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Super PACS Boost Romney Over Obama in Florida Fundraising

GOP supporters bankroll Mitt Romney's Florida campaign efforts. Jeb Bush is coy about his political future. Here are headlines from 'Sunburned,' a newsletter about Florida politics.

"Raising more Florida money than President Obama and Newt Gingrich combined, Mitt Romney appears to hold a financial advantage heading into the fall election," writes Kenric Ward in Sunshine State News. ... (Romney) "drummed up $7,829,150 compared with Obama's $5,867,102. Add Gingrich's $1,44,912, and Romney is still the cash king."

  •  In Jacksonville, Romney outraised Obama $865,645 to $250,218. In Naples, the Republican held a $565,283 to $181,453 advantage.
  • Even in the Democratic enclave of West Palm Beach/Boca Raton, Romney bested Obama. Romney raised a whopping $1,678,167 to Obama's $745,037.
  • Obama's heaviest donations came in Miami-Dade and Orlando, where he raked in $1,496,618 and $652,974 respectively.

 

MARCO RUBIO: OBAMA POLICIE CRUSH HISPANICS' DREAMS

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Rubio: "No community values entrepreneurship and small business more than the Hispanic community. Unfortunately, President Obama's failed policies of new regulations, higher taxes, and Obamacare and his anti-business rhetoric have hit Hispanics especially hard. Big government really hurts those who are trying to make it.  And with unemployment still abysmally high, the Obama economy is crushing Hispanics' dreams for their children to live a better life. The Hispanic community cannot afford four more years of double-digit unemployment and higher levels of poverty. Mitt Romney will stop the attacks on job creators, encourage entrepreneurs to chase their dreams, and bring good jobs and a better future to all Americans." 

JEB BUSN ENDORSES CONNIE MACK

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Former Gov. Jeb Bush on Wednesday endorsed U.S. Rep. Connie Mack in the U.S. Senate race.

"Connie Mack is the principled conservative that the people of Florida deserve representing them in the U.S. Senate," Bush said in a statement. "Connie has the courage, conservative values, experience and determination to confront the tough issues facing our nation. We must return conservatives to the majority in the U.S. Senate.  Connie is the person Floridians need in Washington working with Senator Marco Rubio to reduce our national debt and limit out-of-control spending."

 

WILL HE OR WON'T HE?

 "I've not made that decision, although there's a window of opportunity in life for all sorts of reasons, and this was probably my time. Although I don't know, given kind of what I believe and how I believe it, I'm not sure I would have been successful as a candidate, either." -- Jeb Bush, in a CBS News interview, on not running for president in 2012.

 

TAMPA BAY TIMES TO HOST DEBATE FOR GOP SENATE CANDIDATES ON 7/26...

The Tampa Bay Times, Bay News 9 and FPBS and its member stations are partnering to produce a U.S Senate Republican debate for Florida voters on July 26.

...BUT MACK SAYS RACE IS OVER AND DECLINES INVITATION TO DEBATE

After news of the preparations for the debate got out, Mack declined an invitation to participate in the statewide prime-time televised event, effectively declaring the GOP U.S. Senate primary over.

"It's clear the race for the U.S. Senate in Florida is now between Connie Mack, the Republican, and Bill Nelson, the Democrat," Mack campaign manager Jeff Cohen wrote in a letter to Jeanne Grinstead, deputy managing editor of the Tampa Bay Times.

 FLORIDA'S RECESSION WORSE THAN ORIGINALLY THOUGHT

Even though it's officially over, Florida's recession keeps getting worse. New statistics from Washington define a much more severe recession for the Sunshine State than first believed. In 2009, during the depths of the financial crisis, Florida's economy shrank by 5.4 percent - much worse than the original estimate of a 3.7 percent drop.

 VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVES TO RESUME

The League of Women Voters of Florida said Wednesday it will resume voter registration efforts following a federal judge's ruling last week overturning portions of a 2011 state election law critics say is too restrictive. "Failure was never an option in this battle against voter suppression," said President Deirdre Macnab. "Now it's time for our volunteers to work overtime to make up for lost ground. Our goal? To make sure every eligible Floridian has the opportunity to have their voice heard and their vote counted."

JEB BUSH TO SPEAK IN ST. PETE ON FRIDAY

While former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has been busy denying rumors he is interested in being Mitt Romney's choice for vice president, he is still being politically active in his home state, writes Bill Mansell of Patch.

On Friday, Bush will be the keynote speaker at the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Florida Summit, a two-day event at the Vinoy.

 IN CD 9, NINA HAYDEN-JESSICA EHRLICH FORUM A CIVIL AFFAIR

Hayden and Ehrlich met at a Tiger Bay candidate forum held at the St. Petersburg Yacht club, where the first question asked during the Q&A session was if there were any substantive policy differences between the two, reports Mitch Perry. Hayden said she couldn't really point out any differences as she is just now getting to know Ehrlich's political bent.

...Ehrlich is the clear favorite of Democrats outside of St. Petersburg. She's won several major endorsements, and is out-fundraising Hayden by a nearly 8-to-1 margin.

Sunburn is edited and published by Peter Schorsch of SaintPetersBlog.com. You can reach Peter at saintpeter4@gmail.com. Material from the News Service of Florida was used in this email.

 

 

 

 


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