The House Democratic caucus is already the smallest in Florida history. Now, one member said he’s not welcome in the House Minority Office after voting for a Republican bill.

Rep. Jose Alvarez surprised many in attendance at a March 6 subcommittee hearing when the Kissimmee Democrat backed petition-gathering restrictions (HB 1205). That included House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, who showed up at the end of the hearing to discuss the lawmaker’s vote. And by Alvarez’s recollection, the tone was combative from the start.

“It was very disrespectful of her to speak to another member of the House that way,” Alvarez said, “for someone who calls herself a leader, to disrespect me in front of that, to tell me I vote whichever way she wants me to vote. I’ve been in public office long enough to know never to tell people to do a vote.”

Driskell recalls the conversation otherwise. She said it surprised her to see a Democratic member support the Republican-sponsored bill, which would impose a $1-million bond before sponsors of a constitutional amendment can pass out petitions, among other things. The bill cleared the House Government Operations Subcommittee on a 14-4 vote. It would have been a party-line vote but for Alvarez casting his lot with the bill’s supporters.

But Driskell said more than a member voting out of line, she was concerned the vote came from nowhere.

“Part of the culture we are trying to develop here is, we understand the part in some ways is a coalition, and we may not vote the same on every bill,” Driskell said. “What I ask is that people let us know.”

It wasn’t just members. Lobbyists working against the bill said Alvarez indicated he would be down on the bill. It wasn’t until Alvarez made remarks as part of debate that he would support the bill advancing from committee.

“If I were to just vote my particular political party beliefs in one point, I would have leaned in a different direction. But then I sat there with a clear and open mind, just as an American citizen that loves this country, that gave me democracy, that gave me an opportunity that I didn’t have,” Alvarez said during debate. “The more I read about this bill, the more I see that really what this bill is doing is protecting the state of Florida.”

It was that speech that prompted Driskell, a Tampa Democrat, to show up in the last minutes of the committee vote. Several at the meeting, including allies of the Leader, said she wanted to speak with Alvarez immediately about the vote.

Driskell doesn’t typically show up at committee hearings to dress down members about their votes. But multiple sources in the room said Driskell questioned Alvarez about why he changed his position without giving any colleagues a heads up.

“Rep. Alvarez didn’t really want to talk,” Driskell said.

Alvarez said he felt no obligation, and nobody had told him the caucus wanted him to vote against the bill, not that such direction would dictate his vote. Driskell confirmed as much, and said leadership at the caucus and committee level were not whipping votes.

One lawmaker present said Driskell “berated” Alvarez. But other witnesses say it was Alvarez who raised his voice, and that Driskell spoke quietly and tried to move the conversation to a break room. Both Driskell and Alvarez said it was the other party who turned the conversation into a confrontation.

Those close to Driskell said she wanted to take the conversation to a breakroom but Alvarez said he had another pressing meeting, so the conversation unfolded in the committee room and spilled into the hallway.

Driskell said Alvarez at one point told the Sergeant-at-Arms present “this woman is trying to block me from getting to a meeting.”

“He knows my name,” Driskell said.

Alvarez acknowledges telling the Sergeant-at-Arms that Driskell was preventing him from leaving, and that until he did so, she was physically blocking his exit from the room. After that, the two left and the argument continued until he reached an elevator.

That was when Driskell told Alvarez he was kicked out of the caucus, by his account.

“She said I would not step foot inside the caucus office again,” Alvarez said. “Fine. I’m not planning to. I am a proud Democrat, and will remain a Democrat, but I don’t want back in that office with the so-called leadership they have. I don’t work that way.”

Driskell, however, said Alvarez hasn’t been booted from the caucus.

“I was told he didn’t want to step foot in the caucus again, but he is not banned,” she said. He remains on email lists and is still listed on the Florida House website as a Democrat.

And Alvarez said he remains more of a Democrat than some colleagues, citing his work as a Housing and Urban Development regional director under President Joe Biden.

“I will continue to run my seat from my office,” Alvarez said. “You come here and try and get work done, and that’s what you concentrate on. This is not my profession. I work for a living. I was more shocked to be listening to this lady more than anything else. I lost all respect for her.”

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Former Vice President Mike Pence is visiting his former boss’ home county this week to keynote a noon event and field questions from attendees.

He’s headlining a luncheon hosted by the nonprofit Forum Club of the Palm Beaches on Friday as part of a seasonal, yearly series of high-profile guests of varying political views.

The event is already sold out, but virtual tickets are still available.

Pence is heading into what some may view as enemy territory. Since his falling out with Donald Trump in January 2021 that culminated in supporters of the President calling for him to be hanged outside the U.S. Capitol, Pence hasn’t been shy about criticizing the nation’s top executive official.

