Changes

|governor=Rick ScottRon DeSantis

|senator1=Bill NelsonRick Scott|s1party=DemocratRepublican

|s1email=httphttps://billnelsonwww.rickscott.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm Contact

 '''Florida''' is a state located in the southeastern [[United States]]; . It is bound by [[Georgia]] and [[Alabama]] to the north, the [[Gulf of Mexico]] to the west, the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the east, and the [[Straits of Florida]] to the south. Originally a colony of [[Spain]], it was purchased by the U.S. in 1819 and in 1845 became the 27th state to join the Union. The capital of Florida is [[Tallahassee]], and the main metropolitan areas are [[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville]], [[Miami]], St. Petersburg and [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]]. Florida's nickname is the "Sunshine State", and its state tree is the "Sabal Palmsabal palm." Florida has grown very rapidly, pulling in retirees from the cold, giving it the 3rd largest population of the 50 states. The state Constitution of Florida, like all of the other 50 states, acknowledges God or our Creator or the ''Sovereign Ruler of the Universe''. It says::''We, the people of the State of Florida, being grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty, in order to secure its benefits, perfect our government, insure domestic tranquility, maintain public order, and guarantee equal civil and political rights to all, do ordain and establish this constitution.''

[[File:Col-fla.jpg|thumb|300px|Spain and Britain controlled Florida before 1819, but sent few settlers]]see See [[History of Florida]]

Florida was first settled by Europeans in 1513, when Spaniard [[Juan Ponce de Leon]] landed near where [[St. Augustine, Florida|St. Augustine]] stands today. For some timede Leon originally spotted Florida on Easter Sunday, Spain and France ran competing colonies in so he named it ''Pascua Florida'', with the which means "Flowery Easter" in Spanish eventually expelling the French. Spain never had effective control and sold <ref>[http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Florida to the United States in 1819/FloridaNameOrigin. html Florida seceded from the Union in 1861 and joined the [[Confederate States of Americastate name origin]]; there was little military action in the remote state.</ref>

==Politics==Republican Senator [[Mel Martinez]] astonished Floridians by suddenly resigning For some time, Spain and France ran competing colonies in August 2009Florida, with the Spanish eventually expelling the French. Governor [[Charlie CristJohn Quincy Adams]] appointed , serving as the Secretary of State for President [[George LeMieuxJames Monroe]], who was Crist's campaign manager negotiated the Adams–Onís Treaty with the Spanish in 2006 and served as deputy attorney general 1819, purchasing the territory of Florida when Crist was attorney generalfrom Spain.<ref>[http://future. LeMieux is regarded as one of the shrewdest political strategists in the state and, like Crist, is a moderate Republican. Crist then decided to run for the seatgov/when/timeline/1801_timeline/acquisition_of_florida.html Acquisition of Florida]</ref>

Crist was elected governor Florida seceded from the Union in 2006, running as a fiscal conservative 1861 and a moderate on social issues. His style is folksy and he searches for bipartisanship. His handling of joined the great hurricanes [[Confederate States of 2005-6 America]]; there was widely praised. He appointed one moderate and two conservatives to little military action in the remote state supreme court. His support for [[John McCainImage:Florida ref 2001.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The state of Florida]] helped carry ==Economy==A large sector of Florida's economy is based on the state primary and played a role in giving the 2008 GOP nomination to McCaincultivation of citrus fruit. He cut property taxes and cut the state budgetAs of 2006, but annoyed some conservatives by his enthusiastic support for Florida produced 67 percent of the Obama administration[[United States]]'s stimulus bill in spring 2009total citrus fruit. Polls show a strong base This breaks down to 74 percent of support from conservatives [[oranges]] grown in the US, 58 percent of [[tangerines]] and moderates and some liberals54 percent of [[grapefruit]]. However<ref>[http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Florida/fruit_orange.html Florida state fruit: orange]</ref> The orange blossom is Florida's state flower, Crist was defeated in the Republican Senate Primary in 2010; his rival in orange is the GOP primary was state House Speaker Marco Rubio, a Cuban Americanfruit and orange juice is the official state beverage.

