Florida Senate

Rep. Kendrick Meek, still running third in the three-way race for Florida's open Senate seat, is getting fresh support from national Democrats even as a report suggests he might drop his campaign. Meek, a four-term congressman from south Florida, will join President Obama on Monday when he visits Miami for a fundraiser benefitting the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Tied to the visit, Meek's campaign released a new radio advertisement featuring the president, who calls him a "powerful voice for Floridians.

After George Zimmerman was acquitted in the slaying of Trayvon Martin, Stevie Wonder declared that he would never again perform in Florida or in any state with a "stand your ground" law. Over the last week, moral outrage over the reckless expansion of self-defense laws in Florida has fueled an international tourism boycott, protests around the country, and sent 200 students to the state Capitol in Tallahassee to await Florida Gov. Rick Scott's return....

There may be a question in some peoples’ minds about what the constitution says about the separation of church and state, but religion and politics have become a strange mix in some of this year’s midterm elections. There was the emergence of “Aqua Buddha” in the hard-fought Kentucky senate race and the appearance -- then abrupt disappearance -- of witchcraft in Delaware. Now there is the case of the cross in Florida where Kendrick Meek, the Democrat, is running third in a three-way race for the U.S. Senate.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Wearing a 2010 vintage Marco Rubio campaign T-shirt and matching button, Cheryl Griffin spewed frustration that the man she helped win a long-shot conservative bid for Senate is now leading an immigration overhaul. An evening downpour was falling on this coastal town, less a city than a hodgepodge of new and old subdivisions. But the weather did not deter Griffin, a small, skeptical woman, or her husband, Mark, a friendly man twice her size with rain dripping from his straw cowboy hat. The Griffins, who came down from neighboring Fort Pierce, were protesting Rubio's appearance at the annual Republican Party dinner.

Click here to download TV listings for the week of May 2 - 8 in PDF format This week's TV Movies TODAY Good Morning America (N) 7 a.m. KABC McLaughlin Group 6:30 p.m. KCET SUNDAY Today (N) 6 a.m. KNBC Good Morning America (N) 6 a.m. KABC State of the Union Gulf oil spill: Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano; Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

It is a heated debate in the struggling Republican Party: whether to broaden its ideology or follow the advice of Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh and others who argue against deviating from core conservative principles. Now, the GOP has a chance to see whether a moderate can become a model for Republican resurgence, with Florida Gov. Charlie Crist announcing Tuesday that he will run for the U.S. Senate in that politically important state.

It's easy to find people who will say bad things about Charlie Crist. He will "say or do anything to get elected," says Marco Rubio, his Republican rival in the race to be a U.S. senator from Florida. "He's the most evasive politician when it comes to answering questions," growls the Democrat in the race, Rep. Kendrick B. Meek. The incoming president of the Florida Senate, Republican Mike Haridopolos, laments, "There's just no trust. " Especially among the state's political class, there's little love for the Florida governor after he bolted the GOP and became an independent candidate for the Senate.

Seeking to be family friendly, Florida may have learned a hard lesson in how not to be Hollywood friendly. The Sunshine state startled the film industry recently when a bill was introduced in the state Legislature that would disqualify movies and TV shows that contained "nontraditional family values" from receiving a supplemental "family friendly" tax credit that's been in effect for a couple of years. The bill, unanimously endorsed last week by a key legislative committee, is part of a larger $75-million incentive program aimed at luring film and entertainment jobs to the state.

After George Zimmerman was acquitted in the slaying of Trayvon Martin, Stevie Wonder declared that he would never again perform in Florida or in any state with a "stand your ground" law. Over the last week, moral outrage over the reckless expansion of self-defense laws in Florida has fueled an international tourism boycott, protests around the country, and sent 200 students to the state Capitol in Tallahassee to await Florida Gov. Rick Scott's return....

Democrat Buddy MacKay asked Saturday for a recount of his 29,649-vote loss to Republican Connie Mack in Florida's U.S. Senate race. Messengers began delivering petitions for recounts to election officials in five key counties--Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough and Orange--where the number of votes cast Tuesday in the Senate race were as much as 24% lower than the number cast in the presidential race, said Pat Seitz, an aide to MacKay. About 170,000 ballots were being challenged.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the fresh face Republicans chose to respond to the State of the Union address, sounded familiar party themes Tuesday night, accusing President Obama of stifling economic growth through an overreliance on taxes and spending. The opportunity "to make it to the middle class or beyond, no matter where you start out in life, it isn't bestowed on us from Washington," Rubio said in his nationally broadcast remarks, but comes from "a vibrant economy. " That is something presidents in both parties, from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan, have recognized, Rubio said.

