Fresh figures from the Palm Beach and Broward county elections offices show Democrats have inched ahead of Republicans in voter registrations in congressional District 22, a seat the GOP held from 1981 to 2007 and that many Republicans still regard as winnable.

District 22 voters have sent a Democrat — U.S. Rep. Ron Klein of Boca Raton — to Congress in the last two elections and Democrat Barack Obama carried the district by 4 points in the November 2008 presidential election.

But until this month, the district had a plurality of Republican voters.

(more…)

Former Republican U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw of Fort Lauderdale is listed on the host committee for an Oct. 13 fund-raiser in West Palm Beach and an Oct. 15 event in Deerfield Beach for the state Senate campaign of state Rep. Carl Domino, R-Jupiter.

Shaw was also on the host committee for an Aug. 28 fund-raiser in Boca Raton for one of Domino’s GOP primary rivals, state Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale.

The invitation to Domino’s Oct. 15 fund-raiser also lists Broward County GOP Chairman Chip LaMarca as a host committee member. But LaMarca has endorsed Bogdanoff in the Republican Senate primary.

What gives?

(more…)

Whether they’re running for president or a state House seat, Republicans in need of campaign cash often find their way to Bill Diamond’s Palm Beach home.

Florida Attorney General and 2010 governor candidate Bill McCollum will be the latest GOP office-seeker to belly up to Diamond’s political ATM when he attends a fund-raising lunch there Wednesday.

A veteran of New York City Republican politics, the 73-year-old Diamond co-owns a real estate business and was elected to the Palm Beach town council this year.

He was a regional administrator for the U.S. General Services Administration under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, then was former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani’s commissioner of administrative services from 1994 to 2001.

(more…)

Gov. Charlie Crist added three more Florida politicians to his possible appointees to fill U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez’ soon-to-be-vacated seat.

Former U.S. Reps. Mike Bilirakis, Lou Frey and Clay Shaw are now among the candidates Crist is considering, bringing his list to ten.

Shaw, a Fort Lauderdale Republican, served in Congress for more than 25 years. His district includes part of southern Palm Beach County.

Last week, Crist asked conservative favorite former House Speaker who later became a powerful state senator Daniel Webster to apply for the post. Crist is also considering former chief of staff George LeMieux, who ran Crist’s gubernatorial campaign and remains a close ally.

Crist said this weekend that he wants to fill the post by Sept. 8, the day when Congress reconvenes after a summer break.

Tomorrow, Crist will interview Shaw in South Florida, Bilirakis and former U.S. Rep. Bill Young in Tampa. He’ll also meet with Frey and former Florida Cabinet member Jim Smith, a Tallahassee lobbyist who served as both attorney general and secretary of state, in Tallahassee tomorrow, according to Crist spokeswoman Erin Isaac.

Crist, who is running in a GOP primary against former House Speaker Marco Rubio to replace Martinez, said previously “it is understood” that he’ll appoint someone who will not run against him next year.