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Ashley Moody raises $1.6M, brings Donald Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio onto campaign

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U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody has raised upward $1.6 million in contributions in her first six weeks in the Senate. And the Moody-related “Stronger Safer Nation” super PAC has also raised $7 million year-to-date.

Perhaps just as importantly, her campaign also announced a key hire of a pollster closely tied to President Donald Trump.

“Together, we will make Florida safer and stronger, and I will continue my fight for the conservative principles that make this country great,” Moody said in a statement announcing the funding haul.

“From launching the campaign, to receiving the endorsements of respected leaders throughout the state, and building out my team, this quarter was a massive success. I am looking forward to continuing this fight on behalf of the millions of people who call Florida home.”

That team now includes Tony Fabrizio, a prominent Republican pollster who worked for Trump’s presidential campaigns.

“As a Floridian, I’m honored to work for Ashley Moody — a tough as nails conservative — who is deeply committed to advancing President Trump’s agenda to Make America Great Again.”

Moody, a Plant City Republican, was appointed to the Senate by Gov. Ron DeSantis. She served as Florida Attorney General alongside the Governor since both of their elections to statewide office in 2018.

That makes the Fabrizio hire all the more notable. Amid rumblings of potential Primary battles next year between Florida candidates tied to Trump and to DeSantis, including a Trump-allied Congressman pondering a challenge to Moody, bringing a pollster closely tied with the President shows the Senator has rapidly made inroads with Trump and his team.

Fabrizio is also working for U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds’ campaign for Governor in 2026, even as Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis ponders a run for the same job.

Details about contributions to Moody’s campaign were not immediately available. The Senator said she has worked to meet with voters statewide in her new role as she concurrently verses herself on business in Washington.

“Since taking office, I have been traveling around the state to share my Florida First message and continue earning support for my campaign to return to the U.S. Senate,” Moody said. “We are just getting started, and I am so grateful for the overwhelming support we have received in just a short amount of time.”

And she’ll have plenty of support from the Stronger Safer Nation super PAC, which looks set to add plenty of cash to support the Senator this cycle.

Of course, statewide runs are nothing new to Moody either. She won election as Florida Attorney General in 2018 and 2022 and was the top vote-getter of any candidate seeking statewide office in either election cycle.

Moody filled a seat vacated this year by former U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio following his appointment by Trump as Secretary of State. But she will have to stand for election next year in a race to determine who holds the job for the last two years of Rubio’s term. The seat then goes up for re-election again in 2028 with a full six-year term up for grabs.

The incumbent is one of eight candidates filed so far for the race, most of them lesser-known candidates. None has filed official reports to date yet with the Federal Election Commission.


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As Elon Musk gained power in Washington, his popularity has fallen, an AP-NORC poll finds

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April 27, 2025

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Much of the downsizing has been done through so-called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which was Musk’s brainchild during last year’s campaign. Thousands of federal employees have been fired or pushed to quit, contracts have been canceled and entire agencies have been brought to a standstill.

Musk has succeeded in providing a dose of shock therapy to the federal government, but he has fallen short of other goals. After talking about cutting spending by $1 trillion, he has set a much lower target of $150 billion. Even reaching that amount could prove challenging, and DOGE has regularly overstated its progress.

He is expected to start dedicating more time to Tesla, his electric automaker that has suffered plummeting revenue while he was working for Trump. Musk told investors on a recent conference call that “now that the major work of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency is done,” he expects to spend just “a day or two per week on government matters.”

Musk, in his work for the administration, has continued a political evolution toward the right. Although the South African-born entrepreneur was never easy to categorize ideologically, he championed the fight against climate change and often supported Democratic candidates.

Now he criticizes “the woke mind virus” and warns of the collapse of Western civilization from the threats of illegal migration and excess government spending.

Musk’s increasingly conservative politics are reflected in the polling. Only about 2 in 10 independents and about 1 in 10 Democrats view Musk favorably, compared with about 7 in 10 Republicans.

In addition, while about 7 in 10 independents and about 9 in 10 Democrats believe Musk has too much influence, only about 4 in 10 Republicans feel that way.

Mark Collins, 67, a warehouse manager from Michigan who has leaned Republican in recent years, said Musk “runs a nice, tight ship” at his companies, “and the government definitely needs tightening up.”

“He’s cleaning up all the trash,” he said. “I love what he’s doing.”

