Republican Bill McCollum announced this afternoon that Jonathan Kislak, general partner of the Miami Shores-based Antares Capital Corporation, will be chairman of the campaign’s finance committee.

Kislak, who held similar roles in previous campaigns for McCollum and U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw, was most recently chairman of Florida Red & Blue, a group that opposed the constitutional amendment that voters approved last year to ban gay marriage in Florida.

For the rest of the committee, continue reading.

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Republican George LeMieux said this afternoon he won’t run for Florida attorney general, leaving a GOP field, at the moment, to Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp and former U.S. Senate candidate Will McBride.

LeMieux’s statement:

“Over the past few weeks my name has been mentioned as a potential candidate for Attorney General of Florida. The role of Attorney General is perhaps the best job in government; a job where you serve the people each day as the State’s Chief Legal Officer. I have been gratified by the many phone calls and e-mails I have received from friends, elected officials, and former colleagues in the AG’s Office, encouraging me to run.

“The call to public service is strong for me. But as strong as that call is, it is not a call that I can answer at this time. After thoughtful consideration with my wife Meike, I have made the decision not to pursue election as Florida’s Attorney General in 2010.

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NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer is meeting with Gov. Charlie Crist this afternoon to ask him to veto a $6 million raid on the trust fund that pays for processing of concealed weapons permits.

Hammer said she requested the visit with the governor as soon as the legislation, included in the budget awaiting Crist’s signature, passed.

Hammer, a former president of the NRA, sent out an alert to NRA supporters and members of the Unified Sportsmen of Florida, which she also represents, asking them to contact Crist about the veto.

Hammer is demanding the veto because the trust fund raid, part of nearly $600 million lawmakers took from trust funds to help plug a $6 billion budget hole, comes from fees paid by permit seekers.

At least one GOP lawmaker is taking the politically dangerous tack of alienating Hammer and powerful NRA.

Rep. Dave Murzin, a Pensacola Republican running for the state Senate, refuted Hammer’s position about the trust fund raid in a constituent newsletter sent voters in Senate District 2 where he is running.

“I have heard about during my visits throughout the district is the purported ‘sneak attack’ on gun owners by taking funds from the concealed weapons permit trust fund. Unfortunately, the complete story was not told,” Murzin wrote.

Lawmakers included a 40 percent increase in the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ funding to process the permits, Murzin wrote.
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Here’s the video from a new web site unveiled this morning by the Florida Democratic Party. The site is aimed at Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, whose image is juxtaposed with news clips of the state’s rising unemployment and questions about his work schedule.

The spot signals the Dems’ strategy to paste Crist, a candidate for U.S. Senate, for leaving state government in the midst of historic economic crisis. But the ad also raises some questions: If Crist was such a poor governor, why should he be criticized for seeking a different office?

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Ashley Walker, one of President Obama’s initial organizers in Florida, will rejoin the team as state director of Organizing for America, the group announced Tuesday night.

Organizing for America is the post-election repackaging of Obama for America, the grassroots machine that launched Obama into the White House. If you gave any money to the campaign, volunteered in any capacity or patronized the online campaign store, you’ve probably received an e-mail or two about this development.

The OfA team in the midst of a listening tour in Florida that has been put together mainly by John Bivona, the state field director. Click here to find meetings in your area.

Walker said in an e-mail that the tour will be used to introduce new state staff members and collect ideas to write the group’s Florida-specific plan. (Our suggested tongue-in-cheek title for the plan: 100 Really Innovative Ideas for Florida’s Future)

From Walker:

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Republican state Reps. Carl Domino of Jupiter and Ellyn Bogdanoff of Fort Lauderdale became Senate rivals Wednesday as both announced plans to run in 2010 for the legislative seat of Senate President Jeff Atwater, who is leaving to pursue a statewide campaign for chief financial officer.

Both join a third Republican, businessman Nick Loeb of Delray Beach, in the race for the Palm Beach-Broward District 25 Senate seat.

Atwater launched his CFO campaign Tuesday.

