State & Local
Along with up-to-date political coverage, The Floridian takes the opportunity to post about issues, legislation, and lawmakers in local municipalities and at the state level
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings (D) is reportedly gearing up to run for Florida Governor, and he could be making the announcement soon. Mayor Demings, whose wife and former Rep. Val Demings (D) ran an unsuccessful bid against Senator Marco Rubio (R), is facing accusations of overtaxing and unnecessary county spending. This week, Mayor Demings […]
Tracy Caruso is taking her name out of consideration for House District 87, she announced this week. Caruso was looking to replace her husband, Mike Caruso, in a to-be-determined HD 87 Special Election. “When Mike was first elected, I chose to live in Tallahassee with him—a choice many spouses don’t make,” Tracy said in a statement […]
Florida Senator Rick Scott (R) unveiled a new bill designed to offer tax breaks to victims of natural disasters. The Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2025 would allow tax breaks for victims of federally declared disasters, such as hurricanes and wildfires, until the end of 2026. The bill also extends victims’ ability to make […]
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the state's new open carry law this week. The attorney general's decision follows a Florida appeals court ruling last week that undid the state's ban on open carry, calling it "unconstitutional." In a memo sent to law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, Uthmeier specifically indicated the 1st District Court of […]
Miami mayoral candidate Emilio T. Gonzalez has earned the backing of six former South Florida police chiefs in his run for mayor, he announced on Monday. The group getting behind Gonzalez includes former City of Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina, former Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department Juan Perez, former Police Chief of El Portal […]
Florida is the place to be among U.S. destinations where Americans were happiest this summer, according to a new analysis from AttractionTickets.com. The Sunshine State scored four spots in the rankings' top 20, with three in Orlando alone. Discovery Cove, a resort in Orlando, earned the highest ranking on the list with a total score […]
Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago is making a plea to conservative lawmakers, suggesting that “the best way to win red is to go green.”
Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) is introducing a bipartisan, bicameral bill to protect seniors' access to laboratory testing for new medications. For additional context, the Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule is the system by which the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) pays for clinical diagnostic lab tests, based on the weighted median of private […]
Gov. Ron DeSantis celebrated a state appeals court's ruling that a Florida law banning the open carry of firearms is unconstitutional. The decision was announced by Judge Stephanie Ray of the First District Court, who authored the opinion, along with Lori Rowe and M. Kemmerly Thomas, on Wednesday. "This decision aligns state policy with my […]
Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) and all of Florida’s Congressional Democrats called on Governor Ron DeSantis to reverse the state’s recently updated vaccination policies. Last week, Governor DeSantis unveiled a revision to Florida’s vaccination policy plan that aims to eliminate state-mandated vaccinations. Florida’s House Republicans were invited to sign on to the request, which […]
Florida Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart (R) stands with Kentucky Congressman Andy Barr (R) and his “Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act” as they aim to curb the U.S. fentanyl epidemic by imposing heavy sanctions on CCP fentanyl producers. Rep. Díaz-Balart, who represents Florida's District 26, which encompasses an area of South Florida gripped by the fentanyl crisis, expressed […]
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier discussed the recent federal ruling on the operation of the Everglades Detention Facility, also known as Alligator Alcatraz, in an interview with FOX Business. When asked whether the facility will cease operations, Uthmeier said, “This is mission ongoing” as he intends to appeal the ruling. “We believe we're right on […]
A Florida Republican wants to make public whether mass shooters, terrorists, or "unprovoked" attackers ever took antidepressants or hormones, he announced Thursday. The proposed bill, set to be filed by Sen. Jonathan Martin, would let Floridians know if "any unprovoked person" was on SSRIs (the most commonly prescribed antidepressant) or received hormone therapy at any […]
The University of Florida is the fifth-best public university in the nation, according to Forbes' 2026 list of the best colleges and universities. The Gators were also named the 30th-best university overall in the United States and earned the top spot among Florida schools. “This is proof that the University of Florida is going forward […]
When 17-year-old Clayton Emerson’s motorcycle slammed into a pickup truck illegally pulled into oncoming traffic, he was killed almost instantly. But Gainesville police never checked whether the driver was under the influence. Instead, the driver received a traffic ticket. “Clayton’s Law” would change that. Crafted by Emerson’s mother, a single mom and office manager at […]
The U.S. Coast Guard seized a record 76,140 pounds of illicit narcotics valued at $473 million in Port Everglades on Monday. The historic bust from the U.S. Cutter Hamilton included 61,740 pounds of cocaine and 14,400 pounds of marijuana. “The U.S. Coast Guard, in partnership with our federal, DoD, and international partners, is offloading 61,740 […]
Florida Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins (R-FL) discussed the arrest of Harjinder Singh, an illegal alien truck driver, in a recent appearance on Fox News while further blasting California, where Singh obtained his commercial driver's license, as a "blue state idiocracy." Host Martha MacCallum began noting that another illegal alien driver had recently been arrested, asking […]
Representative Maxwell Frost (D-FL) is announcing that a new passport application office is being built in Orlando after years of demanding a second location in Florida. As we covered last May, Rep. Frost described how the Miami Passport Agency in Miami is the sole passport application office in the entire state, putting it too far […]
