It's no big surprise that Marco Rubio would have a Super PAC, Conservative Solutions PAC, set up to raise unlimited contributions to help his presidential campaign. What might surprise you is one of the names listed on the committee's paperwork filed with the Federal Election Committee: Nancy Watkins of Tampa.
As in Robert and Nancy Watkins, the top Republican fundraisers who in 2004 were dubbed "Pioneers" in George W. Bush's re-election campaign for raising more than $100,000.
Don't read too much into it, said Nancy Watkins, one of the country's top campaign finance experts who works with Republican political committees.
"We are honored to be asked to be treasurer for the Super PAC that is now supporting Marco Rubio. We think he's a great guy," she said. "But we are staying independent of the presidential candidates."
Gaming action urged
Frustrated by the lack of progress over talks to renew their gaming compact with the state, the Seminole Tribe of Florida sent a letter Friday to Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature urging them to resume negotiations to allow them the exclusive right to operate blackjack and other card games in exchange for payments to Florida.
"The certainty provided by a multi-year agreement to renew the banked card games would allow the Tribe to move forward with plans to invest over $1.6 billion in capital improvements and hire thousands of new employees,'' the Tribe said in a statement. "The State would further benefit by receiving billions of dollars in exclusivity payments from the Tribe over the term of the new agreement."
The Seminole Tribe wants to renew the portion of the gaming compact that expires July 31 and allows it to offer banked card games at five of its seven casinos. Legislative leaders had been in negotiations as recently as last week with tribal lawyers, but those talks ended when the House abruptly adjourned early.
Atlantic coast drilling
Sen. Bill Nelson is filing a bill to block the Obama administration from allowing oil and gas explorers to conduct seismic tests off Florida's Atlantic coast.
"Drilling off Florida's Atlantic coast would be unwise and impractical," said Nelson, a Democrat. "It would interfere with military operations off of Jacksonville and rocket launches from Kennedy Space Center and Patrick Air Force base, not to mention the environmental hazards it would pose. If you're not going to drill there, then why do the seismic testing?"
There is a ban on drilling rigs off Florida's Gulf Coast until 2022, but the moratorium does not apply to the Atlantic coast.
Columba Bush invite
Three eager backers of Jeb Bush's likely 2016 presidential bid — Miami Republican Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and former Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart — will host a fundraiser for Bush this month.
But what's perhaps most noteworthy is his wife, Columba Bush, also received top billing on the invitation.
That's a big moment for the former Florida first lady, who has largely shied away from the spotlight as her husband has gone around the country to raise money and build a campaign organization.
Columba Bush should feel at home at the May 18 reception: It will take place at the Jorge Mas Canosa Youth Center in West Miami-Dade County — not too far, relatively speaking, from her Coral Gables townhouse.
Mallea as adviser
He has been in talks with Bush's would-be campaign for several weeks, but it wasn't until Jose Mallea was featured as a panelist at Bush's political-donor retreat in Miami Beach that he was outed as a Jeb Guy.
Soon, he will become part of the payroll: Bush's political action committee, Right to Rise, plans to hire Mallea to advise Bush's likely 2016 presidential campaign on Hispanic outreach and engagement.
Mallea's first paid job in politics was on Bush's 1998 gubernatorial campaign, and he worked for President George W. Bush from 2001-05. But he has known Rubio since 2006 and ran Rubio's 2010 U.S. Senate campaign — so which Republican presidential contender would he pick?
"The decision in terms of who's going to be a better president and who's ready to be president — that wasn't hard," Mallea said. "It was a no-brainer for me."
Meanwhile, Brett Doster, one of Florida's most prominent political operatives, is heading to South Carolina to work for Bush. He joins Jim Dyke as the first paid staffers there. Doster will work as a "senior adviser" to the Right to Rise PAC.
His ties to Bush are deep, starting when he was a young assistant to Bush during the 1994 gubernatorial campaign. He also worked as campaign manager for Tom Gallagher in 2006 and was Florida executive director for Bush-Cheney in 2004.
Alex Leary, Mary Ellen Klas and Patricia Mazzei contributed.