Florida's Latest News

Trump, in highly personal speech, will accept GOP nomination again days after assassination attempt

Donald Trump takes the stage Thursday at the Republican National Convention to accept his party’s nomination again and give his first speech since he was cut off mid-sentence by a flurry of gunfire in an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Trump’s wife, Melania, is expected to make her first appearance at the convention for the address, which will conclude the four-day convention in Milwaukee. Trump appeared each of the first three days with a white bandage on his ear, covering a wound he sustained in the Saturday shooting.

His moment of survival has shaped the week, even as convention organizers insisted they would continue with their program as planned less than 48 hours after the shooting. Speakers and delegates have repeatedly chanted “Fight, fight, fight!” in homage to Trump’s words as he got to his feet and pumped his fist after Secret Service agents killed the gunman. And some of his supporters have started sporting their own makeshift bandages on the convention floor.

Trump has said the shooting also led him to change his RNC speech, from what was going to be “a humdinger” made up largely of attacks on President Joe Biden to one more focused on bringing the country together.

Ron DeSantis says ‘reforming’ universities could help GOP press voter registration gains

Gov. Ron DeSantis, addressing the Republican Party of Florida during a breakfast meeting at Milwaukee’s Republican National Convention, heralded registration trends that are going the GOP’s way in once purple Florida, where Republicans have a 963,000 voter advantage over Democrats.

And he suggested that one outlier could somehow be resolved through executive policy.

“Really the only places that we haven’t really outpaced them are the places that have universities in them. Orange (County, home of) UCF, Gainesville (the home of the University of Florida, and) Tallahassee (the home of Florida State University),” DeSantis said. “But I will tell you no one is doing more on reforming universities than we are.”

DeSantis, of course, has made moves to reorient universities in a more conservative direction, in efforts to create a higher education system in the state that is the “Harvard for the unwoke.”

2024 primary voter guide: Over 100 local candidates on the issues

Florida’s 2024 state primary election will be held on Aug. 20. In this guide, you can find the candidates running for office across Tampa Bay and where they stand on key issues.

For races from the U.S. Senate to local school boards, Tampa Bay Times reporters have asked candidates to respond to specific policy questions, so you can know more about their positions when you vote.

In this guide, use the buttons at the top to filter which races you want to show. In Florida, Democratic and Republican primaries are only open to voters already registered with the parties, except in races where the winner will be unopposed in the general election.

If you prefer a hard copy, just press the button reading “Download printable PDF” to save an easy-to-read document with your selected races.

Florida ag department set to repeal renewable energy goals

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services on Wednesday said it is repealing a renewable energy rule in response to state legislation.

Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson’s department without comment published a rule notice shortly after midnight Wednesday, following a June 20 hearing requested by opponents.

Department spokesperson Aaron Keller on Wednesday confirmed that the rule, requiring utilities to produce 100 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2050, is being repealed effective July 28. He did not immediately answer other questions about the repeal.

Samantha Kaddis, Tallahassee regional lead with the left-leaning CLEO Institute, told POLITICO on Wednesday the group is exploring options for a legal challenge. She also said the rule repeal is short sighted because it will force Floridians to pay more in multiple ways for using fossil fuels.