Jeb Bush. In addition, Rubio said, some Republicans resented Crist’s deciding not to run for re-election as governor and instead choosing to run for the seat that became open when incumbent GOP Sen. Mel Martinez retired. Rubio turned out to be...

Charlie Crist, reviled by Republicans for leaving the party in his unsuccessful U.S. Senate bid against Marco Rubio in 2010. Crist appointed LeMieux, his former chief of staff and top political adviser, to fill the vacant seat of Sen. Mel Martinez for...

Charlie Crist, reviled by Republicans for leaving the party in his unsuccessful U.S. Senate bid against Marco Rubio in 2010. Crist appointed LeMieux, his former chief of staff and top political adviser, to fill the vacant seat of Sen. Mel Martinez for...

Charlie Crist, reviled by Republicans for leaving the party in his unsuccessful U.S. Senate bid against Marco Rubio in 2010. Crist appointed LeMieux, his former chief of staff and top political adviser, to fill the vacant seat of Sen. Mel Martinez for...

While extremists wage public-relations warfare, our elected officials best qualified to tackle this issue end up being stuck on the sidelines, unwilling to step into the crossfire. Like Mel Martinez before him, Sen. Marco Rubio is in a challenging...

Charlie Crist, reviled by Republicans for leaving the party in his unsuccessful U.S. Senate bid against Marco Rubio in 2010. Crist appointed LeMieux, his former chief of staff and top political adviser, to fill the vacant seat of Sen. Mel Martinez for...

Fort Myers foe before, during and after the two-hour forum. "The greatest threat to our country is not liberal ideology. It's people who make their career in politics," began LeMieux, who served for 16 months alongside Nelson two years ago after being...

Charlie Crist, reviled by Republicans for leaving the party in his unsuccessful U.S. Senate bid against Marco Rubio. Crist appointed LeMieux, his former chief of staff and top political adviser, to fill the vacant seat of Sen. Mel Martinez for 16 months.

Also appearing was retired Army Col. Mike McCalister. The winner hopes to unseat U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat. LeMieux, who served in the Senate for 16 months after being appointed by then-Gov. Charlie Crist to serve out the remainder of former...

"The greatest threat to our country is not liberal ideology. It's people who make their career in politics," began LeMieux, who served for 16 months alongside Nelson two years ago after being appointed to fill in for retiring U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez by...

"We have been in lockstep, Ileana, Mario, Lincoln, David and I, when it comes to Fidel Castro, his brother and Hugo Chavez," Mack said. LeMieux, who was appointed by then-Governor Charlie Crist in 2009 to fill the Senate seat of Mel Martinez, said it's...

He acknowledged that they came for a better life, like most immigrants. Now the senator inevitably is caught in the middle of the immigration debate. Much like former U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla. , a Cuban-American from Orlando, Rubio quietly tries...

Immigrants from Central America also have arrived, presenting a challenge for Republicans campaigning against illegal immigration. “In Florida, you have to appeal to the broader Hispanic community, with the whole blend of nationalities that is...

But already the lines are being drawn over whether Gingrich, if he loses badly, should begin to throttle back or keep the pressure on Romney. Former Florida Republican Sen. Mel Martinez said Monday that he cringes at the prospect of a lengthy and...

But already the lines are being drawn over whether Gingrich, if he loses badly, should begin to throttle back or keep the pressure on Romney. Former Republican senator Mel Martinez (Fla.) said Monday that he cringes at the prospect of a lengthy and...

Cabinet members in a Romney administration. Romney mentioned Sandoval first. And then he talked up another Hispanic governor in the West, Gov. Susana Martinez of New Mexico. He listed several Hispanic members of Florida's congressional delegation. And...

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, accompanied by, from right, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla. ; former Florida Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart. ; Romney's wife Ann; former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez; and...

They packed the Freedom Tower in downtown Miami, where thousands fleeing Fidel Castro’s revolution first received health care and were processed by immigration officers in the 1960s. Romney was flanked by prominent Cuban-American politicians, including...

But he has worked hard to build support since then and snagged the endorsements of two prominent Cuban-American members of Congress, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart, as well as that of former Florida senator Mel Martinez. What may be holding...