Politics

Back in 2022 we talked to the author of a new book about gerrymandering in America called “One Person One Vote: A Surprising History of Gerrymandering in America.” Dr. Nicholas Seabrook is Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at University of North Florida in Jacksonville. Today we’re revisiting that conversation to provide some historical context on the recent burst of partisan redistricting that’s happening in the U.S. right now.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has tapped Republican state Sen. Jay Collins to be his lieutenant governor. It's a closely watched appointment by the two-term governor, who can't run for reelection in 2026. The seat has been vacant since February, when then-lieutenant governor Jeanette Nuñez was appointed to lead one of the state's public universities. If Collins decides to launch a bid to succeed DeSantis, the move could tee up another proxy fight between the popular GOP governor and President Donald Trump, who has already endorsed Republican Congressman Byron Donalds for the job.

As Minnesota reels from the murder of one state lawmaker and the shooting of another, Florida could shield from public disclosure the home addresses of legislators, other elected officials and their family members.

Oral arguments are June 4 in a long-running case involving a Florida bar complaint before the Florida Supreme Court against former Fort Myers attorney Christopher Crowley alleging bar rules violations.The Florida bar's complaint is that Crowley, during the 2018 political campaign for state attorney of the 20th Judicial Circuit "publicly disparaged his opponent through various political campaign materials, advertisements, and social media postings" among other rules violations.

A $67 million Medicaid settlement deal at the center of a criminal investigation reaching the top levels of the DeSantis Administration was struck without any oversight from the state’s Chief Financial Officer, in contravention of traditional practice and possibly of Florida law.The Florida statute that governs money owed to the state requires the CFO to audit the “accounts of all the officers of the state” in regard to transactions like last year’s controversial settlement with Medicaid contractor Centene Corp. that saw $10 million in public proceeds funneled through the Casey DeSantis-affiliated Hope Florida Foundation to attack a referendum staunchly opposed by her husband, Gov. Ron DeSantis, to legalize cannabis.

The race to become the governor of Florida is beginning to bubble, with U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds leading what is becoming a crowded field of hopefuls, all jockeying to assume the mantle.It’s way too early to divine who will win the open governor’s seat next November, but Donalds, who is Black and represents Florida’s 19th Congressional district, is bumping up against the reality that in its 180-year history, Florida has never elected a Black governor, man or woman, Democrat or Republican.

The Legislative Session has hit a pause as the State House and Senate still need more time to figure out a budget. Legislators were still able to agree on a plethora of new proposed laws.

Fort Myers Beach town councilors Monday approved a contract with Will McKannay to become the new Town Manager.

The president says a third term is "not something I'm looking to do," and the U.S. economy is in a "transition period."