Rick Scott

The impending vacancy in the Senate following President-elect Trump’s planned nomination of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) for secretary of State is already sparking speculation about who will be his successor. If Trump goes forward with nominating Rubio as the U.S.’s top envoy, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) would be tasked with appointing a replacement [...]

'Ten GOP members have endorsed a candidate so far'

Ron DeSantis will have a chance to put another stamp on state politics with a big appointment if Marco Rubio becomes secretary of state. But one major question is hanging over that opportunity: How badly does Donald Trump want his daughter-in-law, Lara, to become a U.S. senator?

A growing coalition of Trump allies, including Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have endorsed Scott for Senate leader.

All three candidates for Senate GOP leader are making MAGA appeals, committing to more floor debate and amendments and better communication as they make their final pitch ahead of Wednesday's leader elections. Why it matters: A growing number of senators want a new style of leadership after nearly two decades under Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — and years of battles between him and President-elect Trump. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) is promising more amendments, more power and input from average senators, a focus on getting young, conservative judges confirmed and to spend time over the lame duck discussing how to make the chamber work better, he told colleagues in a letter on Tuesday, obtained by Axios.Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) plans to tell senators in a Tuesday night meeting that he won't assume bills get 60 votes, and he will encourage floor debate and amendments. He also is promising weekly meetings with the House Speaker and Vice President Vance as well as a December conference on GOP priorities, a source familiar tells us.Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) launched his bid as the leader most committed to significant change. He has taken a notably more public approach to his bid for leader, blanketing the airwaves and riding a wave of support from influential voices in Trump world.The intrigue: One source close to Scott points out that many of the plans for a more open process that are being laid out by Thune and Cornyn mirror the kind of changes Scott has been pushing for the past two years.How it works: The candidates will make their final argument to be leader tomorrow morning before the vote — including nominating speeches from two colleagues, each.If none of the three candidates win 27 votes in the first round, the candidate with the lowest vote total is removed and they all vote again.Scott won 10 votes when he ran against McConnell in 2022. He'd need to nearly triple his level of support to win a majority of Senate Republicans in 2024.If Scott is eliminated in the first round, it is a big question whether Thune or Cornyn will be more likely to gain his supporters' votes.

GOP operative Susie Wiles is widely viewed as the person most responsible for keeping Donald Trump's 2024 campaign more organized than his previous efforts. Come January, she'll have the second most important job in the White House.Why it matters: As Trump's chief of staff, Wiles will bring a low-profile, calm but firm leadership style to a position that saw frequent turnover and tension during Trump's first administration.Wiles has shown a rare ability to keep the president-elect on message — as much as that can be done, at least. She's the only person to have worked as his campaign manager for a whole campaign.Driving the news: Now the veteran of Florida politics will take on a gig that will test her ability to keep her boss focused — and be a gatekeeper to try to prevent distractions out of the Oval Office. Wiles, who will be the first woman to be White House chief of staff, has surfed through the frequent drama of Trump's world in part by staying out of disputes involving him and others, and focusing on his messaging and strategy."She provides stability and infrastructure and she's respected by everyone in Trump's orbit and beyond," a GOP strategist told Axios.Zoom in: On the campaign trail, Wiles quietly worked to keep particularly divisive, fringe conservatives out of Trump's orbit — or to ease them out if they gained access to him.When Trump wanted to hire far-right activist Laura Loomer last year, Wiles sat in on her interview with Trump — and made sure she wasn't hired.Loomer still managed to have a brief presence on the campaign trail during the early fall, concerning some of Trump's allies and top advisers who worked to keep some of the most extreme members of the party at bay. But before long, Loomer was removed from Trump's traveling team.Between the lines: In an expansive profile by Politico's Michael Kruse earlier this year, Wiles said that "the GOP of today is different" from when she first joined politics, when things "like manners mattered and there was an expected level of decorum.""I haven't, and likely won't, fully adapt. I don't curse. I'm polite. It's not who I am," she said."But people either know that I'm a solid person, and I hope many do, or they don't and judge me by my work for President Trump."The big picture: The daughter of the late sports broadcaster Pat Summerall, Wiles worked on several Florida campaigns, including Rick Scott's successful 2010 gubernatorial campaign and Trump's state operations in 2016 and 2020.Her extensive background in Florida politics has helped her forge relationships with Republicans inside and outside of Trump's inner circle.Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who ran for the GOP nomination in 2016 against Trump, said Wiles was a "great choice" for White House chief of staff. Wiles worked on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' 2018 gubernatorial campaign, before the two parted ways. DeSantis then discouraged Trump's campaign from hiring her for 2020.Trump hired her anyway, and she helped lead the ex-president's primary campaign against DeSantis, who initially was seen as a top contender for the GOP nomination.Before DeSantis dropped out of the race, Wiles showed that she hadn't forgotten about their rift. "Bye, bye," she wrote in a post on X.Go deeper: Top Trump advisers try to steer him off personal drama

Susie Wiles is moving from a largely behind-the-scenes role to the high-profile position of the president's closest adviser

He has kept a rotation of associates with him on and off the campaign trail in recent weeks.

