Florida lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a measure now on its way to Gov. Charlie Crist that would prohibit adoption agencies from discriminating against gun owners.

The Senate voted 38-2 on the bill (HB 315) this morning, with Democratic Sens. Ted Deutch of Boca Raton and Frederica Wilson of Miami the only hold-outs. The House earlier unanimously passed the measure.

Story here.

Democratic state Sen. Ted Deutch said this morning he won’t participate in a congressional debate this afternoon with Republican Ed Lynch and no-party candidate Jim McCormick because he needs to attend a Senate Ways and Means Committee hearing in Tallahassee.

The three are running in an April 13 special election to replace retired U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler.

WFTL 850-AM said it had lined up the three candidates for a 4 p.m. debate on The Jeff Katz Show.

But Deutch released a statement this morning saying his participation was never a sure thing because of his schedule in Tallahassee. Deutch says he hopes to schedule a debate at another date.

Lynch accused Deutch of short-changing constituents in Palm Beach-Broward congressional District 19.

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Aside from a West Boca Chamber of Commerce breakfast debate last month, this afternoon’s event is the only scheduled meeting of Democrat Ted Deutch, Republican Ed Lynch and no-party candidate Jim McCormick.

Post On Politics will be part of the panel questioning the candidates. Submit a suggested question in the comments section below and maybe it’ll get asked. If it’s really good, Post On Politics might ask it and claim credit for thinking it up.

It isn’t just Republicans who are trying to capitalize on the tea party movement and Scott Brown’s surprise Massachusetts Senate win.

As the April 13 special election approaches to replace former Democratic Rep. Robert Wexler in Palm Beach-Broward congressional District 19, Democrat Ted Deutch’s campaign has sent a mailer to voters in the heavily Democratic district warning that “Republicans & The Tea Party Want To Capture YOUR Congressional Seat!”

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Slosberg

Look for him to file Friday as a candidate for his old Palm Beach-Broward state House seat.

Slosberg, was elected to the House in 2000 as a traffic safety crusader after his 14-year-old daughter was killed in a 1996 car wreck. He championed a variety of seat belt laws and other traffic safety measures before leaving in 2006 to pursue a state Senate bid. Slosberg lost a costly and bitter Dem primary to eventual Sen. Ted Deutch, who was boosted by the support of former U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler.

This time around, former Wexler chief of staff and political consultant Eric Johnson is expected to help Slosberg’s bid for the District 90 House seat now held by Rep. Kelly Skidmore, D-Boca Raton. Skidmore is leaving to run for state Senate. Educator Sheldon “Klassy” Klasfeld, a Democrat, is the only other candidate in the race.

Lynch

But “fire-breathing liberal” Robert Wexler is.

So Lynch, running in an April 13 special election to replace Wexler, was warmly received by thousands of conservatives this afternoon.

“He is a candidate for the next House election that’s going to occur…It’s the seat vacated by that loudmouth Robert Wexler in Florida that you might remember from cable television,” said Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund in his introduction of Lynch.

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Lynch

During the primary, Budd and a third GOP candidate, Curt Price, criticized Lynch’s business dealings and said they wouldn’t support him if he won the primary. But Budd changed his tune at tonight’s Palm Beach County Republican Party meeting.

Budd

Democrat Ted Deutch and no-party candidate Jim McCormick are also on the ballot.

For whatever it’s worth, Budd didn’t use the word “endorse” or any of its variants in his announcement. When asked afterward if his announcement constituted an endorsement, Budd said “it was announcing support…I believe he’s the best candidate standing.”

The West Boca Chamber of Commerce breakfast at Boca Lago Country Club was the first joint appearance by Democrat Ted Deutch, Republican Ed Lynch and no-party candidate Jim McCormick. The three are running in an April 13 special election to replace Wexler, who stepped down last month to head a Middle East think tank.

Deutch said accused 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed should not be tried in New York City, as originally proposed by the Obama administration. But Deutch said he supports trying some accused terrorists on American soil in American civilian courts and noted that several high profile terrorists were tried and convicted in federal court during the Bush administration.

Lynch and McCormick took a harder line.

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McCormick

But today McCormick has a place at the dais for the debate that’s set to begin soon. Chamber President Barry Epstein said the chamber changed its mind after McCormick sent an e-mail last night suggesting he might file a lawsuit if he wasn’t included.

McCormick, Lynch and Deutch are running in the April 13 special election for the District 19 congressional seat to replace Robert Wexler, who left office last month to head a Middle East think tank.

“We’re a chamber of inclusion, not exclusion,” said Epstein. On Monday, Epstein said McCormick wasn’t invited because he’s “not viable.”

Deutch and Lynch won their respective primaries last week in Palm Beach-Broward District 19. Wexler left his seat last month to head a Middle East think tank.

