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On the Republican side, U.S. Rep. DeSantis, at 41 percent, has a 12-point lead over Agriculture Secretary Adam Putnam at 29 percent. Two percent favor Stuart physical therapist Bruce Nathan, and 28 percent are undecided, the poll found. Once considered the underdog, DeSantis has surged of late, in part by picking up the endorsement of President Donald Trump, who plans to campaign for the congressman Tuesday in Tampa. “It is likely that [Trump’s] endorsement of DeSantis is the driving factor behind the shift in the race,’’ the poll says.

Donald Trump will campaign in Tampa Tuesday, having transformed, in a way no one could have imagined just a few years ago, the Republican Party of Florida into the Florida Party of Trump. You can see it in every Republican primary in every corner of the state, as rivals argue over who supports the president more. You can see it in the Republican gubernatorial primary, where the No. 1 issue is who will fight illegal immigrants harder. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, long a rising star seemingly on a trajectory to the governor’s mansion, is losing to a relative newcomer, U.S....

2 TRUMP RALLIES!! Tues. July 31 - Tampa, Florida Free tickets Tampa: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/rallies/tampa-fl-2018/ … Thurs, August 2 - Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Free tickets Wilkes-Barre: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/rallies/wilkes-barre-pa-august-2018/ …

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam's agency told lawmakers in September that the record surge in requests for concealed weapons permits was one of his agency's "chief ongoing concerns." Equipment used to process weapons permits and other licenses was "redundant," inefficient and outdated, leading to higher costs and "greater operational risk." A $13.3 million fix was needed to meet demand, his agency said in a 2017 budget request. That blunt assessment, previously unreported, conflicts with how Putnam has characterized the concealed weapons program amid reports his department mishandled applications for licenses. When the Tampa Bay Times first reported last month that...

Markeis McGlockton and Michael Drejka both overreacted during their brief, fatal encounter in the parking lot of a Florida convenience store last week. McGlockton overreacted by pushing Drejka to the ground, and Drejka overreacted by drawing a pistol and shooting McGlockton in the chest. Although it is hard to see how Drejka's use of lethal force could have been justified, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri declined to arrest him, claiming his hands were tied by Florida's Stand Your Ground law. But that is not true, and Gualtieri's misrepresentation of the law has renewed misguided criticism of Florida's approach to self-defense,...

The latest independent polls done last month in the Republican race for Florida governor had Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam with a comfortable lead over U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis. But now, according to a report in the Tampa Bay Times, there’s a growing feeling that DeSantis is gaining fast on Putnam. If so, the move would be reminiscent of Rick Scott’s overtaking of Bill McCollum in 2010. Like Putnam this year, McCollum was the establishment GOP candidate, only to have Scott soar past him for the nomination. This year, though, the biggest factor in the DeSantis surge seems to be the...

Image of 11 foot Alligator from Victoria Advocate, 2009 On Friday afternoon, 29 June, 2018, a 15 year old girl, Jordan Broderick, was floating on a raft in Freek creek in the Ocala National Forest. That section of the creek is in Lake County Florida. Alligators chased her up a tree. Her mother called 911 and reported that alligators had treed her daughter, and were aggressive. From foxnews.com: "My daughter's stuck in a frickin' tree and there's gators surrounding her!" Broderick's mother reportedly told a 911 dispatcher. "Oh my God! Please hurry! Please hurry!" Deputy Mitch Blackmon responded to...

GLADES COUNTY, Fla. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will suspend water releases from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Estuaries starting Monday morning. "As we look at operations in the system, we believe we can pause discharges for a short time to get additional input from staff on available options for moving water," said Col. Jason Kirk, Jacksonville District Commander. "We have implemented higher stages in the canal along the Tamiami Trail and we have implemented deviations to generate flexibility in operations at the southern end of the system to move additional water south. We want...

On June 24, at about 10 a.m. citizens peacefully openly and legally carrying holstered pistols were detained by police for two hours. The police closed the pier where the Second Amendment activists were fishing. The legal open carriers were eventually released and allowed to continue their activities. However, police remained at the scene and actively discouraged other members of the public from making contact with the Second Amendment activists. From miamiherald.com: Police reopened the pier, but left a couple of officers there and stated, “We are encouraging visitors to use other portions of South Pointe Park.” The men cited...

BIG LEAGUE NATIONAL SECURITYFlorida Democrat Arrested For Threatening to Murder Republican Congressman’s ChildrenPublished 1 day ago on Jun 25, 2018 By Laura Loomer ShareTweet A Florida man was arrested on Tuesday after he reportedly threatened to kill Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) and his three minor children. Police say Laurence Key of Stuart, Florida, called Congressman Mast’s DC office out of anger regarding President Donald Trump’s immigration policy, and told the office intern, “If you are going to separate kids at the border, I’m going to kill his kids.” Along with making death threats against the Congressman and his children, documents...

