Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart: Arizona, Florida Locked In A 'Harms Race'

David Taintor | March 27, 2012, 9:21AM

Jon Stewart

After his week off, Jon Stewart on Monday caught up with two big stories: Dick Cheney's new heart and the investigation of Florida teen Trayvon Martin's death.

Cheney's heart transplant was a comedic gift for Stewart. "I can make a whole show out of that one," he said. But the Martin shooting? Not so funny.

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Allen West

Rep. Allen West: Zimmerman Had 'No Authorization' To Shoot Trayvon Martin

David Taintor | March 23, 2012, 1:18PM

Rep. Allen West (R-FL) delivers the keynote address at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C. on February 12, 2011.

George Zimmerman, in his role as neighborhood watch of a gated suburban community in Florida, had "no authorization" to take action against 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, Rep. Allen West (R-FL) told TPM Friday. "This is a self-made head of a community neighborhood watch. That's where my concern is."

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Florida

Florida GOP To Food Stamp Recipients: No Sweets For You

David Taintor | February 7, 2012, 5:48AM

Republicans in Florida are trying to prevent people on food stamps from buying items like candy, soda and chips with their state-funded assistance.

"You can't feed a family on potato chips and Mountain Dew, which is the goal: feeding hungry people," Florida State Sen. Ronda Storms (R), who introduced a bill to limit what food stamp recipients can buy, told TPM.

Storms said a number of grocery store cashiers told her that customers on food stamps would buy junk food, prime rib, lobster or other extravagant foods. This bill would introduce a little "fiscal responsibility" to the program, she said.

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Rick Scott

Unpopular Gov. Rick Scott Wants To 'Make Sure Florida Is The Model For The Country' (VIDEO)

David Taintor | September 14, 2011, 12:08PM

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) on MSNBC's Morning 9/14/11

Highly unpopular Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) sat down with the folks of Morning Joe on Wednesday to discuss the Republican presidential candidates' chances in Florida as well as some of his state's own issues.

Asked how Mitt Romney and Rick Perry would do in Florida, Scott said he thinks either candidate could win in a general election. And Scott doesn't think Perry will be in much trouble for calling Social Security a "monstrous lie" and a "ponzi scheme."

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Polls

Quinnipiac Poll: Romney Edging Up, Bachmann Being Displaced By Perry In Florida

Kyle Leighton | August 4, 2011, 11:28AM

Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney may have kept a low profile during the debt debate, only to criticize the final product, but it seems to have worked for him in a new Quinnipiac poll of the key swing state of Florida.

The new poll is really two polls. The report included one survey of registered voters from July 27th to the 31st, before a debt deal was announced, and then a second survey from August 1st to the 2nd. President Obama registered a negative approval rating in both, but fared well in the matchups with GOP presidential candidates. Obama has a lead outside the margin of error in all except for one: the August 1st - 2nd trial heat against Romney, which showed a tie at 44 percent. Obama still leads in the TPM Poll Average of the matchup 44.5% to 43%.

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Rick Scott

Florida Gov. Rick Scott Hosts Anti-Abortion Law Celebration

David Taintor | August 1, 2011, 10:28AM

Rick Scott

Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) knows how to throw a party. The conservative governor on Saturday hosted pro-life activists and Florida lawmakers at the governor's mansion to celebrate a handful of new anti-abortion laws, the Miami Herald reports.

But the laws actually went into effect about a month ago, so why host the ceremonial bill-signing event now?

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Polls

Rick Perry Takes The Lead....In Florida

Kyle Leighton | July 25, 2011, 5:13PM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) hasn't officially started a campaign for the GOP presidential nomination, but he's already making an impact in national polls of primary voters. Now he's leading in the latest survey of likely Republican primary voters in the critical swing state of Florida.

Perry took the pole position in Florida with 16% of the vote in the latest American Research Group (ARG) poll, followed closely by the candidate who held the lead the last time ARG polled the state: former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney. Romney held a commanding lead in the same poll in May, garnering 26% of the vote, almost twice as much as the second place finisher, former Ark. Gov. Mike Huckabee. Now with the infusion of Perry in the field, only 15% of voters stuck with Romney. Also registering 15% is Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), after getting only 5% back in May.

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Florida GOP

FL GOPer: Seniors Shouldn't Succumb To Dem 'Scare Tactics'

Susan Crabtree | July 13, 2011, 4:56PM

Seems like a certain candidate in the Sunshine State got Sen. Jon Cornyn's (R-TX) memo about dissing Democrats and President Obama for allegedly using Social Security scare tactics as leverage in the debt talks and is repeating it almost verbatim.

