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

GOP’s Jolly win in Florida a smashing victory over Dems, Obamacare: Democrat hopes are sinking.Republican David Jolly defeated former Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink in Tuesday night’s special election to replace the late Rep. C.W. Bill Young in Florida’s 13th Congressional District race that was viewed by both parties nationwide as a referendum on Obamacare and a preview of Democrat chances in the the fall.Obamacare — and the Democrats — lost. Jolly won with about 48.5 percent of almost 185,000 votes to Sink’s 46.5 percent, while Libertarian candidate Lucas Overby netted just under 5 percent, according to the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Office.The numbers might look close, but the verdict was resounding. Sink, who narrowly lost to Gov. Rick Scott in the 2010 election for governor, was an early favorite to win the race. Read more.

Pricey TV ad buy shows Gov. Rick Scott’s personal side: Florida Governor Rick Scott’s newest political ad is pulling out all the stops and bringing into clear focus what it is that truly lifts people out of poverty — and that’s opportunity, not welfare.It comes from his his Let’s Get to Work committee, and the Scott campaign is making a big time commitment to it.“It’s a significant buy: $2.2 million,” Sen. John Thrasher, R-St.Augustine, Scott’s campaign chairman, said, according to the Miami Herald. See ad.

‘Florida GI Bill’ passes in state Senate, moves on to Rick Scott: With the goal of establishing Florida as the top “Welcome Home” state for the military, the Florida GI Bill passed unanimously Tuesday in the Florida Senate.The bill offers a tuition break to honorably discharged veterans and funds college scholarships for National Guard members.Among other provisions, House Bill 7015 provides funds to purchase land next to military bases to prevent encroachment.The House passed the measure unanimously on the first day of the Legislative Session and it now moves to Gov. Rick Scott’s desk for his signature.“I’m excited that we care about our military,” Scott said. Read more.

Haynie is Boca’s new mayor: Susan Haynie topped her City Council colleague, Anthony Majhess, 6,250 votes to 4,716 in Boca Raton’s hotly contested mayoral race.The first Boca Raton mayoral contest in recent memory to pit one City Council colleague against another started far earlier than usual and was marked by an avalanche of fliers, four TV commercials in support of one candidate and yard signs as numerous as a national election, some said. Read more.

Eric Eisnaugle closer to Tallahassee return after big primary win: Former state Rep. Eric Eisnaugle took a step closer to returning to Tallahassee Tuesday, winning the Republican primary in a special election for an open Florida House seat.With early votes counted and 29 of 32 precincts in, Eisanugle beat out educator Vicki Bell in the Republican primary with 84 percent. Bell took 16 percent. Read more.

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

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Michele Kirk

Michele Kirk is the vice president and senior managing editor for BizPac Review. Michele can be reached at [email protected]

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