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

Crist, Scott slug it out in heated final debate of Florida gubernatorial race – Florida’s leading candidates for governor clashed fiercely during their final debate on Tuesday night, sniping at each other over everything from the economy and the minimum wage to the death penalty. Republican-turned-Democrat Charlie Crist and Republican Gov. Rick Scott, essentially tied in the polls, used their final moments before the television cameras to come up with some of the most personal attacks leveled so far in what has already been an extremely negative campaign. The debate’s sponsors did not allow still photographers or reporters inside the studio during the event, preventing them from capturing the full context of how the candidates performed outside the view of the TV cameras. Read more

Game-changing debate pins former Fla. State Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff against ‘do-nothing’ Sen. Maria Sachs – In a Florida Senate District 34 debate between former Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff and current Sen. Maria Sachs, a potentially game-changing debate unfolded on Sunday. Bogdanoff Sachs to the pointThe key focus was on “Bogdanoff’s experience with complex insurance issues and multiple missed votes by Sachs” on WPTV Channel 5’s “To The Point.” Read more

Family power a bad idea; Michelle Santamaria accused of breaking election laws – Voters can sometimes get a glimpse of the extremes to which a political candidate will go to win a race. If the candidate is willing to break the rules, what kind of behavior can be expected if he or she gains power? Voters shouldn’t take a chance to find out in Palm Beach County’s District 6 County Commission race. Melissa McKinlay, Michelle Santamaria and Andy Schaller are vying for the seat now occupied by Santamaria’s father, term-limited Jess Santamaria. Read more

Officials want South Florida to break off into its own state – Officials in the City of South Miami have passed a resolution in favor of splitting the state in half so South Florida would become the 51st state. Vice Mayor Walter Harris proposed the resolution and it passed with a 3-2 vote at the city commission meeting on Oct. 7. Harris told the commission that Tallahassee isn’t providing South Florida with proper representation or addressing its concerns when it comes to sea-level rising. “We have to be able to deal directly with this environmental concern and we can’t really get it done in Tallahassee,” Harris said. “I don’t care what people think — it’s not a matter of electing the right people.” Read more

Court says not so fast with those red-light camera tickets – Big changes could be coming to cities with red-light cameras after a Florida District Court of Appeals judge said it’s illegal for camera operators to issue citations to drivers. “In Florida, only law enforcement officers and traffic enforcement officers have the legal authority to issue citations for traffic infractions, which means only law enforcement officers and traffic enforcement officers are entitled to determine who gets prosecuted for a red light violation,” the ruling read. Read more

BONUS: Did he just say that? Crist won’t disclose wife’s tax returns because ‘I believe in a woman’s right to choose’

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

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Cheryl Carpenter Klimek

Administration
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Latest posts by Cheryl Carpenter Klimek (see all)

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