Former state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, who is running for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) next year, wasted no time in repeating the contents of the Cornyn memo almost verbatim Tuesday, criticizing President Obama for threatening to stop sending seniors their Social Security checks if the government defaults on its loans and has to stop paying for some government functions.

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Rick Scott

Poll: Gov. Rick Scott's Unpopularity Handicapping GOP Pres Candidates In Florida

Jon Terbush | June 24, 2011, 9:06AM

President Barack Obama (D) and Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL)

A plurality of Florida voters say they are less inclined to support a Republican presidential candidate in 2012 because of the way their freshman GOP governor has acted since taking office, according to a PPP poll to be released Friday morning.

In the survey, 40% of registered voters said Gov. Rick Scott's actions have made them less inclined to back the GOP presidential nominee next year, versus 26% who said his actions had made it more likely they'd vote Republican in 2012. An additional 34% said Scott has had no impact on whether or not they'll support a Republican candidate.

A key finding within those results is that almost one in five (18%) of respondents who said they disapproved of President Obama's job performance said they were still shying away from supporting a Republican alternative because of their dissatisfaction with Scott. Further, 45% of all independent voters said they were less inclined to vote for the GOP nominee after seeing Scott's policies in action, versus only 18% who said Scott had made them more keen to vote against Obama next year.

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2012 elections

Poll: Romney Leads In Florida Primary -- With Bachmann Close Behind

Eric Kleefeld | June 23, 2011, 12:19PM

Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

The new Public Policy Polling (D) numbers for the Florida Republican presidential race show Mitt Romney continuing to lead the pack -- and Michele Bachmann making an early splash in the race, with a strong second-place showing after her strong debate performance last week.

The numbers: Romney 27%, Bachmann 17%, Palin 17%, Cain 10%, Gingrich 8%, Paul 7%, Pawlenty 4% and Huntsman 2%.

But it's unclear whether Palin will run; with her removed from the equation in a follow-up question, here's the breakdown: Romney 29%, Bachmann 22%, Cain 14%, Gingrich 10%, Paul 8%, Pawlenty 6%, Huntsman 2%.

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Rick Scott

Rick Scott: Send This Flattering Letter To A Newspaper Editor Near You!

David Taintor | June 20, 2011, 5:07PM

Rick Scott

Refreshing? A strong leader? Given Florida Gov. Rick Scott's (R) devastatingly low approval ratings, these may be words Floridians would have a hard time using to describe their state's chief executive. But don't worry, Florida -- Rick Scott's happy to help you out.

A new feature on the governor's website allows constituents to a sign a pre-written letter to the editor and send it to one of seven newspapers in Florida.

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Medicare

Florida Tea Party Leader: GOP Medicare Plan A 'Public Policy Nightmare'

Brian Beutler | June 20, 2011, 11:29AM

Tea Party protesters on Capitol Hill

South Florida Tea Party Chairman Everett Wilkinson thinks the GOP budget -- and in particular its call to phase out Medicare and replace it with a marketplace for private insurance -- is a total disaster. He's saying that Republicans, including members in his sphere of influence like Rep. Allen West (R-FL), should back away from it.

In an email to fellow Tea Partiers last week, obtained by The Palm Beach Post, Wilkinson called the GOP plan a "public policy nightmare" that could trigger "huge Democratic wins in 2012," and prompt Republicans to blame the Tea Party for their losses.

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Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney -- Net Worth Over $200 Million -- Tells Unemployed People 'I'm Also Unemployed'

Brian Beutler | June 16, 2011, 1:33PM

Mitt Romney's given President Obama all kinds of grief for bemoaning "bumps in the road" to economic recovery. In a viral web video released this week, camp Romney creatively anthropomorphized those bumps as unemployed people still struggling after a years-long economic downturn, all of whom stood up and proclaimed, "I'm not a bump in the road."

Leave it to Romney -- net worth over $200 million -- to completely step on his own message.

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Paul Ryan

WATCH: Radio Host Cuts Off GOP Senate Candidate After He Dodges Questions On Ryan Budget

Benjy Sarlin | June 1, 2011, 1:26PM

Senate Candidate Mike Haridopolos (R-FL)

Mike Haridopolos, a Republican running for Senate in Florida, got so tangled up in answering a question the Paul Ryan budget in a radio interview that the host dropped his call mid-show.

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Pres '12

Unpopular Freshman GOP Governors Could Help Obama's Reelection Bid

Jon Terbush | May 31, 2011, 2:02PM

Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Gov. John Kasich (R-OH)

When several newly minted Republican governors began pushing through broad, unpopular legislation this year, they may have unintentionally aided President Obama's reelection odds.