Votes tallied on Election Day tend to favor Republicans in a phenomenon known as the "red mirage," while a so-called blue shift occurs as Democrats make gains in post-...

Former President Donald Trump is stepping up calls for a winner to be declared shortly after polls close Tuesday night. That simply may not be possible because it takes time to count the tens of million votes in the presidential...

Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird's chief of staff T.J. McDowell is leaving, and Rick Hoppe, who was former mayor Chris Beutler's chief of staff, will take his place.

There's only one way to find out who won the presidential election: Wait until enough votes are tallied, whenever that is.

Florida’s election will test whether the state maintains its new reputation as a Republican stronghold, as Democrats count on turnout for abortion rights and recreational marijuana ballot questions

Only a few Republican senators have publicly endorsed a candidate. Many say they are still undecided.

Two days remain until Election Day, and Republicans are aiming to take control of the Senate and expand their majority. Democrats hold a 51-49 advantage, which Republicans have already sliced into with their pending victory in West Virginia. That leaves them needing only one more seat to win back the upper chamber, with Montana and [...]

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Billions of dollars in advertising are raining down on voters across the Rust Belt, Rocky Mountains and American southwest as the two major political parties portray their opponent’s candidates as extreme in a struggle for control of the U.S. Senate.

Both on the airwaves and the campaign trail, it’s time for candidates and campaigns to make their final pitches and make sure their voters turn out. It’s already past the time when the U.S. Postal Service says it is safe to mail ballots — especially in states with requirements that ballots be received, rather than [...]The post At the Races: Closing time appeared first on Roll Call.

National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.) is telling colleagues that he will support Senate Republican Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) in the race to become next Senate Republican leader, according to sources familiar with the private conversations. Daines’s public support would be a promising development for Thune, who is locked in a tough [...]

As former President Donald Trump courts the community’s vote, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe crudely mocked Latinos — a key constituency for any winning campaign in 2024 — during preprogramming for the former president’s Madison Square Garden rally.With nine days remaining until the election, Trump gathered scores of his most popular surrogates and allies to rally thousands in midtown Manhattan, a reliably deep-blue area.Hinchcliffe, taking the first slot among nearly 30 warmup speakers, launched into a crude and disparaging set of jokes about the conflict in the Middle East, Black voters and Latinos.“These Latinos, they love making babies, too. Just know that they do,” Hinchcliffe said, setting up his joke: “There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They c– inside, just like they did to our country.”Donald Trump3 hours agoTrump's Madison Square Garden event turns into a rally with crude and racist insultsDecision 20249 hours ago20,000 people expected on National Mall for Kamala Harris speech on TuesdayA few moments later, the comedian took a second swing at a key voting bloc within the community: Puerto Ricans.“There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” he said to a scattering of claps and jeers.He also told a joke about one of his Black “buddies” and how they “carved watermelons” together.A number of the opening speakers at the Madison Square Garden rally threw around vulgarities and demeaning comments about Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democratic politicians. Radio host Sid Rosenberg called Hillary Clinton “a sick son of a b—-” and David Rem, a Trump backer in New York City, said Harris was the “Antichrist.”Battleground Pennsylvania, where polling margins show a razor-thin race between Trump and Harris, is home to the third-largest Puerto Rican diaspora in the country. Last month, the former president invited Puerto Rican artist Anuel AA onstage at a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, to publicly throw his support behind the Republican ticket.The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment about Hinchcliffe’s jokes.Speaking on a livestream with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., on Sunday afternoon, Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, responded to the comedian’s comments.“Who is that jack-wad? Who is that guy?” Walz asked after a clip of Hinchcliffe’s joke played on their stream.“People in Puerto Rico are citizens. They pay tax and they serve in the military at almost a higher rate than anybody else,” Walz added, knocking Trump for his response to Hurricane Maria in 2017 — including a now-famous video clip of the then-president tossing paper towel rolls to Puerto Ricans seeking aid.“Obviously, it’s super upsetting to me,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I need people to understand that when you have some a-hole calling Puerto Rico floating garbage, know that that’s what they think about you.”Hinchcliffe later responded on social media saying people like Walz and Ocasio-Cortez “have no sense of humor” and took his joke “out of context to make it seem racist.”“I love Puerto Rico and vacation there. I made fun of everyone...watch the whole set,” he added.But some Republicans also came out and condemned Hinchcliffe’s remarks.Rep. María Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., also later wrote on social media that she was “disgusted” by Hinchcliffe’s “racist comment.”“This rhetoric does not reflect GOP values. Puerto Rico sent 48,000+ soldiers to Vietnam, with over 345 Purple Hearts awarded. This bravery deserves respect,” she wrote.“This joke bombed for a reason,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., tweeted. “It’s not funny and it’s not true. Puerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans! I’ve been to the island many times. It’s a beautiful place. Everyone should visit! I will always do whatever I can to help any Puerto Rican in Florida or on the island.”Puerto Rico, which is home to over 3 million American citizens, according to the 2020 census, experienced significant outward migration to the mainland U.S. after Hurricane Maria ravaged the island territory in 2017.Puerto Ricans who live on the island are not eligible to vote in presidential elections (the commonwealth does hold elections and award delegates to both Democratic and Republican primary candidates) despite being U.S. citizens.But their relatives on the mainland can.Harris, for her part, unveiled her plan for Puerto Rico as she campaigned in Pennsylvania on Sunday, posting details to her social media accounts and adding a section to her campaign website. Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican rapper and singer, shared Harris’ announcement with his more than 45 million Instagram followers.This article first appeared on NBCNews.com. Read more from NBC News here:In stampeding hungry crowd, children wait in vain for breadIsraeli forces leave a trail of destruction after dayslong siege at one of Gaza’s last hospitalsIran’s supreme leader said Israel’s attack should not be exaggerated or downplayed