Former Democratic state Sen. Skip Campbell has also expressed interest in Atwater’s seat, and other Democrats could enter as well in a district where Republicans hold a slight registration edge.

Bogdanoff already had opened a reelection campaign for her state House seat and raised $33,750 through March 31. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was recently in Palm Beach County to raise money for Loeb’s campaign for the state House seat of term-limited Majority Leader Adam Hasner, R-Boca Raton.

Under state law, Bogdanoff and Loeb must offer to return unspent campaign money to the contributors to their House races. A contributor to the House campaign also has the option of letting the money be used for the Senate campaign. One Domino supporter who gave to Loeb’s House campaign is already demanding a refund.

About 64 percent of Senate District 25 voters live in Palm Beach County and 36 percent live in Broward County.

TALLAHASSEE — John McCain on Wednesday became the fifth Republican U.S. senator to endorse Gov. Charlie Crist and his bid to join them in Washington. But some Florida Re publicans are wondering whether the move will backfire on the governor.

An endorsement from GOP leaders in Washington is not necessarily a plus, Palm Beach County Republican Party Chairman Sid Dinerstein said.

“They are negatives,” Dinerstein said. “These are the men who brought the party down.”

Crist is facing a primary challenge from former state House Speaker Marco Rubio. That election is not until Aug. 24, 2010.

But in the eight days since Crist announced his campaign for the U.S. Senate, he has lined up support from several GOP senators: McCain, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, John Cornyn of Texas and Florida’s Mel Martinez.

Crist endorsed Martinez in the 2004 Republican primary with Bill McCollum.

“This race is not going to be decided in Tallahassee or Washington, D.C.,” Rubio spokesman Brian Seitchik said. “Voters are going to have a clear choice for the future of the Republican Party.”

Crist and McCain have traded endorsements for the past several years.

McCain supported Crist in his 2006 campaign for governor and Crist returned the favor last year, when McCain was on his way to winning the party’s presidential nomination. Mc-Cain is the last Republican to win a statewide primary in Florida.

(Continue reading for additional reporting)

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Announcements could come as soon as today from state Reps. Carl Domino, R-Jupiter, and Ellyn Bogdanoff,

R-Fort Lauderdale, that they’re running for the state Senate seat of Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, now that Atwater is running for state chief financial officer. Both Bogdanoff and Domino have indicated in the past that they’re likely to run for the Palm Beach-Broward Senate seat.

Businessman Nick Loeb, a Delray Beach Republican who was running for state House, announced Tuesday that he’ll jump into the Senate race.

Loeb’s announcement “dismayed” political consultant and Domino supporter Eric Zichella, who sent an e-mail to Loeb asking the candidate to return a $500 contribution Zichella made out to Loeb’s House campaign.

“I took you at your word that you were running for the state House, and now I feel a bit betrayed,” wrote Zichella, who said he also wants refunds for three other contributions that Zichella rounded up for Loeb from other donors.

A Mason-Dixon poll shows Gov. Charlie Crist with at 53%-18% over former House Speaker Marco Rubio in a primary for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination.

Republican Bill McCollum has a 39%-12% advantage over Charles Bronson in a hypothetical GOP primary for governor, but 49% of Republican voters are undecided.

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State CFO Alex Sink, a Democratic candidate for governor, unveiled a new web site today myfloridacfo.com/transparency that tracks the flow of tax dollars coming into the state. The site includes the graphic above, which shows the state’s general revenue slump over the past few years (click on the image to enlarge.

“Today we’re opening up Florida’s checkbook for everyone to see,” Sink said.

The site was called “long overdue” by Florida TaxWatch CEO Dominick Calabro. “The information provided by this website and the tools it contains will help citizens compel their government to improve and become more efficient,” Calabro said.

Former Democratic state Sen. Skip Campbell this afternoon said he’s considering a run for state Senate now that Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, has opened a campaign for state chief financial officer. Campbell filed for Senate against Atwater in 2008 but bowed out because of a reaction to hip surgery that he said is “all gone” now.

Three Republicans are likely to run for Atwater’s Palm Beach-Broward Senate seat. Delray Beach businessman Nick Loeb confirmed today that he’ll jump from a state House race into the Senate contest.

