Collins doing?
His will-he, won’t-he routine has to end soon.
Top Scientology donor emerges as a major contributor to Donald Trump
Trish Duggan has been hailed as the top donor to the Church of Scientology. In recent years, her spending has turned political.
Patricia Duggan has increased political donations in recent years to top conservative politicians, including the president.
Court OKs Florida to enforce social media law restricting children’s access
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center, is pictured in 2024 with Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, who made the social media bill a priority of that legislative session, and Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo in Tallahassee. An appeals court said Florida can begin enforcing its 2024 social media law as a legal battle plays out.
The legal battle continues to play out.
PAC formed to promote Charlie Crist for St. Petersburg mayor
Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist throws the ceremonial first pitch between the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees on Aug. 20 in Tampa. A new political committee, St. Pete Shines, was registered this month in support of Crist's potential candidacy for mayor of St. Petersburg.
St. Pete Shines, a political committee supporting Crist, registered with the state this month.

Latest

  1. Gulf of Mexico under pressure from oil industry’s new deepwater technology
    • Environment
    Rescue boats attempt to put out the blaze from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig after it exploded on April 20, 2010. The disaster became the worst marine oil spill in American history.
  2. How Customs and Border Protection is upping its role in immigration arrests
    • Politics
    U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are taking a leading role in immigration arrests nationwide, including in Florida, which is slated to see an increase in agents in the southern part of the state.
  3. In Pinellas, small-town leaders sound alarm on property tax elimination
    • Pinellas
    Belleair Bluffs Mayor Chris Arbutine has shared his thoughts about several controversial topics this year, including the Florida DOGE investigations, legalized sports gambling and, most recently, the state Legislature’s proposal to allow residents to vote to eliminate property taxes in November 2026.
  5. Florida’s dreaded hurricane season that wasn’t | Column
    • Viewpoints
    A hurricane-damaged pier is pictured in Boca Ciega Bay in Gulfport. This year's quiet storm season should give us all pause.
  6. 5 major Florida court decisions that shaped 2025
    • Politics
    Major Florida court decisions this year have affected immigration law, along with other laws about guns, abortion and more.
  7. Florida sets new record for child drownings; lawmakers look to reduce deaths
    • Health
    Swim instructor Geoff Dawson assists Lucas Davies, age 3, during a swim lesson at Dawson’s backyard pool in Longwood on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Florida this year has set a record for child drowning deaths.
  8. Florida’s insurance commissioner wants to oversee companies’ AI use
    • Politics
    Florida Office of Insurance Regulation Commissioner Mike Yaworsky, pictured here at a National Association of Insurance Commissioners conference in March 2023, said he wants to make sure state regulators can properly oversee the use of AI by insurance companies.
  9. Florida agencies want millions more for immigration enforcement next year
    • Politics
    A general view of the Florida Capitol on Monday, March 3, 2025, in Tallahassee, Fla.
  10. Trump was misleading about Walmart Thanksgiving dinner price comparison
    • Politics
    PolitiFact examined the price of Walmart's Thanksgiving meal package after President Donald Trump referenced it in talking points about lowering prices.
  11. Tampa photojournalist arrested while covering ICE protest
    • Tampa
    Members of the Sunrise Movement block a vehicle from entering the Krome North Service Processing Center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Miami-Dade County, on Saturday. Tampa photojournalist Dave Decker, who captured this image, was arrested alongside 30 activists at the protest.
  12. PAC formed to promote Charlie Crist for St. Petersburg mayor
    • St. Petersburg
    Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist throws the ceremonial first pitch between the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees on Aug. 20 in Tampa. A new political committee, St. Pete Shines, was registered this month in support of Crist's potential candidacy for mayor of St. Petersburg.
  13. Court OKs Florida to enforce social media law restricting children’s access
    • Politics
    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center, is pictured in 2024 with Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, who made the social media bill a priority of that legislative session, and Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo in Tallahassee. An appeals court said Florida can begin enforcing its 2024 social media law as a legal battle plays out.
  14. Top Scientology donor emerges as a major contributor to Donald Trump
    • Clearwater
    Trish Duggan has been hailed as the top donor to the Church of Scientology. In recent years, her spending has turned political.
  15. Judge rules UF must reinstate law student expelled over antisemitic post
    • Education
    The University of Florida must reinstate a Levin College of Law student expelled for antisemitic views, according to a federal judge's preliminary injunction.
  16. In the 2026 governor’s race, what exactly is Jay Collins doing?
    • Politics
    Jay Collins, a former Green Beret and decorated veteran, speaks moments after being sworn in as Florida’s new lieutenant governor on Tuesday, Aug. 12, at the Tampa Green Beret Association’s Team House outside MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. Collins is weighing a run for governor in 2026.
  17. Judge declines to halt Florida’s first black bear hunt in a decade
    • Environment
    A truck displays signage by Bear Warriors United outside the Ewers Century Center in Ocala before a meeting of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to discuss proposed rules for the state's black bear hunt on May 21. A Leon County circuit judge this week rejected a request from Bear Warriors United to halt the hunt.
  18. Florida Medicaid program for kids had 1,000 unqualified therapists
    • Health
    Violet Park, 3, plays along on a small pink guitar while her sister, Madison throws colorful scarfs and therapist Brooklyn Webb plays and sings a song at Music Therapy St. Pete. Payments to hundreds of therapy providers in Florida stopped for several weeks after a review found many were not qualified to be paid through Medicaid.
  19. Judge seeks settlement in ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ civil rights lawsuit
    • Politics
    Unitarian Universalist Rev. Arthur Jones holds his hands up in prayer during a vigil outside Alligator Alcatraz on Sunday, October 19, 2025, in Ochopee, Fla.
  20. Bill Cotterell, an ‘institution’ in Florida political coverage, dies
    • Politics
    Bill Cotterell, a retired Capitol reporter for United Press International and the Tallahassee Democrat, has died at age 82.
  21. Republican James Fishback jumps into the 2026 Florida governor’s race
    • Elections
    The list of candidates vying to take over Florida's Governor's Mansion is growing. James Fishback, a Republican, announced he's running in 2026 for governor.
  22. Manny Diaz Jr. selected as sole finalist in UWF’s presidential search
    • Education
    Manny Diaz Jr. is set to continue his tenure at the University of West Florida. He was named the sole finalist in their presidential search.
  23. FDOT study used to scrap SunRunner lane ‘incomplete,’ ‘unfair’, experts say
    • Transportation
    A SunRunner bus drives by in a dedicated bus lane on Pasadena Avenue that has since been painted over by the state on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025 in South Pasadena. The state cited an increase in crashes on the slice of Pasadena that had a dedicated bus lane.
  24. Trump proposed $2,000 payments from tariff dividends. Would that work?
    • Politics
    President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2. Earlier this month, Trump promised Americans $2,000 each from the "trillions of dollars" in tariff revenue he said his administration has collected.
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