A third candidate, Jim McCormick, is on the April 13 ballot with no party affiliation. West Boca Chamber President Barry Epstein said McCormick wasn’t invited because he is “not viable.”

The 7:30 a.m. breakfast costs $25. To make a reservation, call 561-852-0000.

Lynch

“I was really surprised with how lousy the turnout was. I was expecting at least twice as many voters as that,” said Ed Fulop of the local Glenn Beck-inspired 9-12 group. Ed Lynch won a Republican primary that had only 7.4 percent turnout after all three GOP candidates aggressively courted the Tea Party/9-12 vote.

Read about it in this week’s Politics column.

Graber (left) in his Broward days

Graber faces state Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, in Tuesday’s special primary. The general election to replace Robert Wexler is April 13.

Read Graber’s e-mail after the jump….

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Deutch: 10-to-1 money edge over Dem primary foe

Democratic state Sen. Ted Deutch has piled up nearly $1 million in campaign contributions for the race and spent $684,578 while his rival in the Feb. 2 Democratic primary, Ben Graber, says he has raised and spent around $100,000.

In the GOP primary, contractor Ed Lynch reports that he has raised $59,277, including $19,500 of his own money, and spent $50,175. But Lynch’s report says he has $84,455 in cash on hand because of money carried over from his losing 2008 campaign.

Republican candidate Joe Budd raised $23,142, including $10,000 of his own money. A third GOP candidate, Curt Price, raised $2,411 from contributors and kicked in $53,500 of his own money.

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Democratic congressional hopeful Ben Graber, who faces state Sen. Ted Deutch in a special Feb. 2 primary for the former seat of former U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, says he’ll remove figures from his campaign Web site and Facebook page that suggest there’s an Associated Press “poll” that shows him getting 54 percent of the vote.

The AP says Graber came across purely fictitious numbers that AP sent to its newspaper, radio and TV clients this week as a pre-election test to make sure their computer systems are prepared to handle returns.

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Deutch

State Sen. Deutch of Boca Raton, heavily favored in a special election to replace Democrat Robert Wexler in Congress, says Brown’s victory in Tuesday’s Massachusetts Senate special election proves he can’t take anything for granted, even in an overwhelmingly Democratic congressional district.

In a fund-raising e-mail titled “Wake Up Call,” Deutch notes that Massachusetts has “a similar electorate to my congressional district” and “based on the results out of Massachusetts, I must work to introduce myself and my commitment to the community to an even wider spectrum of voters. To achieve this result, I must again ask for your help….”

Read Deutch’s entire fund-raising e-mail after the jump….

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Democratic congressional candidate Ted Deutch’s campaign says former President Bill Clinton’s appearance at this afternoon’s fund-raiser at St. Andrew’s Country Club in Boca Raton raised $175,000 and pushed Deutch’s overall campaign total above $1 million.

Deutch, a Boca Raton state Senator, and former Broward Mayor Ben Graber are running in a Feb. 2 Dem primary for the seat of former Democratic U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, who stepped down this month to head a Middle East think tank. Three Republicans and a no-party candidate are also running. The general election is April 13.

Clinton will speak tonight in Palm Beach at a Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County dinner at The Breakers.

Democrat Lori Berman, who out-raised Hager in 2009, dropped out of the District 87 race last week and switched to more Democrat-friendly District 86. District 86 is where Rep. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, plans to leave to run for state Senate as part of a massive shuffle being guided by the former Robert Wexler political machine.

Sachs is banking on state Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, winning a Feb. 2 primary and April 13 special election to replace Wexler, who retired this month to head a Middle East think tank. Deutch, Sachs and Berman have all been endorsed by Wexler and helped by his former consultant, Eric Johnson.

With Berman leaving the District 87 race, insurance agency owner Len Turesky, a Democrat, is considering running against Hager. Turesky plans to meet with Johnson and others to discuss the race.

Republican congressional hopeful Joe Budd moved to Florida after a business failure left him $600,000 in debt. That information comes not from an opponent’s attack ad but from Budd himself in his first 30-second spot before the Feb. 2 special GOP primary.

Budd, who often brings up the the business setback on the campaign trail, says he does so to highlight character issues and to let voters know he understands tough economic times.

“Instead of filing bankruptcy, I worked hard and sacrificed to pay it off,” he says in the ad. “…I understand your fears and concerns, having lived through them myself.”

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Clinton

The late-afternoon event will be at St. Andrew’s Country Club. Clinton is scheduled to speak that evening in Palm Beach at a dinner for major Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County donors at The Breakers.

Deutch was a prominent supporter of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 2008 Democratic presidential bid. He and former Broward County mayor Ben Graber are running in a special Feb. 2 primary for the seat of former U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, who resigned to head a Middle East think tank. Three Republicans are also running. The general election is April 13.

Three candidates so far have produced 30-second ads in the special congressional election to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler.

Check ‘em out after the jump…..

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