Look for state Rep. Carl Domino, R-Jupiter, to launch a Senate campaign by Wednesday. State Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, has said she probably would run for the Senate seat if Atwater left.

Some Dems have mentioned term-limited Palm Beach County Commissioner Jeff Koons as a potential Senate candidate, but Koons so far has said he’s not interested.

Republicans held a 39-to-36 percent registration edge in Senate District 25 last fall. About 64 percent of voters live in Palm Beach County and 36 percent in Broward County.

Here are two names getting floated as Democratic CFO candidates: former Congressional candidate Annette Taddeo of Pinecrest and Miami Mayor Manny Diaz.

Republican Jeff Atwater made his candidacy official this morning in the race to replace state CFO Alex Sink, a Democrat, who said Wednesday that she’s running for governor in 2010.

Taddeo lost to U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, 58 percent to 42 percent in the 2008 general election, but earned a reputation as a hard worker and smart campaigner among some Democrats. The founder and CEO of LanguageSpeak, a company that provides translation services in 100 languages, she was also reportedly a candidate to run the Small Business Administration under President Obama.

Diaz was first elected Miami mayor in 2001 and is currently president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Diaz supported Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination last year, but ultimately endorsed Obama and addressed the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Read a transcript of his speech here.

Florida’s massive game of political musical chairs continued as expected today when Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, opened a campaign for the state’s chief financial officer job.

In a video posted on his campaign Web site, Atwater said he’ll use the CFO’s office to combat “fly-by-night mortgage scammers…Wall Street hot-shots…(and) big out-of-state insurance companies…..As CFO I will be your watchdog in the one office that’s responsible for literally every dollar spent in the state, every contract signed by the state, every promise made by the state.”

The CFO’s post is one of five statewide offices that will be on the ballot next year with no incumbent running.

The scramble for open seats began when Republican U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez announced he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2010. Republican Gov. Charlie Crist is running for Senate rather than seeking a second term. Within a week of Crist’s announcement, Democratic CFO Alex Sink and Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum announced they would forgo reelection bids to run for governor. Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson, a Republican, faces term limits in 2010 and is also mulling a run for governor.

Atwater’s run for CFO means he will give up his Palm Beach-Broward Senate seat in November 2010 rather than 2012. Three Republicans — state Reps. Ellyn Bogdanoff of Fort Lauderdale and Carl Domino of Jupiter and Delray Beach investor Nick Loeb — are poised to run for Atwater’s seat.

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Coming off a rookie legislative session in which he managed to get several bills passed by the GOP-dominated legislature, state Rep. Joseph Abruzzo, D-Wellington, says he wants to remain in the House and won’t run for state Senate in 2010.

Abruzzo has been mentioned as a potential Democratic candidate if state Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, runs for attorney general or some other office.

“I really enjoy the community I represent. I’m having some good success in the House and I really want to focus on Palm Beach County,” said Abruzzo. Aronberg’s Senate seat extends from Palm Beach County to Lee County.

Abruzzo was the lead sponsor on a bill authorizing a rebate program using federal stimulus money for purchases of energy-efficient appliances. It passed the House and Senate and Gov. Charlie Crist signed it today in Orlando with Abruzzo and other lawmakers present.

Abruzzo was also House sponsor for legislation requiring helmets for under-16 horse riders on public rights of way and two local bills helping the Lake Worth Drainage District and Pine Tree Water Control District.

Gov. Charlie Crist today ordered June 30 primaries and an Aug. 4 general election to fill the Treasure Coast-Palm Beach County state Senate District 28 seat of retiring Sen. Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie.

Pruitt, with an eye on the statutory timetable for calling special elections, set his resignation for Aug. 4 so the district would not go unrepresented.

Former Republican state Reps. Art Argenio and Joe Negron, who clashed in a bitter special election primary in 1999 (won by Argenio) and another tough primary in 2000 (won by Negron) are running for Pruitt’s seat. Democrat Bill Ramos has also opened a campaign and frequent-filing Democrat Stan Smilan has expressed interest. Read more about the race here.

