Our Mike Bender is reporting that Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott is likely to name state Rep. Jennifer Carroll, R-Fleming Island, as his running mate today.

Carroll, 51, served 20 years in the Navy and retired as a lieutenant commander aviation maintenance officer.

She was elected to the state House in 2003.

Her three children include Nolan Carroll II, a fifth-round draft pick by the Miami Dolphins this year. Post sports writer Ben Volin recently profiled Nolan Carroll, who overcame broken legs in high school and college to become an NFL draft pick.

The gubernatorial nominees from the two main parties chatted last night after Democrat Alex Sink phoned Republican Rick Scott to offer her congratulations. Sink’s campaign described it as a “short conversation” in which she expressed hope they could focus on the issues.

Meanwhile, Scott still hasn’t heard from Bill McCollum, his primary rival who refused to say whether he would endorse Scott during their bruising campaign.

McCollum conceded the primary to Scott but has not endorsed the multi-millionaire who spent more than $50 million of his own money to defeat party establishment favorite McCollum.

McCollum’s campaign spokesman said he would endorse every other GOP candidate but failed to include Scott’s name in the list when asked.

“The attorney general is looking forward to being on the campaign trail for campaigns for our Republican slate, including Marco Rubio, Jeff Atwater, Adam Putnam and our new attorney general nominee and Dean Cannon and Mike Haridopolos and our entire legislative slate,” McCollum campaign spokeswoman Kristy Campbell said today.

When asked if McCollum would endorse Scott, Campbell said: “They have not yet spoken.”

When asked again, Campbell repeated her earlier remarks: “I think (Attorney) General McCollum will make comments this week, where he believes the Republican Party needs to focus on in November. I think you could take from that that he’ll make comments today or Thursday he will focus on electing Republican candidates including Marco Rubio and Mike Haridopolos and Jeff Atwater and the entire Republican legislative slate.”

McCollum became the state’s top GOP elected official when Gov. Charlie Crist abandoned the Republican Party to run as an independent in the U.S. Senate race against former House Speaker Marco Rubio.

Republican Party of Florida officials scrapped a unity party planned in Tampa today after the brutal primary season between Scott and McCollum.

Despite bi-partisan attempts to amend a 100-page condominium association bill, it was passed this morning with no additions _ a 107 to 4 vote that sends it to the governor.

South Florida Republicans and Democrats wanted more power to police condo associations inserted into SB 1196, but bill sponsor Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, said any amendments would force the Senate to refuse the legislation with just three days left in the session.

Several House members said that logic made no sense, referring to other bills, including the so called “jobs bill” that were amended and sent back to the Senate.

“We make decisions for this chamber. We are not a subset of the Senate,” said Rep. Kelly Skidmore, D-Boca Raton.

The proposed law would require lenders to pay a full year’s worth of back fees when they take title to a property through foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure. Current law requires them to pay only six months of fees.

Also, associations would be able to directly collect rent from tenants living in units of delinquent owners, something that currently requires a court order called a blanket receivership. And non-paying owners or tenants renting units of delinquent owners could be banned from common areas, such as the pool or clubhouse.

Another provision delays a requirement to install fire sprinklers in some common areas from 2014 to 2019.

Although supported by the majority of lawmakers, those on the front lines aren’t sure how much effect the bill will actually have.

Even though he wants the job, Gov. Charlie Crist says he won’t appoint himself to replace Mel Martinez in the U.S. Senate.

It’s a wise choice. Of the eight governors who did just that, seven lost their election bid to hold the seat.

See the list of the jump.

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Jim Smith is Gov. Charlie Crist’s likely pick to replace U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, a key Republican source has told The Palm Beach Post.

Smith, the FSU Board of Trustees chairman, is a former state attorney general and secretary of state. He sided with Crist’s GOP opponent, Tom Gallagher, in 2008, but his son-in-law, Brian Ballard, is a close ally of Crist’s.

Smith and Ballard were not immediately available for comment. Reasons the pick would make sense: Smith would not be likely to run for re-election and has an “elder statesman” profile that could earn Crist points for making a solid pick.

In 2002, Smith was appointed by then-Gov. Jeb Bush to fill the vacancy of Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, who left the position after being elected to the U.S. House. Smith served in the same office from 1987 to 1995. He was also state attorney general from 1979 to 1987.

Developing….

This blog has been updated since it was originally posted at 10:37 a.m.

U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., announced today that he will resign his office more than a year early.

“My priorities have always been my faith, my family and my country and at this stage in my life, and after nearly twelve years of public service in Florida and Washington, it’s time I return to Florida and my family,” Martinez said in a letter sent to family and friends today. “So today I am announcing my decision to step down from public office, effective on a successor taking office to fill out the remainder of my term.”

Martinez announced in December that he would not seek re-election in 2010. Since then, there have been rampant rumors that he would resign before the end of his term. His communications team has repeatedly denied those rumors and successfully questioned the motives of such a move.

One of the rumors is that Martinez would replace T.K. Wetherell as Florida State University president. Wetherell is stepping down, but Martinez has indicated that he was interested in spending more time with his family in Orlando.

Martinez has scheduled a 3 p.m. press conference in Orlando.

Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, a candidate to replace Martinez, told Central Florida 13 that he will not appoint himself. Crist is in Tampa today to tour the MacDill Air Force Base.

The likely replacement is FSU Chairman Jim Smith, The Palm Beach Post has learned.

“The governor should appoint a caretaker,” Palm Beach County Republican Chairman Sid Dinerstein said, “someone who specifically is there for the year and a half and is not going to seek the job next year.”

From the letter sent to Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday from U.S. House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar, D-Minn.

Florida is falling behind other states in putting to work its Recovery Act highway formula funds. … I strongly urge you to refocus your efforts to implement the Recovery Act and use available funds to create and sustain family-wage jobs.

Read the full letter here.

From Reuters in Washington:

Florida ranks last among all states in spending its share of highway money from the U.S. economic stimulus plan, a congressional committee said on Thursday.

In a letter to Florida Governor Charlie Crist, the committee’s chairman, Rep. James Oberstar, wrote that as of June 30, Florida had begun construction on highway projects totaling only 2 percent of the $1.346 billion set aside for it in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“I strongly urge you to refocus your efforts to implement the Recovery Act and use the available funds to create and sustain family-wage jobs,” said Oberstar, who heads the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

House special investigator Stephen Kahn:

“The speaker (Larry Cretul) hired me and gave me very simple instructions. He said .. as best as I can remember, ‘Mr. Kahn, I want you to conduct fair, independent and through probable cause investigation. I want a written report with your determination whether probable cause exists to conclude if Representative Sansom violated that rules.’ At that point he shook my hand, stood up and walked out.”

“If nothing else were a factor, the timing of the action of the board of trustees in confirming the hiring of Representative Sansom on the same day that he ascended to the speaker’s chair created an appearance of quid pro quo upon which I found it was reasonable that Miss Smith could base her complaint of diminished respect for the House of Representatives.”

“The precise factual issue that likely will be presented to you … is exactly when Representative Sansom first knew he was creating a $6 million facility that was intended at that time to be used at least some of the time as a hangar Mr. Odom, a constituent with whom Representative Sansom enjoyed long-standing, close, complicated, intertwined relationships.”

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