Last month, he posted an article he wrote more than a decade ago about the limits of presidential power after Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that “He who saves his country does not violate any Law.”

He’s also been delivering speeches urging the President to stand with longstanding foreign allies and lobbying members of Congress while aides write letters and opinion columns.

Pence and those who work with him at Advancing American Freedom, his political advocacy group, stress they are not looking to take on the “Never Trump” mantle. They intend to praise the administration when they agree with it, while raising concerns when they don’t, advocating for longtime conservative principles that have fallen out of favor as Trump’s “Make America Great Again” brand of populism has taken hold.

“We’re calling balls and strikes here,” Pence told The Associated Press.

Pence will join a list of past Forum Club speakers who CEO Sarah Elwell described as coming from a “broad variety of industries and viewpoints.”

All speakers are unpaid, and audience queries are reviewed in advance to ensure they are fair, appropriate and “represent a diversity of questions.” Speeches last about 30 minutes. The event runs for an hour.

Past speakers have included former President Jimmy Carter, U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney and forgery expert Frank Abagnale, and more recent presenters like former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former U.S. Attorney General William Barr.

Next month, former U.S. Secretary of State Alejandro Mayorkas and Douglas Ginsburg, Senior Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., are scheduled to speak at separate events.

Tickets to Friday’s event at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, located less than 4 miles from Mar-a-Lago, ranged from $55 for members and $80 for guests to $700 for a 10-seat table.

Virtual tickets are $25 for members and $30 for non-members.

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Material from The Associated Press was used in this report. Republished with permission.

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James Uthmeier, the former Chief of Staff to Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed as Attorney General after former AG Ashley Moody was appointed to the U.S. Senate, will officially kick off his 2026 campaign for the job next week on Tuesday, March 11.

The event will be held at The Governor’s Inn, 209 S. Adams St., Tallahassee, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Uthmeier was sworn in as Attorney General earlier this month, replacing Moody, who replaced former U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio after he was tapped to serve as President Donald Trump’s Secretary of State. His appointment will fill the remaining portion of Moody’s term through 2026, meaning Uthmeier will have to seek election to the seat in 2026 for a full term.

Uthmeier filed for that race last week. His appointment to the remainder of the current term will not count toward term limits, meaning that if he is elected, he will have the opportunity to serve nearly 10 years as Attorney General, not just eight.

It is Uthmeier’s first bid for public office, but he has plenty of experience running statewide campaigns for others. Earlier this month, he launched the political committee Friends of James Uthmeier in anticipation of his statewide run.

He also chairs the still-active Florida Freedom Fund, which last year campaigned successfully to defeat ballot measures that sought to expand access to abortions and marijuana. That committee closed 2024 with over $2.11 million cash on hand, though DeSantis has signaled he would like to use that committee to weigh in during Republican Primary elections next year.

Uthmeier previously chaired Keep Florida Clean, Inc., which focused last year on defeating the marijuana ballot measure. That committee was disbanded last week but has not yet released its final expenditure reports. A disbandment letter stated all remaining funding, about $121,000 as of the end of 2024, will be distributed into a 527 political organization.

Supporting Uthmeier’s race by serving on his campaign launch host committee are several top power brokers in GOP politics, including GrayRobinson attorney Ashley Lukis and her husband, political consultant Adrian Lukis; strategist Slater Bayliss and his wife, Sara; Florida Association of Counties Executive Director Ginger Delegal and her husband, government relations pro Mark Delegal; consultant Josh Aubuchon; Capital City Consulting Co-founder Ron LaFace; Capital City Consulting Managing Partner Scott Ross and his wife, political consultant Ashley Ross; Capital City Consulting Co-founder Nick Iarossi; lobbyist Derek Whitis and his wife, consultant Courtney Whitis; lobbyist Cameron Yarbrough and his wife, Jamie; lobbyist Jared Rosenstein; the Southern Group’s Monte Stevens; Capital City Consulting lobbyist and former DeSantis senior advisor Drew Meiner; and government relations pro Rhett O’Doski, among others.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce is also listed as a host for Uthmeier’s kickoff.

Maximum individual contributions to Uthmeier’s campaign are $3,000, plus another $3,000 per business entity. Donations over those limits can be made to Uthmeier’s committee, Friends of James Uthmeier.

So far, he’s the only candidate to run for the Attorney General post, though that could change. Regardless, he could enjoy the benefits of incumbency, serving as Florida’s top legal officer into next year’s Republican Primary and General Election.

Other candidates rumored to be considering a run include former Florida House Speakers Chris Sprowls and Paul Renner, as well as former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz.

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Florida Politics reporter Jacob Ogles contributed to this report.

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