Free Republic

Bernard Sansaricq, the Republican candidate for Florida’s 23rd Congressional District, says term limits should be implemented in Congress. “When you have congressmen with nine terms [such as Sansaricq’s Democratic opponent, Alcee Hastings], that’s when you have entrenched corruption,” he told Newsmax.TV. Sansaricq, a Haitian-American who was once president of Haiti’s Senate, also says members of Congress need to set an example by cutting their own spending first. “I will trim my budget to one-third of what they’re giving congressmen now and will try to do the same for everyone in Congress,” he said. “We are borrowing 40 cents on every...

The Coming Republican Nor’easter The GOP could make a comeback in the Northeast. Republicans suffered humbling defeats across the board in 2006 and 2008, but nowhere has the party brand taken a harsher beating in recent years than in the Northeast. A Republican stronghold for generations, the region has become increasingly hostile territory for the GOP. The party would like nothing more than to reverse this worrisome trend, and this year presents a golden opportunity to do just that. With the national wind at their backs, Republicans have a realistic shot at capturing a handful of House seats in the...

Issues, issues, and more issues. That’s all State Rep. Jeff Perry really wants to discuss. Whether it is his support for the right to keep and bear arms, his pro-life stance or his desire to repeal the Democrats’ healthcare measure enacted by Congress earlier this year, the Republican nominee for Congress has an opinion and detailed facts to back it up. And Perry believes, with all his heart, that the terms “conservative” and “Republican” should be basically the same. So what makes him so special among scores of Republicans running for the House of Representatives this year? That’s an easy...

The Bay State race that could capture national attention kicks off today with Republican state Rep. Jeffrey Perry facing Democrat Norfolk District Attorney William Keating in what promises to be a knock-down, drag-out contest for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. William Delahunt. A fired-up Perry came out of his corner with fighting words last night. “We’re taking back our government starting right now,” Perry told supporters at Plimouth Plantation, pledging to be a vote against “Obamacare,” to cut federal spending and to halt illegal immigration. The Sandwich representative, who bested former state Treasurer Joe Malone, Cohasset accountant Raymond...

State Republicans moved the three-way U.S. Senate race to a new level Saturday, with party leaders pointing to an audit of their books they say implies Gov. Charlie Crist — now an independent candidate for U.S. Senate — ran up potentially "hundreds of thousands" of dollars in inappropriate charges. Party Chairman and state Sen. John Thrasher said the expenses came to light during the just-completed forensic audit by Alston & Bird LLP — which was the examiner in energy giant Enron's 2002 bankruptcy. He said the party may sue their former standard bearer to get the money back. The announcement...

When Sen. Scott Brown staged his surprise special election win in January, he relied heavily on Massachusetts' 10th Congressional District. Now the GOP is targeting the district — the state's only open congressional seat this year — as one of its best chances in New England to pick up one of the 39 seats the party needs to gain control of the U.S. House. Democrats are equally intent on holding the district, which stretches from Quincy to Cape Cod. They say they've learned from Brown's upset. SNIP Still, as the Sept. 14 primary approaches, the GOP has reasons for optimism...

Four days before the primary, hundreds of Republicans gathered Thursday evening for a chance to compare and contrast the two candidates in the bitterly fought contest for the party’s nomination for governor. They ended up with just one candidate with their chicken piccata. Governor candidate Rick Scott ducked the joint appearance with primary rival Bill McCollum, bailing out just two hours before the event, surprising organizers and many of the 400 attendees. Scott sent his mother instead. Avoiding forums at which Republican primary voters can examine him side by side with McCollum has become a pattern for Scott. At the...

A new Quinnipiac University poll shows that Bill McCollum has opened up a 9-percentage-point lead over Rick Scott in the race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in Florida. In the poll results released Wednesday, Attorney General McCollum leads businessman Scott by a margin of 44 percent to 35 percent among likely primary voters, with 19 percent undecided. That reverses a Quinnipiac poll released on July 29 that had Scott leading by 11 points, 43 to 32 percent. The new Quinnipiac survey is the fourth recent poll that shows McCollum pulling ahead of Scott as the Aug. 24 primary approaches. A...

Breaking from Newsmax.com McCollum Gains Big: 12 Points Ahead of Scott By Jim Meyers Bill McCollum has opened a 12 percentage-point lead over Rick Scott in his campaign for the Republican nomination for governor in Florida, according to a new poll released by the Florida Chamber of Commerce. The poll of likely Republican primary voters shows McCollum with 45 percent of the vote, Scott with 33 percent, and roughly 20 percent undecided. Attorney General McCollum has a comfortable lead over businessman Scott among moderates, 48 percent to 27 percent, as well as conservatives — 43 percent to 36 percent, according...