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Connie Mack IV won the Florida Republican primary Tuesday night and will take on Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in what will be one of the most contested U.S. Senate races of the year. Mack, a four-term congressman who is married to Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Palm Springs), handily defeated retired Army Col. Mike McCalister and former Rep. Dave Weldon in a Republican primary that was never much of a contest. With 35% of the vote counted, Mack had almost 60% of the vote, according to the Associated Press.

CHESTER TOWNSHIP, Pa. - Marco Rubio took the stage with Mitt Romney and delivered what the presidential candidate wanted - a jolt of energy aimed at an uninspired Republican base and a message of inclusion to Latino voters, who have drifted away from the party in droves. Monday's appearance by Rubio, a Florida senator and possible vice presidential pick who has become one of his party's most prominent Latino leaders, drew cheers and applause from the crowd. But it was also a reminder of competing imperatives facing Romney after a combative primary season in which he moved far to the right on illegal immigration, a key concern for many Latino voters.

The biography of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is the story of America. He is the son of Cuban immigrants who came to the United States in 1956 in search of economic opportunities and who worked hard to give their children a better life than the one they left behind. Years later, Rubio would enter politics and become a star in the national Republican Party. It's an inspiring life story, but oddly, it's not the one that Rubio has invoked in recent years. Instead, the freshman senator has been telling a different story, portraying his parents as exiles from the brutal regime of Fidel Castro.

Both of Florida's senators are looking very strong, but not Gov. Rick Scott, according to a Quinnipiac University poll. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, has a commanding lead over three potential Republican challengers in 2012, according to the poll released on Thursday; the closest any of the challengers comes is 20 percentage points behind. When those polled were asked to pick among the three Republicans seeking that party's Senate nomination, a staggering 64% said they didn't know.

Marco Rubio, a "tea party" movement favorite, was elected to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, easily winning a three-way race that included Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, a one-time rising star in the Republican Party. The victory means a conservative will take over the Senate seat now held by a more moderate Republican. The Senate's division between the major parties won't change, but the GOP will continue its move to the right. Democrat Kendrick Meek, who ran third, waged what has been a traditional Democratic campaign in this midterm cycle, backing the Obama administration's efforts on economic stimulus, healthcare insurance overhaul and Wall Street regulation.

The Florida Senate on Monday approved legislation to crack down on negligent gun owners in reaction to a recent spate of gun accidents that killed three children and wounded three others. The Senate passed the bill, 32 to 4, during the first day of a three-day special session called by Gov. Bob Martinez to consider the gun bill and a controversial $2-billion bond program to expand Florida's turnpike. House committees were expected to consider the legislation today. The bill would require gun owners to lock their weapons in a box or gun case or to use a trigger lock if they know or reasonably should have known that a minor might have access to the weapon.

Sen. Paula Hawkins of Florida apparently captured the Republican nomination for a second term Tuesday and Gov. Bob Graham was the top vote-getter in the race to be the Democratic Senate nominee. In Georgia, two heroes of the civil rights movement, state Sen. Julian Bond and former Atlanta City Councilman John Lewis, ran neck-and-neck in early returns from a Democratic congressional runoff that has strained their long friendship.

There may be a question in some peoples’ minds about what the constitution says about the separation of church and state, but religion and politics have become a strange mix in some of this year’s midterm elections. There was the emergence of “Aqua Buddha” in the hard-fought Kentucky senate race and the appearance -- then abrupt disappearance -- of witchcraft in Delaware. Now there is the case of the cross in Florida where Kendrick Meek, the Democrat, is running third in a three-way race for the U.S. Senate.

Democrat Kendrick Meek reasserted on Friday that he was in Florida's three-way Senate race to stay, despite reports that he had been urged to withdraw in favor of Gov. Charlie Crist. Meek took to the airwaves in the morning to deny reports that former President Clinton had urged Meek to withdraw so that Crist would stand a better chance of defeating Marco Rubio, the Republican nominee who is a "tea party" movement favorite. "I told him I didn't have any thoughts about getting out of the race," Meek said of Clinton on ABC's "Good Morning America.