A CBS News poll conducted between June 19 and June 22 provides the latest piece of good news for Republicans hoping to beat back a predicted "blue wave." Among likely voters, Trump has an approval rating of 53 percent in the poll while 48 percent disapprove of the president's job performance. The online survey of 1,002 registered voted - conducted for CBS News by YouGov - comes on the heels of a Politico poll released last week that had Trump at 48 percent approval in Florida and 49 percent disapproval. Factoring in the margin of error in both polls, Trump...

There is a big pro gun rally scheduled for July 28th, please come and make this a big success.

Subtropical Storm Alberto has formed in the northwestern Caribbean Sea, hurricane forecasters said at 9 a.m. Friday. Alberto is the first named Atlantic storm of 2018, and has formed ahead of the traditional hurricane season which begins June 1. The storm is expected to bring heavy rain and rip currents to the Gulf Coast through Memorial Day weekend. Here's the current forecast cone for the storm:The main difference between a subtropical storm and tropical storm is core temperature, according to Shawn O'Neil, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Slidell. Subtropical storms have slightly lower core temperatures than...

Publix has been Florida’s favorite grocery chain for decades — but some shoppers are turning their backs on the store after learning it donated more than half a million dollars to gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam. A handful of state advocacy groups have gone to social media — Twitter in particular — urging shoppers to "#BoycottPublix" this Memorial Day weekend. Some people have decided to boycott the store indefinitely, or until it withdraws $670,000 it has given to Putnam, a longtime Republican politician who drew ire after he called himself "a proud NRA sellout" and opposed Florida’s new, stricter gun purchasing...

Generally speaking, conservatives learn their lessons from tragedies like the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, while leftists figure out how to exploit them. For the second time, the “Republican” mayor of Orange County, Florida, Teresa Jacobs, is sticking her finger in the air to see which way the political winds are blowing on gun issues after the Parkland shooting. Due to term limits, the mayor has turned her attention to running for Orange County’s school board chairwoman. In hopes of winning the seat, the mayor has thrown law-abiding gun owners under the bus to appease Orlando’s left-wing anti-gun lobby. As...

On May 8th, 2018, Hernando County Commissioners will consider restoring County workers ability to exercise their Second Amendment rights while on the job. A current County policy prevents them from carrying firearms without fear of disciplinary action. County Commission Chairman Steve Champion has indicated that county workers should not have to chose between their right to self defense and the potential loss of their job. From abcactionnews.com: HERNANDO COUNTY Fla. — Starting next week, Hernando County workers who have a concealed carry permit may soon be allowed to carry their guns to work. "They should have a right to...

Young Woman Carrying AR15 style Rifle in Yuma Arizona On Sunday morning, April 15, 2018 at about 4 a.m. in Glen St. Mary, Florida, a group of seven masked home invaders barged into a mobile home located on County Road 125. A shot was fired by one invader. Two of the four occupants of the home responded with armed force. One of the residents had an AR15 style rifle. The person with the AR15 said they fired over 30 rounds while repelling the invaders. One invader was killed and others wounded. No resident was injured. As soon as the...

CNN) — A student was wounded and a suspect is in custody after a shooting Friday morning at a high school in Ocala, Florida, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office. The student was shot in the ankle, said Kevin Christian, Marion Public Schools spokesman. Authorities asked residents to avoid the area of Forest High School, which was surrounded by emergency vehicles and buses transporting students away from the scene.

A new attack ad against DeSantis has links to the bare knuckled political operative -------------snip--------------- Today an outfit called National Liberty Federation began airing about $290,000 in ads on radio and Fox News TV stations across Florida hammering Republican U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis: -------snip--------- The National Liberty Federation is run by a Palm Beach County resident named Everett Wilkinson, who used to call the group the South Florida Tea Party. Wilkinson for years has worked closely with Roger Stone, hosting a 2011 Boca Raton Trump rally that served as a harbinger of his presidential campaign, vocally supporting more casinos in...

The Parkland shooting incited protests calling for gun control that gained medial attention as lawmakers looked for ways in order to respond to the shooting and prevent future shootings from happening. Ron DeSantis, Florida Governor candidate, is arguing that he would’ve vetoed the controversial gun bill that Governor Rick Scott signed into law. The bill drew protests form the NRA because it raised the purchasing age of a firearm from 18 to 21 and it banned “bump stock” attachments. The bill also drew some opposition from gun control activists because it called for certain school staff to be properly trained...