Satanists from all over Florida are scheduled to gather on the steps of the Governor’s Office on Friday, January 25, in a show of solidarity for Governor Rick Scott, who, satanists say, has shown unwavering fortitude and progressive resolve in his defense of religious liberty, particularly in his approval of Senate Bill 98 [SB 98] authorizing “a district school board to adopt a policy that allows an inspirational message to be delivered by students at a student assembly; providing policy requirements; providing purpose, etc.” There is nothing devil-may-care about the attitude of the Satanists…

The 2012 election is barely in the books and already Florida politicos are turning their eyes to 2014, especially Democrats hungry to take back the Governor's mansion from the Republicans. Increasingly, Democrats appear ready to embrace former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist as their best chance at winning in 2014. At the same time, Crist is taking a more vocal role in criticizing Gov. Rick Scott, even taking to Twitter to blast Scott's controversial decision not to extend early voting during the presidential election.  Crist certainly is a topic of news and speculation across Florida. Here is …

Public Policy Polling's final poll of the cycle in Florida shows Obama leading 50/49. More specifically, 473 respondents chose Obama and 472 picked Romney. According to PPP: Of 4 polls in Florida over the last three weeks, there was a 1 point race every time. "Obama has been up slightly twice and Romney has been up slightly twice. There is a massive generational gap in the state with Romney leading 61/38 among seniors while Obama leads within every other age group. "The Paul Ryan selection didn't hurt Romney with Florida seniors as some had thought it might. Obama's up 52/47 with women, 53/47…

It's clear why the presidential candidates and their families are such frequent visitors to the Sunshine State: The race between President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney is a dead heat. A new Quinnipiac University poll shows Florida too close to call. Obama leads 48 percent to Romney at 47 percent, within a 3 percent margin of error. The poll was taken between Oct. 23-28. In late September, Obama had a nine-point lead in a previous Q-poll.  Are You Among the 2.7 Million Floridians Who Already Voted?  Marc Caputo of the Miami Herald reports that 2.7 million ballots have been cast out of 12 …

From the Political Wire...OBAMA'S INTERNAL POLL STILL SHOW LEADS IN SWING STATES "Major Garrett reports the first batch of Obama internal polls came back from key swing states today and "revealed that Obama was not in free fall, as some feared, but that his support has returned to where it was in July and August. " 'Internal Obama polling data show that all swing states have tightened up and that Romney is within the margin of error in states like Ohio and Virginia and Florida. It's now a dogfight across the swing-state battlefield and any sense of pre-debate complacency that some Obama hands…

If President Barack Obama or former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney want to win Florida's electoral votes, it would make sense if they focued on economic issues relevant to the Sunshine State, writes Jeff Harrington of the Tampa Bay Times. 5 FLORIDA-STYLE ECONOMIC ISSUES THAT OBAMA & ROMNEY SHOULD PONDER by Jeff Harrington of the Tampa Bay Times "1. The jobs quandary: quantity versus quality; 2. Charting an energy policy that works; 3. Fixing the safety net; 4. Propping up Florida's shaky property insurance market; 5. Finding palatable ways to boost international trade." OBAMA'S HUG, MITT'S …

President Barack Obama's campaign is going up with a huge TV ad buy in Florida, including in the expensive Miami market, according to a senior campaign official, reports Chuck Todd for NBC's First Read. ... "The Obama camp, in fact, is claiming this is the largest and earliest buy in Miami for a presidential contest. The statewide buy targets 10 media markets -- including Tampa (2,700 advertising points), Orlando (2,700 points), Miami (1,300 points), Jacksonville, Tallahassee, and even neighboring Mobile, Ala. " MITT ROMNEY ONLY HAS A 2% CHANCE OF WINNING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IF HE LOSES …

Public Policy Polling's latest presidential poll in Florida, done after the Republican convention, finds no change in the Presidential race there. "Barack Obama leads Mitt Romney 48-47, exactly as he did on our last poll of the state five weeks ago. "The Republican convention ... appears to have been a wash. 33% of voters say it made them more likely to vote for Republicans, 33% said it made them less likely to vote for Republicans, and 34% said it didn't make a difference to them either way." Charlie Crist to Speak Today at the DNC Obviously, President Obama and Vice President Biden will …

A new Gravis Marketing survey shows Romney leading Obama, 48%-45%, in Florida. As Christian Heinze notes, if you add Gary Johnson to the equation, he takes 1.7% from Romney and .5% from Obama. That means if the Romney-Obama gap is tight enough, Johnson could swing the state, which would be a bitter irony for the GOP, considering it shunned and blacked him out of primary debates when he was running for the Republican nomination. Rubio Out to Sea When Romney Phoned  "Gov. Romney was gracious enough to call me on Friday evening that week," Marco Rubio told a crowd of 825 at the Palm Beach County…

 Sen. Bill Nelson holds a seven-point lead over GOP challenger Rep. Connie Mack in Florida’s Senate race, according to a Rasmussen Reports survey released Friday. The poll of Sunshine State voters has Nelson leading Mack by a 47 percent to 40 percent margin. Three percent of the survey’s respondents like some other candidate, and 10 percent are undecided. The survey shows 22 percent of voters regard Mack as “very unfavorable” – up eight points from a month ago, while just 14 percent hold a “very favorable view” of the four-term congressman. Nelson’s favorability numbers, meanwhile, have …

 First Read notes that while it's possible for Romney to get to 270 electoral votes without Florida, it's extremely unlikely:  "If Obama were to win Florida, Romney would need to win CO, IA, NV, NH, NC VA, and WI. In other words, he'd have to run the table." Medicare Is Key Issue in Retiree-Rich Florida As Mitt Romney heads to Florida on a campaign stop – without running mate Paul Ryan – the Obama campaign greets him with a new video attacking the GOP ticket on their approach to Medicare. The tagline: "Romney-Ryan ending Medicare as we know it." Chris Christie to Give Keynote at RNC New …

Make no mistake, Gov. Rick Scott is still among the least popular governors in the country, tied for sixth least liked out of 36 we have polled on since the start of 2011.  39% approve of his job performance and 51% disapprove--still not good numbers, but the best we've ever found for him.  That is up from a 31-56 spread just a month earlier.   Scott's improvement is a combination of a rise in his support from independents and his own party.  Independents now split on him, 43-43, when they were at 26-60 in June.  That is over half his improvement.  The rest comes from Republicans, who now sit…

Gov. Rick Scott will contribute to a new Huffington Post blog aimed at spotlighting job creation, Scott’s spokesperson Brian Burgess confirmed via Nora McAlvanah of FLDemocracy2012.com He will write for the pre-convention blog called “Opportunity: What Is Working,” featuring posts from governors, mayors, and other elected officials focused on “coming up with strategies to bring jobs to their constituents.” Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of Huffington Post Media Group, sent Scott an e-mail this week inviting him to contribute to the blog, which she said was “aimed at …

Attorney Genral Pam Bondi is the latest name to emerge from the pool of rumored contenders for the Republican vice presidential slot, but experts consider her a long shot. The Business Insider website said that the Romney campaign noted that Bondi was campaigning for Romney in New Hampshire, including at a Women for Mitt Kickoff Breakfast in Concord, and at campaign office openings in Bedford and Stratham. The story then speculates why Bondi would be a good running mate, including her gender, her coming from a battleground state and her strong opposition to the president's health care law. In…