Five of today’s top Florida political stories at your fingertips:

Marco Rubio calls Hillary Clinton ‘a 20th century candidate’: Clinton responded to Rubio during a radio interview in California. See below for her reaction. Marco Rubio, 43, found a way to call Hillary Clinton, 66, old without calling her old. “I just think she’s a 20th century candidate,” Rubio said in an NPR interview that aired this morning. “I think she does not offer an agenda for moving America forward in the 21st century, at least not up till now.” Rubio has talked a lot about a 21st century agenda, so the anti-Clinton line isn’t a direct knock at her age rather that she’s from another era. (Clinton has said she’ll form a specific agenda if she decides to run for president). Read more

Rick Scott agency sues Digital Domain in $20 million deal linked to Charlie Crist: The state of Florida has filed a lawsuit seeking to recoup millions of taxpayer dollars provided to the failed Digital Domain film visual effects company. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday by the Department of Economic Opportunity in St. Lucie County Circuit Court against Digital Domain Media Group and a number of other entities. Digital Domain had promised to create about 500 jobs at a Port St. Lucie animation studio and a West Palm Beach film school, but it filed for bankruptcy in 2012. The lawsuit contends Digital Domain defrauded the state out of $20 million in seed money by misrepresenting its debt problems and other allegedly fraudulent acts. Read more

The heat is on in increasingly blistering governor’s race: Florida’s gubernatorial race is growing as hot as the Sunshine State in July as Republicans and Democrats launched blistering attacks on Tuesday. The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) launched a new line of attack on Tuesday against former Gov. Charlie Crist, the favorite in next month’s Democratic gubernatorial primary despite holding three statewide offices as a Republican. Defending Gov. Rick Scott, the RPOF launched a new webpage insisting Crist has offered nothing in terms of policy proposals. “While Rick Scott has outlined his vision for Florida’s future with five policy roll-outs so far, Charlie Crist has spent his summer doing nothing except embarrassing himself with false attacks,” said Leslie Dougher, the chairwoman of the RPOF. Read more

Some of the minors crossing the U.S. border sent to Florida for housing: At least 36 unaccompanied minors who are among the thousands pouring across the U.S.-Mexico border are headed to Florida, a fact that Gov. Rick Scott’s administration was unaware of until contacted Tuesday by the Scripps-Tribune Capital Bureau. Administration officials say the federal government has not communicated with them about minors coming from border states, which is the “problem.” The number of unaccompanied minors crossing the border has spiked since October, with roughly 60,000 being apprehended by federal border patrol agents since then, according to the Pew Research Center. Many are fleeing South American countries to escape gang violence and poverty. Read more

Ruling keeps Florida’s ban on gay marriage in place: A judge in the Florida Keys on Monday rejected an emergency motion filed by a gay couple hoping to wed, effectively allowing Florida’s same-sex marriage ban to remain in effect while it is appealed, likely all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The couple had filed the motion on Monday morning seeking to reinstate the judge’s ruling last week that struck down the state’s gay marriage ban. On Thursday, Circuit Judge Luis Garcia, whose jurisdiction includes the Florida Keys, ordered the Monroe County Clerk of Court to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples starting on Tuesday. Garcia found that Florida’s gay marriage ban approved by voters in 2008 violated the right to equal protection under the U.S. Constitution. Read more

Bonus: Bobby Jindal to headline Florida GOP ‘victory’ dinner

For more Florida political news, visit BPR’s FLORIDA NEWS page

• Author
• Recent Posts

Tom Tillison

Senior Staff Writer
[email protected]

The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.

Latest posts by Tom Tillison (see all)

• Tucker releases part 2 of Devon Archer’s riveting interview - August 4, 2023
• Biden handlers forced to ‘adjust for age,’ roll out shorter Air Force One staircase - July 21, 2023
• Woman claims self-defense after allegedly shooting neighbor following altercation with playing children - June 7, 2023

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.