Jeb Bush endorses Marco Rubio for U.S. Senate

Well, make that Jeb Bush Jr.

Received via e-mail from the Rubio campaign:

Today I would like to let you know that I will be enthusiastically supporting my friend Marco Rubio for his bid for the United States Senate.

Florida and our country are at a crossroads. Not only in our economic life, but in who we are as Republicans.

My choice was a simple one: Marco Rubio represents the best in what our Party should strive to be and who it must engage – he is young, conservative, and believes in the principles of our Founding Fathers, that individual freedom and liberty are what makes our country great and always will.

Marco Rubio is a candidate who can help to bring our Party back on track by reaching out to our youth, entrepreneurs, Hispanics and those who believe that if you work hard enough, anything you dream can be achieved. With Marco, we have a great opportunity to elect a true conservative and a greater obligation to elect a man of principle.

As Talking Points Memo notes, Bush's dad, Jeb Sr. is still popular and Florida - and probably would have been a shoe-in if he had run for the Senate. Whether that popularity has passed on to his son - who last year endorsed Rudy Giuliani for president - and to Rubio's benefit in his race against Gov. Charlie Crist, remains to be seen.

Castor: Sotomayor is 'outstanding' pick for Supreme Court

She doesn't have an official say on the matter - that is reserved for members of the U.S. Senate - but count U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, whose district includes part of Manatee County, as liking President Barack Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“President Obama made an outstanding selection in nominating Judge Sotomayor to the Supreme Court of the United States," Castor said in an e-mail statement this morning. "Judge Sotomayor will bring to the bench her intelligence, her humble upbringing, her top-notch qualifications and her fair-minded approach to legal matters. I am particularly excited that President Obama chose an Hispanic woman for this critical role. Our Tampa Bay area has a strong legacy of Hispanic and female attorneys and judges. An Hispanic woman serving on the highest court in the land is an accomplishment for which we can all be proud.”

New poll: Just about everyone knows Charlie Crist

A Mason-Dixon poll shows Gov. Charlie Crist with a 53 percent to 18 percent lead over former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in next year's election.

That's a big gap for Rubio to overcome, but the challenge appears even more daunting when you consider the results of another question in the poll: 98 percent of the 625 registered Florida voters surveyed said they recognized the name "Charlie Crist," compared to 39 percent who recognized "Marco Rubio."

Other results of the survey, as reported by the Palm Beach Post, include U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek holding a 26 percent-16 percent lead over state Sen. Dan Gelber for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat. Crist would beat either one of them handily in a general election, according to the poll results.

In the race for governor, Attorney General Bill McCollum holds a 39 percent-12 percent lead over Agriculture Secretary Charles Bronson, who has not said whether he is running for the GOP nomination. McCollum also holds a 40 percent-34 percent lead over Democratic Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink in a hypothetical general election.

Read the whole poll here.

Galvano: I'm considering running for AG

State Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, tells the Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times bureau in Tallahassee that he is considering a run for Florida attorney general, now that incumbent Bill McCollum is running for governor.

The Naked Politics blog reports:

Galvano's name now gets added to the list of other potential candidates: Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp and former chief of staff to Gov. Charlie Crist, George LeMieux.

"It is something that I'm taking a look at," Galvano said. He noted that while Republican Party chairman Jim Greer continues to discourage primary battles, Galvano believes "the rank and file really do want to have some options. These are very challenging times and that also equates to challenges in statewide elections so there are people who are interested in making sure decisions are not made too quickly and that there are options to evaluate."

Term limits mean Galvano, chairman of the House Rules committee, cannot run for re-election to the Florida House next year.

Bill McCollum is no political amateur

Bill McCollum may eschew the label "professional politician," but there is no question that he is not an amateur when it comes to politics and elections.

The Republican McCollum, a former congressman and currently Florida's attorney general, will surprise no one later today when he kicks off the 14th campaign of his political career by announcing a bid for governor. McCollum's temptation for higher office became easier to give into after GOP Gov. Charlie Crist last week said he was running for a seat in the U.S. Senate.

McCollum will be the second - but maybe not the final - member of the Florida Cabinet to announce for governor. Last week, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, a Democrat, entered the race, and Agriculture Secretary Charles Bronson, a Republican, also has expressed interest.

McCollum first ran for office in 1980, when he was elected to the U.S. House from central Florida. His resume may be long, but the state's political demographics have changed considerably in the past 30 years. Whether McCollum is a good fit for the new Florida remains to be seen.

McCollum's bid for governor means other politicos will now line up to run for attorney general.

Stay tuned for the next dominos to fall ...

Buchanan to host town hall on economy

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan will hold a town hall meeting in Bradenton on Saturday on economic issues.

“Nothing is more important than getting our economy back on track and creating jobs,” said Buchanan.

This is the fifth in a series of town meetings Buchanan has held throughout the district to give his constituents a chance to express their views on ways to strengthen the economy.

"I want to listen to the people and hear their ideas and suggestions,” he said.

Buchanan's town meeting will be held at 10 a.m. in the County Commission Chamber at the Manatee County Administrative Center, 1112 Manatee Ave W.

Alex Sink announces bid for governor

With Charlie Crist running for U.S. Senate, Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink today announced she is running for the Democratic nomination for governor.

"In unique and challenging times like these, our state needs a new and different kind of leadership," she said in the statement to be released this afternoon. "Thousands of Floridians have told me they need leaders committed to protecting the middle class, strengthening our economy and giving our families a fighting chance. As a businesswoman and working mom, I couldn't agree more."

Sink is the first major candidate to announce for governor, but reports are her two co-workers in the Florida Cabinet, Attorney General Bill McCollum and Agriculture Secretary Charles Bronson, both Republicans, may soon enter the race.