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Politics & Government

Bill Nelson Leads in Senate Race Against Connie Mack

Negative ads drawing attention to Mack's 'questionable work habits' may be resonating with voters.

 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.

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Nelson’s favorability numbers, meanwhile, have improved over the past month, as he now is viewed as “very favorably” by 21 percent and “very unfavorably” by 18 percent. The survey’s results suggest the ads Nelson’s campaign launched in early August– one positive spot and one drawing attention to Mack’s “questionable work habits”– may be resonating with voters.

Sen. Mitch McConnell to Open RNC in Tampa

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky will open the Republican National Convention as its temporary chairman.

McConnell’s appointment to the post was announced Saturday by Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus. McConnell will be temporary chairman until the convention picks a permanent chairman, which is usually one of the first orders of business at the party gathering.

“Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is an excellent leader of our party, and I am proud to recommend him as temporary chairman of the convention,” Priebus said in a statement. He added that McConnell’s leadership of the Senate Republicans “is steadfast.”

...Ann Romney Will Help Kick Things Off

Ann Romney is expected to be named the main headliner to kick off the RNC – establishing a foundation for the week long GOP effort to rally support for her husband’s presidential campaign.

The announcement is likely to come Monday as part of a bigger rollout of the convention schedule, a Republican source with knowledge of the plan tells CNN. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, cautioned that the schedule could change, as the Romney campaign and organizers seek to put the finishing touches on the four day event.

Who are Florida's 98 GOP Delegates?

Less than two weeks before Republicans descend on Tampa, the Republican Party of Florida has yet to release names of the state’s 98 delegates — about half of whom aren’t expected to be officially seated, reports Jacob Carpenter of the Naples Daily News.

The delay comes as state officials continue to negotiate with the Republican National Committee, which stripped Florida of half its delegates for moving up its presidential primary date to Jan. 31. The minor wrist slap won’t have any bearing on the outcome of the convention, where all state delegates are expected to endorse Romney.

“It’s unpleasant to know you elected a delegate who will be cut, but (the convention) is really just a show of unity for the party,” said Frank Schwerin, chairman of the Collier County Republican Executive Committee and one of the delegates not seated. “We don’t have a brokered convention or anything. … If it was a three-way race between ( Rick) Santorum, Newt (Gingrich) and Mitt, you could be assured there would be lawsuits and such about how they cut the seats.”

Fees Top $500K for 15 Florida Lobbyists

Four firms that topped $1 million were Ballard Partners, GrayRobinson, Ronald L. Book PA and Southern Strategy Group.

The reports list the clients represented by lobbying firms and give broad ranges of the total amounts of money that firms collect. The eleven firms that reported receiving between $500,000 and $999,999 were Capital City Consulting LLC, Colodny Fass Talenfeld Karlinsky & Abate PA, Corcoran & Johnston, Dutko Worldwide, Floridian Partners, Foley & Lardner, Fowler White Boggs PA, Johnson & Blanton, The Advocacy Group at Cardenas Partners, The Rubin Group, and Tsamoutales Strategies.

The thirteen firms that reported receiving between $250,000 and $499,999 were Advantage Consulting Team, Akerman Senterfitt, Anfield Consulting, Becker & Poliakoff PA, Greenberg Traurig PA, Gunster Yoakley & Stewart PA, Larry J. Overton & Associates Inc., Metz Husband & Daughton PA, Pennington Moore Wilkinson Bell & Dunbar PA, Pittman Law Group PL, Prieguez & Weems LLC, Smith Bryan & Myers Inc., Spearman Management Inc., The Mayernick Group LLC, and William J. Peebles Attorney at Law.

Major Lobbying Forces Back Benefit Concert at RNC

Gavin DeGraw will headline a benefit concert sponsored by lobbying giants Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Recording Industry Association at the Republican National Convention in Tampa. The performance will be at Musicians On Call's Presidential Convention Charity Benefit on Aug. 28. Musicians On Call is a charity that brings music to wounded soldiers at hospitals. StoneRokk will be the DJ at the invitation-only event. Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers has spent $3.4 million on lobbying the federal government this year, while the Recording Industry Association has spent $2.9 million, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Skepticism for Economic Bounce From RNC

Wall Street Journal: Robert A. Baade, an economist at Lake Forest College in Illinois who has studied the impact of sporting events and political conventions studied 18 national political conventions between 1972 and 2004, and found no statistically significant impact on personal income or local employment when comparing host cities with control cities that didn't host events.

Congressional Primary Winner Trey Radel Loaned Campaign $206K

 

In the waning days of the Republican primary campaign for Congress, candidate Trey Radel pumped $206,000 into his campaign coffers, raising questions about the source of the money.

... Election finance records show Radel loaned his campaign $130,000 on July 24; $30,000 on July 25; $20,000 each on Aug. 2 and Aug. 6; and $6,000 on Aug. 10.

"It's cash that I have and I have had," Radel said when questioned by the Daily News earlier this week about the source of the money. ... He said part of the money — Radel wouldn't say how much — came from money he inherited after his mother died in 2009. On Friday, Radel said he received the money in July 2012.

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