• The biggest news of late (enough to be noted by the New York Times, even) was the release of the Republican Party of Florida’s “forensic audit,” which, the party says, proves wrongdoing by former Republican and Senate candidate Charlie Crist. The audit alleges that Crist and his wife used party money for personal vacations, such as a $13,000 trip to Disney World.
  • Critics have called foul, and noted that the audit absolves or barely mentions currently elected Republicans, suggesting a political motivation. A Crist-supporting Republican state senator agrees, saying the party routinely picked up such expenses, and calling the party’s singling out of Crist “laughable.” The Tampa Tribune notes that the audit was only conducted for 2007-2009, when Crist was in office, but that party members, such as Rubio, had expense cards prior to that period. “The review appears designed to keep the focus on Crist,” its editorial board writes.
  • Crist himself called the audit a sham, said the party owes him an apology, and raised questions about Rubio’s use of a party American Express card. Sarasota’s Herald-Tribune wrote about Rubio’s finances in depth over the weekend, with a rebuttal from Rubio’s campaign following.
  • If nothing else comes of the audit, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee took its first swipe at Crist over the matter — significant in that Democrats once considered supporting him. Crist’s path to victory lies in convincing the left that he’s an electable alternative to Rubio, and it now seems that the party machinery won’t stand by and let such a courtship be a willing one.
  • RNC Chairman Michael Steele is bringing the “Fire Pelosi” bus tour through Florida, with stops including Orlando and Tampa.
  • More trouble for GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott over the $1.7 billion in fraud fines paid by the health care company he led. Scott says he didn’t know about the problem, but the Miami Herald and St. Petersburg Times dug up stockholder reports which “cautioned year after year that the financial incentives Columbia/HCA offered doctors could run afoul of a federal anti-kickback law.”
  • In addition, Democrat Alex Sink has, in the last reporting period, again topped Scott in donations, this time by a margin of four-to-one. Battle ‘10 examined the fundraising dilemma facing Scott in the general election last week.
  • “Less than two months before the general election, Florida’s voter-registration rolls still include thousands of dead people and felons who by law should have been removed … including convicted murderers, rapists, armed robbers and drug dealers,” the Orlando Sentinel reports.
  • Disney ups its campaign contributions, with Mickey Mouse shelling out approximately $1.5 million to candidates and committees of both parties.