Emboldened by their party's midterm election day romp, freshman GOP governors in a few crucial swing states immediately began to advance radical legislation upon taking office. But as the cost of those unpopular legislative agendas has now become clear in the form of free-falling approval ratings and incredible buyer's remorse, polls have shown that that same voter discontent could translate into a big 2012 boost for President Obama.

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Rick Scott

Poll: Rick Scott Earns His Worst Approval Rating Ever

Jon Terbush | May 25, 2011, 11:19AM

Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL)

Florida Gov. Rick Scott's (R) approval rating has sunk to a new low, as nearly six in ten Florida voters now say they disapprove of their chief executive's job performance barely 5 months into his tenure, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday morning.

Scott was one of the new Republican governor's swept into office last year as anti-incumbent rage thwarted Democrats nationwide. But since his inauguration, Scott has pursued a number of unpopular proposals, capped off by a recently-passed budget he is set to sign this week that voters overwhelmingly dislike by a two to one margin.

In the poll, 57% of registered voters said they're unhappy with how Scott has handled his job as governor, a record high. At the same time, only 29% of voters said they approved of Scott's job performance, making Scott the most unpopular of 10 governors Quinnipiac has surveyed this year.

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Rick Scott

Poll: Floridians Have Strong Buyers Remorse After Electing GOP Gov. Scott

Jon Terbush | April 14, 2011, 1:07PM

Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL)

Only three months removed from Governor Rick Scott's (R) inauguration, a majority of Florida voters now say the state is headed in the wrong direction and that, if they could do it all over again, they wouldn't have elected Scott in the first place, according to a new Suffolk University poll.

In the poll, 54% of voters said the state was headed in the wrong direction, compared to 30% who said it was going the right way. Further, just under half (49%) of all voters said they disapproved of Scott's job performance, versus only 28% who said they approved.

Scott's approval rating is so bad that the poll found him losing a hypothetical do-over election to Democrat Alex Sink by a ten-point margin, 41% to 31%.

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2012 elections

Poll: Obama Trails Huckabee, Romney In Florida

Jon Terbush | April 11, 2011, 10:19AM

President Barack Obama

A majority of Florida's registered voters disapprove of President Obama's job performance, and as a result, Obama trails Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney in hypothetical 2012 matchups there, according to a new Sachs/Mason-Dixon poll.

In the poll, 43% of respondents said they approved of Obama's job performance, compared to 56% who disapproved. Further, only 34% of independents -- who could play an important role in picking the state's winner -- approved of Obama's job performance,

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Rick Scott

Poll: Florida GOP Gov. Scott's Net Approval Rating Plummets

Jon Terbush | April 6, 2011, 12:04PM

Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL)

According to results of Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday morning, the percentage of Floridians who now approve of Gov. Rick Scott's (R) job performance has remained unchanged since two months ago. But at the same time, the percentage who disapprove of his job performance has more than doubled, putting his net approval rating deep underwater.

In the latest poll, a 48% plurality of registered voters now disapprove of how Scott has handled his job, a huge leap from February when only 22% of voters disapproved of the new Governor's job performance. Meanwhile, 35% of voters currently approve of Scott's job performance, the exact same percentage who gave Scott a thumbs up two months ago.

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2010 elections

Poll: FL. Gov. Rick Scott Would Lose Do-Over Election -- By 20 Points

Jon Terbush | March 29, 2011, 11:36AM

Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL)

Another day, another poll showing a recently elected Republican governor losing a do-over election -- and this one isn't even close.

A PPP poll of registered voters released today shows that in a hypothetical re-do of last year's gubernatorial election, Florida Gov. Rock Scott (R) would lose to Democrat Alex Sink by a nearly 20-point margin, 56%-37%. Scott won a squeaker of an election last year, edging out Sink by about one point.

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Joe Biden

Biden Team Apologizes For Using Storage Closet As Holding Room For Reporter

Jillian Rayfield | March 28, 2011, 10:00AM

Vice President Joe Biden

Joe Biden's spokeswoman sent an apology note to Orlando Sentinel reporter Scott Powers for using a storage closet as a holding area at a recent event in Florida.

The incident got a lot of attention over the weekend after a picture Powers took of the storage closet was posted on the Sentinel's website and made the print edition. Powers himself described yesterday how overblown rumors were swirling around the blogosphere that he had been "kidnapped and held hostage in a locked closet by the vice president's staff. "

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