In a recent viral social media post, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott makes bold allegations about the recent Los Angeles mayor’s primary election that saw Mayor Karen Bass and Democratic candidate Nithya Raman edge out Spencer Pratt, the former reality TV star endorsed by President Donald Trump.

Formal qualifying opened at noon Monday for those running in Florida for governor, the three Cabinet offices, all 120 state House seats and 21 state Senate seats.

Official qualifying dates have been announced in Lee County for local countywide, independent special district and municipal candidates seeking office.

Under Florida law, all previous vote-by-mail requests have expired. Voters must submit a new request to vote-by-mail in the 2026 election cycle. Vote-by-mail requests must be made to the county Supervisor of Elections in the voter’s county of registration.

In an election, Feb. 3, Naples voters elected a former city councilmember and two newcomers to the Naples City Council from a pool of eight candidates. Ted Blankenship, John Krol, and Scott Schultz are set to be sworn in on Feb. 18.

The Collier County Supervisor of Elections office will mail requested Vote-by-Mail ballots to eligible domestic voters who are eligible to vote in the City of Naples Election starting Dec. 31.

In an historic election, Tuesday, residents of Fort Myers Beach voted to recall town council members John King and Karen Woodson, but whether or not King will actually be removed from office remains to be seen after a circuit court judge, on Nov. 3, ordered a stay on the recall results pending an appeals court decision.

Is Florida going to wade into the fray?