Tourism is one of the state's largest economic sectors, with over 112 million tourists visiting in 2016 and with 1.4 million people employed in the industry (as of 2016). Particularly popular attractions include the Everglades, Walt Disney World, and Miami's South Beach district. NASA's presence in Cape Canaveral makes Florida a very good environment for the aerospace industry. Florida is the 4th largest employer of workers in the aerospace industry, with over 23,000 employed. ==Politics==Florida is a swing state in presidential elections. The South Florida region (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach, along with the Florida Keys) along with the urban areas of Tampa and Orlando and the Tallahassee capital area, are heavily Democratic, while the rural, suburban, and northern parts of the state (Jacksonville, Pensacola, and the areas around the Air Force bases of Eglin and Tyndall) are heavily Republican. The swing state phenomenon was most pronounced during the 2000 presidential election when the margin of victory for eventual winner George W. Bush was a mere 537 votes (triggering a mandatory recount under Florida state law, an ensuing number of lawsuits and judicial rulings, and never-ending speculation as to the real winner). ==State symbols==<center><gallery perrow="3">Image:Florida_panther.jpg|The Florida panther is the state's official animal.Image:Orange_blossom.jpg|The orange blossom is Florida's official flower.Image: Manatee Keith Ramos WEB.jpg|The manatee is Florida's official marine mammal.</gallery></center>

*Sen. [[Bill NelsonRick Scott]] (DR)

*Rep. [[Jeff MillerMatt Gaetz]] [R, FL-1] *Rep. [[Steve SoutherlandNeal Dunn]] [R, FL-2] *Rep. [[Corrine BrownTed Yoho]] [DR, FL-3] *Rep. [[Ander CrenshawJohn Rutherford]] [R, FL-4] *Rep. [[Rich NugentAl Lawson]] [RD, FL-5] *Rep. [[Clifford StearnsMichael Waltz]] [R, FL-6] *Rep. [[John MicaStephanie Murphy]] [RD, FL-7] *Rep. [[Dan WebsterBill Posey]] [R, FL-8] *Rep. [[Gus BilirakisDarren Soto]] [RD, FL-9] *Rep. [[C. W. YoungVal Demings]] [RD, FL-10] *Rep. [[Kathy CastorDaniel Webster]] [DR, FL-11] *Rep. [[Dennis RossGus M. Bilirakis]] [R, FL-12] *Rep. [[Vern BuchananCharlie Crist]] [RD, FL-13] *Rep. [[Connie MackKathy Castor]] [RD, FL-14] *Rep. [[Bill PoseyRoss Spano]] [R, FL-15] *Rep. [[Thomas RooneyVern Buchanan]] [R, FL-16] *Rep. [[Frederica WilsonGreg Steube]] [DR, FL-17] *Rep. [[Ileana Ros-LehtinenBrian Mast]] [R, FL-18] *Rep. [[Ted DeutchFrancis Rooney]] [D, FL-19] *Rep. [[Debbie Wasserman SchultzAlcee L. Hastings]] [D, FL-20] *Rep. [[Mario Diaz-BalartLois Frankel]] [RD, FL-21] *Rep. [[Allen WestTed Deutch]] [RD, FL-22] *Rep. [[Alcee HastingsDebbie Wasserman Schultz]] [D, FL-23] *Rep. [[Sandy AdamsFrederica Wilson]] [RD, FL-24] *Rep. [[David RiveraMario Diaz-Balart]] [R, FL-25] *Rep. [[Debbie Mucarsel-Powell]] [D, FL-26] *Rep. [[Donna Shalala]] [D, FL-27]

*Governor [[Rick ScottRon DeSantis]] (R)*Lt. Governor [[Jennifer CarrollJeanette Nunez]] (R)*Chief Financial Officer [[Jeff AtwaterJimmy Patronis ]] (R)*Attorney General [[Pam BondiAshley Moody]] (R)*Agriculture Commissioner [[Adam PutnamNikki Fried]] (RD)

*[[MiamiLakeland, Florida|Lakeland]]*[[Miami]]*[[Naples, Florida|Naples]]*[[Ocala, Florida|Ocala]]