The period for candidates to officially qualify for the special election ballot will be from 8 a.m. on June 2 until 12 noon on June 3.

Leave your party togs at home and forget about the cheap wine and finger foods.

A few House Democrats have a different party idea to get contributions than a run-of-the-mill fundraiser: do nothing.

They’re calling the fundraiser a “non-event.”

Reps. Ron Saunders of Key West, Leonard Bembry of Greenville and Debbie Boyd of Newberry sent out a “non-event re-election fundraiser” announcement seeking contributions to their campaigns.

No date, no time, no place. Just make checks payable to one of the campaigns and call it a day.

From the Associated Press:

When he was asked about the Senate race or federal issues, the answers were either short and insignificant or the questions weren’t answered at all.

A newspaper reporter asked Crist before the Palmetto Middle School event what he thinks about waterboarding, a form of simulated drowning that’s widely considered torture and part of an ongoing debate in Washington.

“I think I’m focused on education today,” Crist replied. “I appreciate the question, but I think it’s important that while we’re at this school, we appreciate the teachers that are working so hard for Florida’s children.”

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Power lawyer George LeMieux, former chief of staff to Gov. Charlie Crist and former deputy attorney general when Crist was AG, notes in his latest online political newsletter that he’s a potential candidate for AG now that incumbent Bill McCollum is poised to run for governor.

He also notes that Dems Dave Aronberg, Dan Gelber and Rod Smith are potential AG candidates (Read more about the looming Democratic battle here).

LeMieux lists Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp and state Rep. Tom Grady as potential Republican candidates, then notes: “Yours truly has also been mentioned as a contender, having served three years as Deputy Attorney General – the number two legal officer in the state.”

LeMieux’s prediction: “The AG’s race will be wide open.”

Republican Bill McCollum this morning announced he’d run for governor in 2010, becoming Florida’s third statewide official in the past week to decline a re-election bid.

McCollum, the state’s attorney general, follows Democratic state CFO Alex Sink into the race to replace Republican Gov. Charlie Crist. Crist said Tuesday he’d run for U.S. Senate. All three candidates were up for re-election in 2010.

McCollum, 64, made his announcement today at the Embassy Suites in downtown Orlando, near his hometown. He’s the only one of the three to have a formal press conference.

McCollum, who spent 20 years in the U.S. House, could face a primary challenge from Charles Bronson, the state’s agriculture commissioner who must resign in 2010 due to term limits. A source said Bronson was still weighing a campaign but expected to make an announcement this week. (More on the primary possibilities here.)

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Last week saw Gov. Charlie Crist announce he’s running for U.S. Senate and Democratic Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink announce she’s running for governor. Today, Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum is slated to announce his 2010 candidacy for governor in Orlando. Tuesday should see state Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, launch a campaign for CFO.

With McCollum leaving, Republican Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp is expected to run for AG. Former Crist chief of staff George LeMieux is another Republican possibility. On the Democratic side, state Sens. Dave Aronberg of Greenacres and Dan Gelber of Miami Beach and former state Sen. Rod Smith of Alachua have all been eyeing runs for AG.

In the CFO race, former Republican CFO and 2006 gubernatorial candidate Tom Gallagher is another possible candidate. Democrats mentioned as potential CFO candidates include state Sen. Ted Deutch of Boca Raton, but he so far has not shown signs he’ll give up his legislative seat.

Atwater’s Senate seat has already drawn interest from a large crowd of Republicans, including state Reps. Ellyn Bodganoff of Fort Lauderdale and Carl Domino of Jupiter and investor Nick Loeb of Delray Beach, who’s currently a state House candidate. Boca Raton Councilwoman Susan Haynie is another GOP possibility. So is Wellington Councilwoman Lizbeth Benacquisto, although Benacquisto is also considering a run for Aronberg’s state Senate seat if Aronberg runs for AG.

If Aronberg runs for AG, potential candidates for his Senate seat include state Rep. Joseph Abruzzo, D-Wellington, and former Republican state Rep. Sharon Merchant.