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

Rick Scott campaign: we’re crushing Democrats in mail-in votes. And they are by 18%: Gov. Rick Scott’s deputy campaign manager, data guru Tim Saler, is out with a new numbers-laden memo that’s partly news, partly media j’accuse and partly narrative course-correction. The memo comes as Democrat Charlie Crist is shifting slightly ahead in polls this week. And Saler rightly points out that what really matters is votes. And Republicans, as they’re want to do, are dominating. Actually, they’re crushing Democrats in absentee ballots being cast. Read more

Libertarian Wyllie sues to get into Florida governor debate: With Florida’s gubernatorial debates getting underway, Libertarian candidate Adrian Wyllie on Thursday filed a lawsuit to try to get included in a televised debate next week in Broward County. Republican Gov. Rick Scott and his Democratic challenger, former Gov. Charlie Crist, are scheduled to debate three times before the Nov. 4 election, with the first taking place Friday at the South Florida studios of Telemundo. Wyllie is suing over the second debate, produced by the Florida Press Association and Leadership Florida and… Read more

Senators take sides in Florida governor’s race: Two Florida politicians best known for their time in the U.S. Senate — former U.S. Sen. Connie Mack, R-Fla., and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. — went to bat for their candidates in the hotly contested gubernatorial race on Tuesday. Mack and Nelson never served in the Senate at the same time but their political histories are somewhat tangled together. First elected to the Senate in 1988, Mack served two terms before retiring in 2000 and Nelson beat then-U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum, R-Fla., for the open seat. Read more

Weatherford on Amendment 2: ‘De facto legalization of marijuana’: Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, joined Don’t Let Florida Go to Pot on Thursday, speaking out against Amendment 2, a proposal to expand medical marijuana in the Sunshine State. “Let’s not hide behind labels such as ‘compassionate’ or ‘medical’ when debating this amendment.  Instead, let’s call it what it really is: a de facto legalization of marijuana in Florida,” said Weatherford, who is term-limited this year. Read more

Courts says Legislature won’t have to pay victor’s attorney’s fees in redistricting case: Florida taxpayers will not have to pay for what could amount to millions in attorneys fees for the coalition of voters groups who successfully challenged the Legislature’s drawing of congressional districts, a Leon County court judge ruled Thursday. But Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis gave them a consolution prize: the Legislature, via taxpayers, would pay most of their costs. That’s on top of the more than $7 million already spent on the legislature’s lawyers. Read more

Bonus: Oh, Florida! You’ve got some crazy laws

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

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Tom Tillison

Senior Staff Writer
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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.

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