Topic: National Races

Senate President Don Gaetz is insisting that state legislators followed the law when drawing up new political maps. Gaetz testified Wednesday that his meetings with House Speaker Will Weatherford were legal and necessary.

Weatherford was in charge of the House committee that oversaw redistricting in 2011 and 2012. A coalition of groups contends legislators drew up maps for congressional seats that violate "Fair Districts" standards. Attorneys for the Legislature call the allegations false.

Political consultant Marc Reichelderfer denies ever colluding with Republican legislative leaders to draw new districts but admits that he had access to proposed maps before they were released to the public. He says he did not warn the House and Senate leadership of trouble spots or areas of opportunity, if they moved lines one way or another.

The new Quinnipiac University Poll also shows that President Barack Obama's popularity in the Sunshine State has skidded to lows hit during his first term in office. ... Related Research: Nov. 22, 2013 Qunnipiac University poll results.

The disillusionment among big businesses and traditional GOP donors with the tea party wing of the Republican Party in Congress, which nearly brought on a default of the U.S. government, could lead to more donations to state-level campaigns. But that doesn't mean Democrats will benefit, or that Republican control of the Florida government will erode.

Meanwhile, Democratic Party leaders contend the statewide tour by Secretary of State Ken Detzner to meet with county elections supervisors is part of the effort by Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican Party to suppress minority votes.

When the then-Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court heard the margin of George W. Bush's Florida victory was fewer than 2,000 votes he thought of the Apollo 13 astronauts. Charley Wells talked to the Florida Economics Club about how he and the other judges navigated their way through conflicting state laws and world-wide attention to resolve arguments created by the 2000 election dispute.

A real outsider might upset Clinton in 2016, contends the writer of a new book about politics and lobbying in the nation's capital. He calls Washington, D.C. the wealthiest city in the country where an entrenched status quo has no intention of bringing meaningful change.

The state representative from Ocala tells the Capital City Republican Club that President Barack Obama and the Rev. Al Sharpton injected politics in the Trayvon Martin case and advises legislators to be "very cautious" about changing the law.

Gov. Rick Scott sees it as chance for Florida to show it can run fair elections without federal supervision. Activists, though, see is as a dangerous step backward for minorities.

Party leaders meet at Walt Disney World for quarterly pep talk. Gov. Rick Scott tells the RPOF's executive board that the party can't lose next year if it makes its positive message heard.

Ralph Reed has a database of 1.7 million Florida households and he plans to contact them up to 12 times before the election. Reed says, if needed, his group will provide rides to the polls on Election Day.

The House Speaker will serve on the RLCC panel, which uses national resources to increase GOP seats in state legislatures throughout the country. ... Related Research: Jan. 31, 2013 Republican Legislative Campaign Committee Announcement.

With 29 electoral votes, and ballot full of hot state and local races, Florida is a key state for both parties at the national and state levels. ... Related Research: Nov. 5, 2012 Early and absentee vote totals for Florida.