A year ago last March, the Republican National Committee had fun sending someone in a "pander bear" suit to crash a Sen. Hillary Clinton fundraiser at a Washington hotel. ...more

May 4, 2008

Sen. John McCain, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, picked up a total of 50 GOP national convention delegates from Michigan and Louisiana on Saturday. ...more

February 17, 2008

Sen. Mel Martinez has surpassed $3 million raised for his campaign war chest since taking office, well ahead of the pace of most other U.S. senators whose current terms also expire in 2010, new campaign finance reports show. ...more

February 11, 2008

This time, it really matters. Starting about mid-January, the national political spotlight will focus on Florida with a laser-like intensity we haven't seen since the infamous 2000 presidential recount. ...more

January 6, 2008

The Democratic National Committee voted Aug. 25 to punish Florida for scheduling its Jan. 29 primary earlier than party rules allow and stripped all its convention delegates. ...more

January 2, 2008

TAMPA - The Democratic National Committee voted Aug. 25 to punish Florida for scheduling its Jan. 29 primary earlier than party rules allow, and stripped all its convention delegates. Since then, 17,808 Hillsborough voters switched political parties, a Tribune analysis of party-switching data shows. ...more

December 31, 2007

Before heading to that New Year's Eve party Monday, don't forget: Dec. 31 also is the deadline to register to vote in January's presidential primaries. ...more

December 27, 2007

U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez recently gave President Bush some bad news. Not only was he quitting a Republican Party job that Bush lobbied him hard to take, he planned to help Democrats override Bush's veto of a multibillion dollar water bill with Everglades cleanup money. ...more

November 13, 2007

Despite protests from state Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer, the full Republican National Committee voted Thursday to cut in half the national convention delegations of those states, including Florida, that hold presidential primaries before Feb. 5. ...more

November 9, 2007

Mel Martinez gave up his role as chairman of the Republican National Committee last week, saying he wanted to return to his 'main job': representing Florida in the U.S. Senate. ...more

October 23, 2007