Florida Politics: Florida Senate passes bill requiring 24-hour wait for abortion

[polychronopolous]

AUSTIN, Texas — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is surely smiling this morning after the first poll in Florida since he announced he is running for president showed that he had received a substantial bump in his numbers. Rubio’s surge was so substantial, in fact, that he is now one point ahead of former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL), as opposed to a 12-point deficit from a poll at the beginning of the month.

The poll in question was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research from Tuesday to Thursday, after Rubio’s announcement Monday evening in Miami. Among 400 registered Republican Florida voters, Rubio won 31 percent of the votes, just past Bush’s 30 percent, as reported by Politico’s Marc Caputo.

Seventeen percent were undecided.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who got into the race officially last month, received 8 percent, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who announced a week before Rubio, received 7 percent. Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) earned 2 percent, and the remainder of responses went to “other.” (Mason-Dixon did not poll the other potential candidates by name.) The poll’s margin of error was five percent.

The most recent Florida poll was conducted from March 17 to March 28 by Quinnipiac University of 1,087 Florida voters, including 428 registered Republicans. The poll overall had a margin of error of +/- 3 percent, and +/- 4.7 percent among the Republican sample. In this poll, Bush received 24 percent of the Republican vote, followed by Walker at 15 percent and Rubio at 12 percent.

Another slightly earlier Florida poll from Public Policy Polling (PPP), conducted from March 19 to March 22, had similar results: Bush led with 25 percent, then Walker at 17 percent, Rubio at 15 percent, neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 12 percent, former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR) at 7 percent, Cruz at 6 percent, Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) at 4 percent, Paul at 4 percent, and former Governor Rick Perry (R-TX) at 3 percent. As Breitbart News reported, Bush dropped 5 percent in this poll, and Rubio gained 1 percent since a similar PPP poll last June.

“I think Rubio’s rollout was pretty good and he probably got a bump out of it,” Mason-Dixon’s pollster J. Bradford Coker told Politico. “A good rollout is like a primary win: you get about three days of good media coverage and a little lift in the polls.”

[polychronopolous]

MARCO RUBIO TAKES LEAD OF GOP FIELD IN QUINNIPIAC POLL



A new Quinnipiac University poll has Sen. Marco Rubio leading the Republican field, garnering support from 15% of registered Republicans surveyed, followed by Jeb Bush at 13% and Scott Walker at 11%.

According to a CNN report, Rubio also does best in a head-to-head match up against Democrat Hillary Clinton, trailing her by only two points.

With 14% of Republicans undecided, things are far from determined. Sen. Ted Cruz scored 9% in support, and Sen. Rand Paul came in at 8%. Mike Huckabee and Chris Christie were tied at 7%.

“This is the kind of survey that shoots adrenaline into a campaign,” said Tim Malloy, the assistant director of the poll, in a statement. “Marco Rubio gets strong enough numbers and favorability ratings to look like a legit threat to Hillary Clinton.”

[Dos Equis]

Will have to let the dust settle to see whether this is just a post-announcement temporary bump. 

[James]

AUSTIN, Texas — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is surely smiling this morning after the first poll in Florida since he announced he is running for president showed that he had received a substantial bump in his numbers. Rubio’s surge was so substantial, in fact, that he is now one point ahead of former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL), as opposed to a 12-point deficit from a poll at the beginning of the month.

The poll in question was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research from Tuesday to Thursday, after Rubio’s announcement Monday evening in Miami. Among 400 registered Republican Florida voters, Rubio won 31 percent of the votes, just past Bush’s 30 percent, as reported by Politico’s Marc Caputo.

Seventeen percent were undecided.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who got into the race officially last month, received 8 percent, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who announced a week before Rubio, received 7 percent. Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) earned 2 percent, and the remainder of responses went to “other.” (Mason-Dixon did not poll the other potential candidates by name.) The poll’s margin of error was five percent.

The most recent Florida poll was conducted from March 17 to March 28 by Quinnipiac University of 1,087 Florida voters, including 428 registered Republicans. The poll overall had a margin of error of +/- 3 percent, and +/- 4.7 percent among the Republican sample. In this poll, Bush received 24 percent of the Republican vote, followed by Walker at 15 percent and Rubio at 12 percent.

Another slightly earlier Florida poll from Public Policy Polling (PPP), conducted from March 19 to March 22, had similar results: Bush led with 25 percent, then Walker at 17 percent, Rubio at 15 percent, neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 12 percent, former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR) at 7 percent, Cruz at 6 percent, Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) at 4 percent, Paul at 4 percent, and former Governor Rick Perry (R-TX) at 3 percent. As Breitbart News reported, Bush dropped 5 percent in this poll, and Rubio gained 1 percent since a similar PPP poll last June.

“I think Rubio’s rollout was pretty good and he probably got a bump out of it,” Mason-Dixon’s pollster J. Bradford Coker told Politico. “A good rollout is like a primary win: you get about three days of good media coverage and a little lift in the polls.”

[polychronopolous]

Will have to let the dust settle to see whether this is just a post-announcement temporary bump. 

Good point. I think as long he doesn't have a significant hiccup moment he will remain right there with the top handful of candidates.

[Dos Equis]

Good point. I think as long he doesn't have a significant hiccup moment he will remain right there with the top handful of candidates.

I agree.  I've believed for a while now that he was going to be a strong candidate.  I think Rubio and Cruz are both better options than Hillary. 

[polychronopolous]

GOP Dominant Senate, House Passes 24-Hour Waiting Period For Abortion

Govenor Rick Expected To Sign Into Law



The Florida Senate approved a bill on Friday mandating a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking abortions, with all Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats opposed.

Senator Anitere Flores, a Miami Republican who sponsored the bill, said it was reasonable for women to wait 24 hours after meeting with their doctors for an "informed consent" briefing on fetal development, which is already required by state law, and undergoing the abortion procedure itself.

She noted that state law requires a three-day waiting period for purchasing a gun or getting married, and 20 days for divorces.

"This does not limit a woman's right to make the choice, if that's what she wants to do, to have the abortion," said Senator Kelli Stargel, a Lakeland Republican. "What this does is to give the women an opportunity to think about it, so she doesn’t potentially live through years of regret."

For profit reasons, she said, many clinics rush women into abortion immediately after the required briefing on possible medical side effects.

   Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner, a Tampa Democrat, said the legislature has been "chipping away" at abortion rights since 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized the procedure. She said it is significant that men run both chambers of the legislature.

   "Let me tell you, no woman wakes up and says, 'Oh, I'll have an abortion today.' They've thought about it," she said. "Only a woman carries a child and only a woman should have the right to decide if that's what she wants to do, without the additional hurdle of having to wait 24 hours to make the decision of an abortion."

The bill was amended to waive the waiting period in cases of rape, incest, domestic violence or human trafficking.

   The Senate voted 26-13 for the bill, with all Republicans supporting it and all Democrats voting against it.

The House voted 77-41 in favor of the measure on Wednesday, with most Republicans in support and most Democrats opposed.

If enacted, Florida would join 24 other U.S. states requiring women to wait at least 24 hours before getting an abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks reproductive health policy.

A Tennessee bill requiring a 48-hour waiting period has passed the state legislature and is awaiting the governor's signature.