Improvements to the heat and hot water system at Stanley Holmes Village will be done by Nov. 30 — six weeks into the heating season — representatives of the Atlantic City Housing Authority said during a Wednesday news conference.

A new report from The Washington Post compiled statements from Republicans currently running for office and determined that more than 230 of them have cast doubt on the 2024 election. Recent opinion polling shows that this conspiratorial rhetoric, along with falsehoods promoted by conservative media outlets like Fox News, is influencing Republican voters.The Post described the disinformation campaign as a “pervasive effort within the GOP to undermine public trust in the vote ahead of Nov. 5.”Many of the candidates promoted conspiracies about noncitizen voting, which is extremely rare (0.0001% of votes cast out of 23.5 million votes in the 2016 election, according to a report from the Brennan Center for Justice). House Republicans have pushed related legislation, even though noncitizen voting is already illegal, and it has been a hot topic of conversation on Fox News.About half of the Republicans promoting election misinformation have referred to the ongoing criminal cases against Donald Trump as evidence of election interference, echoing his frequent protests, according to the Post’s report.

What 538's 2024 Senate election forecast says.

Senate Democrats are resting their long-shot hopes of keeping a majority on abortion rights, with the issue dominating their closing arguments two weeks from Election Day.Why it matters: Democrats are blaming deeply unpopular abortion bans in Texas and Florida on the senators they need to defeat next month: Ted Cruz and Rick Scott.Democrats in blue or toss-up states are counting on abortion rights to get them across the finish line, hammering TV and social media with ads about reproductive rights.The big picture: With Montana looking increasingly out of reach for Democrats, Cruz and Scott are the party's main targets to flip a red seat and keep a Senate majority.Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), challenging Cruz, is closing his campaign with ads featuring a woman who had to leave Texas to get emergency reproductive care and arguing that Cruz is "leading the charge" on abortion restrictions.Allred will campaign with Vice President Kamala Harris in Texas on Friday, a surprise move by both campaigns down the stretch. The event will focus on abortion.Former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Fla.), challenging Scott, is running multiple TV ads hammering him on reproductive rights, saying Scott "wrote the plan" to ban abortion.Zoom out: The Democrats' two most vulnerable members — Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) — are spending millions on ads supporting abortion rights down the stretch.A pro-Tester Super PAC is spending nearly $2 million on abortion ads in the state from now through Election Day, according to data from AdImpact.Brown's campaign and the campaign arm of Senate Democrats are spending around $5 million on ads about reproductive rights, according to AdImpact.Tester's race could be the tipping point in the Senate, with Republicans only needing to defeat him and protect Cruz and Scott to take over the majority.What they're saying: A Scott spokesman, Will Hampson, told Axios, "Florida is not going to elect a socialist and Rick Scott is going to win in two weeks."Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Tommy Garcia told Axios that "Republican Senate candidates' well-documented support for abortion bans and their callous disregard for women's reproductive freedom is dominating the closing days of the Senate races and will lead voters to reject them."The Cruz campaign did not immediately offer a comment.

