Florida

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1 Overview
2 Federal Elected Officials
3 State Elected Officials
4 Other Prominent Figures
5 Counties
6 Elections
7 Other Links
8 Political Blogs
9 See also

Overview

Florida is one of the most unpredictable "swing states" because of its wildly diverse population. The panhandle and north-central region are traditionally Southern and lean Republican, with notable Democratic concentrations in the college towns of Gainesville and Tallahassee. The I-4 corridor, including the metropolitan areas of Tampa and Orlando, leans slightly Democratic. In the South, Puerto Rican and Jewish Democrats are balanced out by Cuban Republicans. Generally speaking, moderate Republicans and moderate Democrats do well in Florida as a whole, although the state is so varied demographically that some districts elect very conservative representatives while others elect very liberal ones. The benchmark is said to be the city of Tampa: whoever wins Tampa generally wins the state as a whole.

Historically, politics in Florida were heavily influenced by the "good ol' boy network," which was centered around the University of Florida and particularly around its Blue Key organization. The influence of this network has gradually dwindled since the 1980s, largely because of heavy migration from other states (and countries).

To date, 116 Floridians have been killed in the War in Iraq.

Federal Elected Officials

Democrat

Senators
- Bill Nelson (D)
Representatives
- Allen Boyd (FL-02) of Monticello
- Corrine Brown (FL-03) of Jacksonville
- Kathy Castor (FL-11) of Tampa
- Alcee Hastings (FL-23) of Miramar
- Ron Klein (FL-22) of Ft. Lauderdale
- Tim Mahoney (FL-16) of Jupiter
- Kendrick Meek (FL-17) of Miami
- Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-20) of Weston
- Robert Wexler (FL-19) of Boca Raton

Republican

Senators
- Mel Martinez
Representatives
- Gus Bilirakis (FL-09) of Tarpon Springs
- Ginny Brown-Waite (FL-05) of Crystal River
- Ander Crenshaw (FL-04) of Jacksonville
- Lincoln Diaz-Balart (FL-21) of Miami
- Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25) of Miami
- Tom Feeney (FL-24) of Oviedo
- Vern Buchanan (FL-13) of Sarasota
- Ric Keller (FL-08) of Orlando
- Connie Mack, IV (FL-14) of Fort Myers
- John Mica (FL-07) of Winter Park
- Jeff Miller (FL-01) of Chumuckla
- Adam Putnam (FL-12) of Bartow
- Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-18) of Miami
- Cliff Stearns (FL-06) of Ocala
- Dave Weldon (FL-15) of Palm Bay
- Bill Young (FL-10) of Indian Shores

State Elected Officials

Republican

Charlie Crist (R), Governor
Jeff Kottkamp (R), Lieutenant Governor
Bill McCollum (R), Attorney General
Alex Sink (D), Chief Financial Officer
Allan George Bense (R), Speaker of the House, 2006.
Tom R. Lee (R), President of the Senate, 2006.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, "Full-Time and Part-Time Legislatures," the Florida State Legislature is a full or near full time, high-pay, large-staff Professional Legislature.