Free Republic

NEW PORT RICHEY - Fred Thompson will stop here Friday during his first Florida tour since formally announcing last week that he is running for president. The former actor and senator becomes the star attraction at the fourth annual Reagan Day Dinner at Spartan Manor, 6121 Massachusetts Ave. Social hour is at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7. About 60 tickets remain at $60 each. Also scheduled to speak at Friday's gathering, sponsored by the Republican Party of Pasco, is Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, who is state chairman for the Rudy Giuliani presidential campaign. For information, call Shari Kotsch...

Whether viewed by Floridians with reverence or disdain, Jeb Bush transformed Florida politics during his eight-year tenure, to the benefit of the Republican Party. BY BETH REINHARD breinhard@MiamiHerald.com To size up Jeb Bush's political legacy, look no farther than the punctuation that followed his first name on his trademark campaign bumper sticker: Jeb! The signature slogan captures the governor's atomic impact on Florida politics, for better or worse. He lifted the Republican Party onto the broad shoulders of his six-foot-four frame and into the stratosphere, sweeping up untold millions of campaign dollars, stacking hundreds of influential boards and courthouse benches,...

"...You can understand the optimism among Florida Democrats heading into Election Day. They see an unpopular president and war, three highly vulnerable Republican congressional seats, and the strongest Democratic ticket statewide in years. But wait. What most Florida Democrats don't see is the mighty Florida GOP machine revving its turbines. Nowhere in the country are Republicans better at the nuts and bolts of winning elections than Florida, a state where the GOP will spend at least five times as much as Democrats on voter turnout. "Hi, this is Charlie Crist. Recently, you should have received your vote-by-mail ballot. And I'm...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact Jennifer Marks July 31, 2006 Letter not applicable today Tampa, FL— Florida GOP Chairman Carole Jean Jordan informed Congresswoman Katherine Harris this afternoon that a previous letter unethically leaked in today’s news is not applicable to current party beliefs. Further, Jordan stated that the Florida Republican Party does not officially endorse or take positions in a primary. Representative Harris commented “this confidential letter was old news and Chairman Carole Jean Jordan has stated repeatedly this letter is not applicable today; further, Chairman Jordan said that she never expressed concerns about my campaign but rather the race...

The Republican Party of Florida drew up its own list of felons it says are ineligible to vote. The party could use the information to contest election results if they are close again in Florida. TALLAHASSEE - Foreshadowing a possible challenge of voters on Election Day or in court soon after, Florida's Republican Party said Thursday that it believes nearly 1,000 illegal voters plan to cast ballots this year. But the party's announcement may face its own challenges. The GOP found the allegedly illegal voters by using the same flawed list of felons that had been drawn up by the...

Hispanic support of GOP surges, Democrats left scrambling TALLAHASSEE - A new poll showing Governor Jeb Bush’s overwhelming popularity in the Hispanic community once again has Democrats frantically trying to bail out their sinking ship. As reported in the Orlando Sentinel (In poll, Central Florida’s Hispanics favor Gov. Bush - May 27, 2002), 60 percent of the non-Cuban Hispanics surveyed approve of the job Gov. Bush is doing and 69 percent think he is committed to improving education - the No. 1 concern among Hispanics just as with all Floridians. Gov. Bush beat Janet Reno 51 percent to 23 percent...