DORAL, Fla. — Former President Donald Trump made his closing pitch to Hispanic voters in South Florida on Tuesday, railing against the country’s “open borders” and warning that the U.S. political system could collapse in the same vein as Venezuela’s...

State lawmakers and then-Gov. Scott included age restriction in school safety measure passed after 2018 Parkland high school massacre

Former President Trump held a roundtable with Latino leaders in Miami after a new poll showed he is significantly leading Vice President Kamala Harris in the key voting bloc.

Democrats have a razor-thin 51-49 majority Democrats risk losing the Senate this year, as incumbents in the Montana and Ohio Senate races face an uphill climb—and the party fights for Arizona and Pennsylvania.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump prays during a roundtable discussion with Latino community leaders and voters at Trump National Doral Miami resort on Tuesday.

With just over two weeks before the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are hitting the campaign trail in strategic battleground states.

Both major parties are contesting all 14 of Georgia’s congressional districts, where Republicans currently hold a 9-5 majority

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) has tried to mend his relationship with former President Trump, but newly reported comments reveal how deeply his personal animosity toward Trump ran after the 2020 election and signal the challenges GOP senators could have in working with Trump if he is elected again. Many Republican senators who have [...]

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) — an ally of Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — hit back at conservatives' demands for a new brand of leadership once McConnell steps down in a letter to colleagues Tuesday morning.Why it matters: The leader race between Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), John Cornyn (R-Tex.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is heating up, with the general election three weeks away. Some conservative senators are hoping to leverage a tight race for big changes in how the chamber operates. Sen. Mike Lee's (R-Utah) proposals, which he outlined in a letter to colleagues last week, include assurances of more amendment votes and delaying the timeline for picking McConnell's replacement.And Lee has taken new public shots at McConnell's leadership approach.Tills responded Tuesday, saying he believes Lee's concerns are "sincere," but that delaying the leadership election is a bad idea. He said Lee's proposals would "substantially weaken the republican leader."Between the lines: The only leadership candidate to clearly embrace the changes conservatives are pushing is Scott — who Senators and Hill sources have said doesn't have much of a shot.What they're saying: Tillis then made a dig at Republican House chaos. "We are witnessing the downside of a weak-leader model in the House today," he wrote."Two Speakers during a single congress and self-imposed gridlock on legislation hardly seems like a model we want to adopt in the Senate.""I believe delaying the election and creating more hurdles for the republican leader to navigate are unwise, and they will impede our work on behalf of the American people," Tillis said.The other side: "Why would a Republican senator continue to support a system where legislation can be presented for passage without the approval of the majority of the conference? Or one that denies our ability to do our jobs as representatives of our states," Lee responded in a statement to Axios.Catch up quick: This isn't the first back-and-forth between Tillis and Lee over the leadership race. Back in June, Lee and other conservatives were pushing for a new leadership structure — including imposing term limits. Tillis blasted those ideas in a letter, which then prompted a response from Lee.McConnell has also been adamantly against term limits.E

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) vented his frustration with the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), for not spending any money in his competitive reelection race, accusing McConnell of using the group to “punish” his critics in the Senate GOP conference. “Mitch McConnell runs the largest Republican [...]

Politico got its hands on a memo from the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC allied with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Somehow the memo contains some of the best polling for Democrats we’ve seen in ages.

Every vote matters—more than ever. The latest poll from Siena College for The New York Times suggests Republicans are on track to retake the Senate, with their candidates leading in Montana—which is held by Democratic Sen. Jon Tester—as well as in Florida and Texas, Democrats’ two best pickup opportunities. With the retirement of Sen. Joe Manchin, Republicans are all but sure to nab his seat in dark-red West Virginia. If this poll’s results bear out, Democrats’ 51-49 Senate majority would slip to a 49-51 minority, assuming they win in every other contested Senate seat they currently hold.This should energize every Democrat to get out to vote and drive turnout to record levels. And there’s some evidence that may already be happening.

President Joe Biden, joined virtually by Vice President Kamala Harris, was briefed by his homeland security aides and federal emergency management officials in the White House’s South Court Auditorium on Wednesday. (Tom Brenner for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Welcome to At the Races! Each week we bring you news and analysis from the CQ Roll Call campaign team. Know someone who’d like to get this newsletter? They can subscribe here. By Mary Ellen McIntire, Daniela Altimari and Niels Lesniewski With Southern states like Florida, Georgia and North Carolina still reeling, it’s not clear how [...]The post At the Races: Weary of the storm appeared first on Roll Call.

