Election Campaigns

Allen West, Tea Party Wünderkind, Funnels Campaign Cash to Two New Nonprofits

He's baaaaaaack! Allen West, the outspoken Palm Beach Gardens Tea Party Republican congressman who lost his reelection bid late last year, has shuffled hundreds of thousands of dollars in leftover campaign money to seed the Allen West Foundation and American Legacy Guardians.

Is Charlie Crist Florida's Next Governor?

Top Turkeys of 2012: The South Florida Personalities We Love to Hate

Who Is the 47 Percent Videographer?

Allen West Won't Concede, Demands Recount

Those vote tabulating machines are COMMUNISTS! As we predicted earlier today, Allen West is not going quietly. Even though the polls are closed, the ballots are counted, and the margin of victory for Patrick Murphy is outside any legal reason to require a recount, Allen West is demanding a rec ... More >>

Palm Beach Voting: Strong Black Turn-Out, Screwed-Up Ballots Scrutinized

Tropical Storm Sandy had passed and left a clear, crisp morning as early voting started Saturday in Palm Beach County. An estimated 12,250 votes were cast countywide over the weekend, and if the 7 A.M. crowd at the Supervisor of Elections office on Military Trail was any indication, voters were pati ... More >>

Connie Mack Pitches Fit When Tampa Bay Times Endorses Dave Weldon for Republican Senate Primary

On Sunday, the Tampa Bay Times editorial board members explained to readers why they thought Republican Dave Weldon was a better choice than Rep. Connie Mack to face Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in the fall. They were not kind:Rep. Connie Mack IV of Fort Myers has the famous name, the endorsements, t ... More >>

How Rick Scott Can Get Away With Raking In Millions in Unlimited Contributions

Gov. Rick Scott spent $73 million of his own money in the 2010 governor's race. When asked in April if he'd be cutting more checks for reelection in 2014, he responded, simply, "I won't have to... I don't know what it will cost, but we'll have the money to win."And if the donations to his "Let's Get ... More >>

Connie Mack Says He's Got Senate Primary Sewn Up, Won't Debate Anyone but Bill Nelson

You're out of luck if you were hoping a debate or two would help better understand Connie Mack's "freedom pilgrims freedom America" policy positions on his campaign website. The Tampa Bay Times invited Mack to debate his Republican primary opponents, and his campaign responded by challenging Bill Ne ... More >>

Could Connie Mack's Mass-Mail "Accident" Be an Illegal Contribution Worth $18 Grand?

Republican Senate candidate Connie Mack has had to deal with a bit of drama the past few days. And the check pictured above could mean that the drama isn't over.The trouble started when Mack, who bills himself a fighter of liberal "spending sprees," decided to spend a pile of federal money ($18,000 ... More >>

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Donates to Allen West Opponent Patrick Murphy (UPDATED)

Update, 4/19: Got comment from Wasserman Schultz's camp. Added to the story.Original post, 4/17:Between January and the end of March, South Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz donated $73,000 to Democratic campaigns across the country. It's not surprising -- she's chair of the Democratic ... More >>

Allen West Gets a "Defense Fund" From Joe Miller Over Reelection Worries

Harriet Tubman​Apparently there's great concern over Rep. Allen West's reelection bid, since Tea Party hero Joe Miller -- the guy who lost a Senate campaign in Alaska to a write-in candidate -- and his political action committee have started the "Allen West Defense Fund" to keep the congressman in ... More >>

A Tour of Gov. Rick Scott's Dirtiest Deeds

Allen West Interview: Florida Tea Party Favorite Talks About Islam and Donald Trump (Part 1)

Photo by Michael McElroy​The light is dim and smoky inside the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8182 in Pompano Beach. Red, white, and blue slogans brighten the low walls and ceilings, urging patrons to "Thank a Vet" and to remember "Freedom Is Not Free." At the far end of the small, bunker-sized roo ... More >>

UPDATE: Talabisco Arrest Affidavit Details Election Plot

BSO Talabisco's mug shot ​ UPDATED: The arrest affidavit for just-arrested Tamarac Mayor Beth Flaunsbaum-Talabisco lays out an intricate plot to deliver the 2006 mayoral election to the 57-year-old politician. Blacktie South Florida Talabisco and Lieberman before ... More >>

Tea Party Leader Ran "Gay Bashing" Campaign In Connecticut

Note: This is the second part of a series about Gabriel Jose Carrera, a leader of the Tea Party. More than a decade before Gabe Carrera became a leader in the Fort Lauderdale Tea Party and began rubbing shoulders with the likes of Florida Gov. Rick Scott and U.S. Sen. Marco ... More >>

Dave Aronberg, Pam Bondi's New Pick to Fight Pill Mills, Has His Work Cut Out for Him

Disarming pain clinics with a single smile.​Now that Rick Scott has nixed the state Office of Drug Control, which was instrumental in getting anti-pill-mill legislation passed, the duty to try to curb the illegal pill-mill industry falls on whoever will take it.Enter Pam Bondi, your new Republican ... More >>