Republicans are much less likely than Democrats to be worried about being affected by recent cuts to federal government agencies, services or grants. Just 11% said they are “extremely” or “very” concerned that they or someone they know will be affected, while about two-thirds of Democrats and 44% of independents have those fears.

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Republished with permission of the Associated Press.

The AP-NORC poll of 1,260 adults was conducted April 17-21, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.



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Collier County foster care leader honored among top nonprofit ‘heroes’ in the state

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7 hours ago

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April 27, 2025

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Gov. Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis recognize leader of ‘Fostering Success’ in Southwest Florida.

A Southwest Florida leader among nonprofit organizations was recognized as a 2025 Florida Hero by Gov. Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis.

Ann Hughes, the CEO of Fostering Success in Naples, was honored this month by Florida’s First Couple for her work in providing educational and enrichment opportunities for foster children. Hughes helped lead the organization as it expanded its reach and it provides resources, mentorship opportunities and additional advocacy for foster youth in the Southwest Florida area.

Hughes was among 62 “heroes” honored at the Florida Heroes Reception this month which highlighted a plethora of Floridians who’ve been involved in exceptional commitments to their communities.

Casey DeSantis also expressed her admiration for the honorees and said, “We were proud to highlight the good works and heroic acts of Floridians from across the state. These individuals have gone above and beyond to serve others, and we are grateful to each of them.”

The Fostering Success program in Naples advocates for foster children reaching their full potential. While headquartered in Naples, the nonprofit serves foster care systems in Collier, Hendry and Glades counties. The organization seeks to improve educational, social and emotional development so the foster children have an opportunity to engage in productive lives.

Some of those Fostering Success programs include kindergarten preparation, academic tutoring programs, emergency supply provisions, scholarships, as well as classes and assistance for those children who transition out of foster care.

Ron DeSantis said all the heroes who were honorees deserved the recognition.

“These individuals exemplify the very best of Florida, demonstrating courage, kindness, and selflessness in their efforts to improve the lives of others,” Ron DeSantis said.

Other professionals in lines of work for those being honored included educators, first responders and other community leaders who had an impact.


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Wife of U.S. Coast Guard member arrested over expired visa after security check for military housing

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10 hours ago

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April 27, 2025

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Wife was detained by ICE after background check showed a U.S. visa expired.

The wife of an active-duty Coast Guardsman was arrested earlier this week by federal immigration authorities inside the family residential section of the U.S. Naval Air Station at Key West, after she was flagged in a routine security check, officials said Saturday.

“The spouse is not a member of the Coast Guard and was detained by Homeland Security Investigations pursuant to a lawful removal order,” said Coast Guard spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Steve Roth in a statement confirming Thursday’s on-base arrest. “The Coast Guard works closely with HSI and others to enforce federal laws, including on immigration.”

According to a U.S. official, the woman’s work visa expired around 2017, and she was marked for removal from the United States a few years later. She and the Coast Guardsman were married early this year, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an enforcement incident.

Though the Trump administration has made immigration arrests a top priority for federal law enforcement, it did not immediately appear the on-base arrest of the military spouse was part of a broader sweep.

The official said that when the woman and her Coast Guard husband were preparing to move into their on-base housing on Wednesday, they went to the visitor control center to get a pass so she could access the Key West installation. During the routine security screening required for base access, the woman’s name was flagged as a problem.

Base personnel contacted the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which looked into the matter, said the official. NCIS and Coast Guard security personnel got permission from the base commander to enter the installation and then went to the Coast Guardsman’s home on Thursday, the official said. They were joined by personnel from Homeland Security Investigations, a unit within Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

HSI eventually took the spouse into custody, and the official said they believe she is still being detained. Officials did not provide the name of the country she is from.

The Coast Guard referred questions about the woman’s identity, immigration status and charges to ICE, which did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday. The Department of Homeland Security also did not respond to a request for comment.

The husband of the arrested woman is a Coast Guardsman assigned to the USCGC Mohawk, a 270-foot-long cutter based at Key West. The couple was moving into U.S. government housing at the nearby Naval Air Station.

An online database that tracks ship movements shows the Mohawk has been docked in its home port since mid-March. A March 16 media release says the ship had recently returned following a 70-day deployment to the Eastern Pacific Ocean on a mission to intercept shipments of illegal drugs.

In a statement, the Navy said that it “fully cooperated with federal law enforcement authorities on this matter. We take security and access at naval installations seriously.”

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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.


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