Ethel Kennedy, who lost her husband Sen. Robert Kennedy to assassination, has died. She was 96.

Florida was the future. The weather's balmy in winter, the beaches are divine and there's no personal income tax. All that and a lower cost of living had set off a sizeable migration of companies from New York, Chicago and...

Biden administration and congressional sources worry that funding to help small businesses recover from hurricane damage will dry up by the end of October.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has a 6-point lead against former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Fla.) in the Florida Senate race, according to a new poll by Napolitan News Service. The same poll shows former President Trump leading Vice President Harris by 2 points, 50 percent to 48 percent, in the Sunshine State. The survey of 774 [...]

The 500-mile-long path of destruction cut by Hurricane Helene has scrambled the politics of three battleground states that could determine control of the White House and Senate: North Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

Republican Sen. Rick Scott is set to place roughly $10 million in new TV ads in the homestretch of a Florida Senate race where he is widely seen as the favorite but Democrats have continued to make noise.

This week, there’s a certain irony to our newsletter being called “At the Races.” And no, it’s not because Pete Rose, Major League Baseball’s all-time hits leader who was banned from baseball for betting on the Cincinnati Reds, died​ Monday at age 83. Betting on the outcome of the congressional elections next month by individuals [...]The post At the Races: Please bet responsibly appeared first on Roll Call.

The justices so far have agreed to decide 28 cases.

Senators are privately (and publicly) saying they hope Donald Trump stays out of the internal election to replace Mitch McConnell as Senate GOP leader.Why it matters: None of them know — or it's a damn good secret — whether the former president will make an endorsement. But senators and advisors fear a Trump intervention could turn the secret ballot leader election into a public feud."I said, 'Sir, if I was you, I would stay out of the race, because there's no win for you in this,'" Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) told us about a recent call with Trump."I hope not," said Sen. Thom Tillis, when asked if he thinks Trump will weigh in. "I think outside influence could be problematic.""He's offered some views on it to me," Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told us. "It's safe to say he has a pretty consistent prediction of who he thinks it'll be." Hawley said he did not know if Trump would weigh in.Between the lines: This the first real competitive Senate GOP leadership race of the Trump-era, and his endorsement carries a lot of weight with a growing segment of the conference.McConnell has had a tumultuous relationship with the former president.The top two candidates — Sens. John Thune and John Cornyn — each have had rocky relationships with Trump. However, they have worked to make amends.After Jan. 6, Thune denounced Trump and initially endorsed Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) for president. Cornyn has said the GOP needed to move on from Trump.Senate sources do not talk about Sen. Rick Scott's (R-Fla.) bid as seriously as Thune's or Cornyn's, though he has a good relationship with Trump. "Sen. Scott is focused on dramatically changing the way the Senate operates and creating a member-driven process," according to spokesperson McKinley Lewis.Sources often describe Thune as the likely favorite, though they say not to discount how much Cornyn's long history of hard-dollar fundraising for Senate campaigns means to people.Cornyn told us it's been a few weeks since he spoke with Trump about the leadership race. But he visited Mar-a-Lago a couple months ago "to talk about planning for the future," adding they've been "visiting with some of the transition folks."Mullin said Trump "likes" Thune despite their rocky past. The Oklahoma Republican has publicly backed Thune.Some sources suspect there could be a late entry: NRSC Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.) is the most-floated name.The bottom line: There's not a lot of incentive for senators benefiting from both Thune and Cornyn's aggressive fundraising efforts to commit too early."If one of them felt that they really had a majority, I think they would not be shy about saying that, but I don't think anybody does," Hawley said.

Democrats are fighting to hold on to their 51-49 majority in the Senate—and the latest polling shows they’re the underdogs in this election. But there is hope.Republicans lead Democrats in enough Senate races to flip the chamber, according to 538’s polling averages as of Sept. 27 at 12 PM ET. Democrats’ slim majority is under threat for two main reasons.First, Democrat-turned-independent Joe Manchin is retiring, and his West Virginia seat will undoubtedly flip. And second, Democratic incumbent Jon Tester of Montana trails his Republican opponent.But these are polls, not election results, and because of that, they can be changed by donating, mobilizing, and voting for Democratic candidates.There is just over a month until Nov. 5. Here are the races that need your help.

WASHINGTON — Democrats looking to preserve their Senate majority in the face of a difficult election cycle announced Thursday they were making a “multi-million dollar investment” in television advertising in Texas and Florida races with the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee saying he’s “very confident there’s going to be more coming.”

Republican candidates in key races like Ohio's Bernie Moreno have not been able to find their message on the abortion issue.

Democrats slammed the timing of the event, which was held at a lakefront home on Lake Virginia.