PBS has a short video on Sarah Palin on their website. Also included is a poll that asks: Is Sarah Palin qualified to be VP? I logged on a couple hours ago and 33% percent had voted YES, 67% NO. It appears you can vote multiple times so I just voted again and it's now YES, 52%, and NO 47%. Here's the link: http://www.pbs.org/now/polls/poll-435.html

Ms. Jennings, you lost — and that’s it. Welcome, Rep. Jennings! Well, OK, it’s not actually Rep. Jennings. But Christine Jennings very much believes she should be Rep. Christine Jennings, D-Fla. And some of her Democratic would-be colleagues believe she should be, too. They would have a good case — if only Jennings had won the election. In case you haven’t been following it, Jennings ran against Republican Vern Buchanan in Florida’s 13th Congressional District. It was close the whole way. On election night, Buchanan beat Jennings by 364 votes out of 238,000 votes cast. It was entirely reasonable for...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A judge ruled Friday that congressional aspirant Christine Jennings has no right to examine the programming source code that runs the electronic voting machines at the center of a disputed Southwest Florida congressional race. Circuit Judge William Gary ruled that Jennings' arguments about the possibility of lost votes were "conjecture," and didn't warrant overriding the trade secrets of the voting machine company. Democrats in Congress meanwhile, said they'd allow Republican Vern Buchanan to take the seat next Thursday, but with a warning that the inquiry wasn't over and that his hold on it could be temporary. The...

Senate Candidates Divided On Immigration Issue The two candidates for U.S. Senate find themselves on opposite sides of the battle over immigration reform. Republican Katherine Harris is attacking incumbent Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson, saying he wants to give a free ride to citizenship for people living in this country illegally. A recent survey shows illegal immigration is a top concern among Florida voters, WESH 2 News reported In fact, more voters said they're worried more about immigration than they are about terrorism or the war in Iraq. Willie Telismon said he doesn't mind grueling work. Picking fruit pays little, but...

TAMPA, FL— This morning, Congresswoman Katherine Harris, the Republican candidate for United States Senate continued a targeted effort to inform Florida voters of how Bill Nelson supports amnesty at great peril to our economy and security. Standing in front of the Tampa Sub Office for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Katherine Harris reminded voters that she is the only candidate in this race who will strongly oppose efforts to grant special rights and privileges to millions of illegal immigrants. Congresswoman Harris commented, “Unlike my opponent, I will fight for our hard-working families who struggle to afford our Florida lifestyle...

Florida Democrats' chances are fading, poll finds With Jim Davis trailing by 21 points in the governor's race, pollster John Zogby says the Democrats have no one on the top of the ticket to deliver party-wide victory. With five weeks left before the general election, only one Democrat on the statewide ballot -- U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson -- is leading his challenger, while Republicans hold double-digit leads from the governor's race to all but one of the Cabinet races, a new Miami Herald poll shows. The conclusions of the survey by Zogby International spell trouble for the Democratic Party. With...

FLORIDA NEEDS TAX RELIEF TAMPA, FL— Congresswoman Katherine Harris, the Republican candidate for United States Senate launched a targeted effort this morning to inform Florida voters of how Bill Nelson has worked against tax relief for our families and businesses. Standing in front of the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, Katherine Harris reminds voters that she is the only candidate in this race who will fight to reduce taxes and government spending so that people can keep more of their hard-earned money. “My opponent has voted against tax cuts time and time again, opting to funnel more of our wages...

RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman on WIOD 610AM RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman spoke on WIOD 610AM about Florida's Republican candidates including Katherine Harris. Listen here: http://www.electharris.org/multimedia/details.aspx?ID=6

Harris co-sponsors fence bill Nelson votes against border security   TAMPA, FL— Congresswoman Katherine Harris, the Republican candidate for United States Senate, became a co-sponsor yesterday for H.R. 6061, The Secure Fence Act, to confront the immediate need for additional infrastructure to help secure our borders from terrorists and other criminal elements. A vote on the bill is anticipated later today. Her opponent, Bill Nelson has stymied recent efforts to bolster border security by voting in favor of Senate Amendment 4188, legislation that includes provisions requiring the United States to consult with Mexico before building a border fence. As noted...

HARRIS WINS REPUBLICAN NOMINATION POISED TO DEFEAT BILL NELSON IN NOVEMBER TAMPA, FL—Congresswoman Katherine Harris received the Republican nomination for United States Senate this evening, and celebrated her landslide victory at campaign headquarters with nearly a hundred grassroots supporters in attendance. Harris received the nomination by winning nearly every one of Florida’s 67 counties, demonstrating voters’ confidence in her leadership and ability to unseat Bill Nelson in November. Congresswoman Harris states, “I am thankful for the widespread support demonstrated by tonight’s strong victory. I’m thankful for the personal sacrifices made by my family, staff and many dear friends who all...

NRA Endorses Harris Unified Sportsmen of Florida Concur Tampa, FL -- Congresswoman Katherine Harris, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, received the endorsement of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Unified Sportsmen of Florida. Katherine Harris has an "A" rating from the NRA, in stark contrast to Bill Nelson's "F" rating. In a letter to Congresswoman Harris, Marion Hammer, NRA Past President and current Executive Director of Unified Sportsmen of Florida states "You [have] been consistently strong in support of Second Amendment and self-defense issues and we sincerely appreciate your solid pro-sportsmen, pro-Second Amendment, pro-freedom record. Your outstanding and...