Ritter Has Date in Tallahassee Over Election Allegations

I hate to say it, but James Stokes -- the new School Board attorney who quit this morning before he even started -- probably made a good decision. Who would want to jump into the dysfunctional soup that is the Broward County School Board? It's a little surprising that he decided it "didn't feel rig ... More >>

Palm Beach Elections Officials Embarrass County Once Again

It's a return to 2000.​The Palm Beach County election nightmare of 2000 -- all those hanging chads, butterfly ballots, Pat Buchanan votes, and silly canvassing-board photos -- seems to have taught elections officials nothing. The county's Supervisor of Elections Office still could not count all th ... More >>

[UPDATED] Haitian Presidential Candidate Charles-Henri Baker: "The Crooks Don't Want Me in Power"

Hours before flying back to Haiti to begin a marathon final month of his campaign, Haitian presidential hopeful Charles-Henri Baker sat in an unmarked studio at the back of a Boca Raton office park, getting makeup dabbed on his face, reading lines from a TelePrompter in Creole. He was recording tele ... More >>

Will Chris Chiari, Chip LaMarca Split the Vote Against Ken Keechl?

Flickr: Chris Chiari CampaignChiari says that voters know enough about Keechl to know they don't like him.​Tuesday's election returns proved that there's strong anti-incumbent sentiment toward the Broward County Commission, especially as regards the leader of the scandal-plagued dais, Mayor Ken Ke ... More >>

Arlen Specter's Charitable Donation Too Tiny to Clean Rothstein From Campaign

Flickr: radder photosSen. Arlen Specter will only give away a small portion of his Rothstein money.​Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter was another far-flung politician to ride the Scott Rothstein gravy train, to the tune of at least $4,200. This morning, Specter's reelection campaign is reporting tha ... More >>

Finally, a State Poll That's Relevant

Flickr User: drewanteyeTill recently, every poll for the 2010 Florida election was filled with "ifs." If Crist runs for Senate will you vote for him? If Alex Sink runs for governor, will you vote for her? With the flurry of campaign announcements the last few weeks, the new poll from Mason-Dixon is ... More >>

What About Bob? Florida Senior Bids to Be Florida's Junior Senator

Bob SmithBob Smith, who for 12 years served as New Hampshire's U.S. Senator, is betting that his brand of retro-Republicanism will carry him to victory in the 2010 race to be U.S. Senator from Florida. Smith retired in Sarasota six years ago and declared his candidacy this month. If elected, he woul ... More >>

For Deerfield Beach Mayoral Candidate, Vindication Served Cold

Don ClevelandDuring Deerfield Beach's recent mayoral campaign, Don Cleveland lugged a big piece of baggage: a foreclosure action in which he lost his Sunny Isles home.A troublesome issue, if only because Cleveland was fairly new in town (moved there in 2001) and had never run for office in Deerfield ... More >>

Liveblogging the Muni Election

The brains of the operation 8:31 Welcome to the Juice muni elections liveblog. I will be doing the play-by-play. At my left is the color commentator, a highly flatulent greyhound who somehow managed to cast a ballot (for Al Capellini, natch) and has been flaunting her "My Vote Counted" sticker to al ... More >>

Banana Republic

America downscales

Trickster in Chief

Famed political hit man Roger Stone takes a special interest in would-be Broward Sheriff Scott Israel

Beyond Gonzo

Call hell-raiser Hunter S. Thompson's style what you will — a new doc succeeds when saluting his substance

All You Need to Smear

Slimy newspaper article, hokey moral values committee, cash from a slush fund — and voilà

The New Pistolero in Town

On the dusty, Old West streets of Davie, a political hotshot takes aim

A Bousquet Case

Die Bold, Die Wussy

An Invitation to Steal an Election

The Next Ex-Mayor

After two years in office, West Palm Beach Mayor Frankel has little to show except blocked streets

Cash Cow

A group of political opportunists is cashing in on the rural town of Southwest Ranches

Be Very Afraid

Broward's elections office has been hijacked by Republican activists. Blame local Democrats.

Forget Milk

Late-night Confession

What exactly did the mayor say to the commissioner at City Hall?

Workin' for Doodle

For Bob Graham's troops, word that he was quitting the race came straight from Larry King

Operation Baghdad

A Senate hopeful on the lam is busy tracking Saddam

Taking Stock of Bob Graham

The South Florida senator and presidential candidate wheels and doodles

The Enforcer

John Garon may be a partial quadriplegic, but he wields federal civil-rights lawsuits with consummate skill

Politically Incorrect

Fort Lauderdale's mayor packs a pistol, opposes gay rights, and hopes to hang 'em high

Missing Moore

Broward County commission candidate Carlton Moore has done less for some concerned citizens

The Plot To Depose King Jenne

Democrats and Republicans, blacks and whites, have banded together for one simple reason: to stop Ken Jenne from becoming Broward's first strong mayor.

The Reeducation of Ms. Kristin Jacobs

Broward's leading reform candidate discovers that money really is the root of all influence

The Sheriff's Criminal Association

If Ken Jenne were like most cops, he'd be investigated for being friends with felons who give him money

Undercurrents

The Brat PAC

Broward gays have a new voice in the Political Advocacy Coalition, which has the old voice -- the Dolphin Democratic Club -- up in arms

Letters