If anyone is considering challenging the so-far unopposed Harry Cohen for Hillsborough County Commission, they might start to reconsider.

Cohen, a Democrat representing District 1 on the County Commission, has always been a prolific fundraiser. The fourth quarter of 2025 was no different, with more than $56,000 banked for his campaign over the three-month period ending Dec. 31. The haul brings his total 2026 campaign total to more than $80,000.

His committee, Hillsborough Together, didn’t post any fundraising activity in the fourth quarter, but after raising $105,000 in the third quarter of 2025, the account is flush with nearly $240,000 on hand.

“I am truly humbled by the level of support my campaign has received,” Cohen said. “I am very committed to the work — the actual day-to-day delivery of public services: whether it is repaying roads or funding key public safety and infrastructure improvements, it is a constant focus on maintaining and improving our quality of life. I work to build consensus and get things done. Effectiveness is the best campaign.”

Cohen’s latest fundraising haul included 117 contributions, averaging about $480 each.

He received $1,000 each from, among others, the local Teamsters union; the political committee supporting the local firefighters union; the Tampa Police Benevolent Association; the Tampa Bay chapter of real estate development association NAIOP; waste hauling company Waste Management; the political committee supporting Tampa General Hospital; the political committee supporting Hillsborough County Commissioner Gwen Myers; the Akerman law firm; U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor; former University of South Florida President Betty Castor; and prominent Tampa lawyer Ron Christaldi.

Cohen officially kicked off his campaign in October, with a standing-room-only event at Pane Rustica including three Tampa Mayors: current Mayor Jane Castor and former Mayors Bob Buckhorn and Sandy Freedman, the latter of whom also contributed $1,000 to Cohen’s campaign in the fourth quarter.

Cohen is one of only two Democrats on the Hillsborough County Commission. He was first elected to the Commission in 2020, replacing former Commissioner Sandy Murman, a Republican. Prior to his service on the Commission, Cohen served two terms on the Tampa City Council. He ran for Tampa Mayor in 2019, finishing third before now-Mayor Jane Castor went on to defeat the late David Straz overwhelmingly in a runoff election.

Cohen landed at No. 23 on Florida Politics’ list of Tampa Bay’s Most Powerful Politicians last year. Cohen must navigate the complexities of governing amid a GOP supermajority, a task that is particularly challenging considering he once served from the majority.

Cohen survived his 2022 re-election bid — just two years after his successful election, which flipped a seat from red to blue — in a cycle that was the political version of Game of Thrones’ red wedding. He won by less than a percentage point, a razor-thin victory that looked like a landslide compared to two of Cohen’s Democratic colleagues. Former Commissioner Mariella Smith lost her seat by nearly 6 percentage points, while former Commissioner Kimberly Overman lost hers by about 5 percentage points.

A bill aimed at changing how Florida taxes emerging tobacco alternatives has cleared its first committee stop this week with little opposition.

Sen. Nick DiCeglie, a St. Petersburg Republican, presented SB 754 before the Senate Committee on Regulated Industries, where it was reported favorably without debate.

The proposal would create a statutory definition for “heated tobacco products” and exempt those products from being taxed as cigarettes. Under current law, cigarettes are subject to a specific excise tax, while other nicotine products such as vaping devices are not. DiCeglie said the bill is designed to treat heated tobacco products more like vapes for tax purposes.

“This bill will statutorily define heated tobacco product, and excludes heated tobacco products from taxation as cigarettes,” DiCeglie told the committee Monday.

DiCeglie said heated tobacco products are a less harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes, though they still contain nicotine. He said the products heat tobacco rather than burn it, and claimed they contain significantly fewer harmful additives and toxins.

“We know that cigarettes are incredibly harmful, and this heated tobacco product is an alternative to that,” DiCeglie said. “This product has around 95% less harmful additives and toxins and all of those things, and is very similar to the vape product.”

DiCeglie said the bill aims to provide a tax incentive for smokers who may be trying to move away from combustible cigarettes.

According to the bill text, SB 754 defines heated tobacco products as tobacco-containing devices that heat, but do not burn, tobacco and produce an inhalable aerosol rather than smoke. The bill specifically removes heated tobacco products from both the cigarette excise tax and Florida’s “other tobacco products” tax category, while making conforming changes to state statutes. 

Democratic Sen. Darryl Rouson raised concerns about youth access, citing issues with minors obtaining vaping products. DiCeglie acknowledged the concern, but said SB 754 is limited to tax policy and does not address age restrictions or enforcement. He said he would research existing regulations and be prepared to provide more detailed answers at the bill’s next committee stop.

“I don’t want any product to get in the hands of kids,” DiCeglie said.

With no further debate, the committee voted to advance SB 754. The measure now moves forward in the legislative process as lawmakers head into the 2026 Legislative Session starting Tuesday.

U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz wants the House Judiciary Committee to investigate the Justice Department’s inquiry of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

After the Fed released a video statement from Powell saying the agency was subpoenaed over costs of a building project, the Parkland Democrat called into question the motives of the Donald Trump administration’s investigation, specifically the actions of Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Moskowitz said U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan should follow the lead of Senators and check the administration’s power.

“As a member of the Judiciary Committee, I hereby am calling for Chairman Jordan (former chair of the Weaponization committee, ironic) to open an immediate investigation into the DOJ inquiry of Fed Chair Jerome Powell,” Moskowitz posted on X.

Under Democratic President Joe Biden, Jordan, an Ohio Republican, led a Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. That focused on investigations by the Democratic administration that Republicans in Congress alleged were targeting political opponents, including Trump.

But Democrats say the Department of Justice under Trump has been used to attack critics, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Leticia James, who were both indicted under Bondi only to see courts quickly dismiss charges.

Powell, who has been at odds with Trump over interest rates, has maintained that attacks on the cost of renovations of the Fed’s headquarters were incorrect. He criticized the launch of a criminal investigation

“The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,” Powell said.

“This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions — or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.”

Trump and Powell famously engaged in an argument at a press conference in July about whether the costs of the building renovations had exceeded $3 billion. Powell said that calculation can only be reached by including prior renovation costs completed nearly six years ago. Trump at the event said he would back off the questions about renovation costs if Powell lowered interest rates.