Politics

Senate leader, presidential candidate Bob Dole dies at 98

Published

4 years ago

December 5, 2021

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Bob Dole, who overcame disabling war wounds to become a sharp-tongued Senate leader from Kansas, a Republican presidential candidate and then a symbol and celebrant of his dwindling generation of World War II veterans, died Sunday. He was 98.

His wife, Elizabeth Dole, said in an announcement posted on social media that he died in his sleep.

Dole announced in February 2021 that he’d been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. During his 36-year career on Capitol Hill, Dole became one of the most influential legislators and party leaders in the Senate, combining a talent for compromise with a caustic wit, which he often turned on himself but didn’t hesitate to turn on others, too.

He shaped tax policy, foreign policy, farm and nutrition programs and rights for the disabled, enshrining protections against discrimination in employment, education and public services in the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Today’s accessible government offices and national parks, sidewalk ramps and the sign-language interpreters at official local events are just some of the more visible hallmarks of his legacy and that of the fellow lawmakers he rounded up for that sweeping civil rights legislation 30 years ago.

Dole devoted his later years to the cause of wounded veterans, their fallen comrades at Arlington National Cemetery and remembrance of the fading generation of World War II vets.

Thousands of old soldiers massed on the National Mall in 2004 for what Dole, speaking at the dedication of the World War II Memorial there, called “our final reunion.” He’d been a driving force in its creation.

“Our ranks have dwindled,” he said then. “Yet if we gather in the twilight it is brightened by the knowledge that we have kept faith with our comrades.”

Long gone from Kansas, Dole made his life in the capital, at the center of power and then in its shadow upon his retirement, living all the while at the storied Watergate complex. When he left politics and joined a law firm staffed by prominent Democrats, he joked that he brought his dog to work so he would have another Republican to talk to.

He tried three times to become president. The last was in 1996, when he won the Republican nomination only to see President Bill Clinton reelected. He sought his party’s presidential nomination in 1980 and 1988 and was the 1976 GOP vice presidential candidate on the losing ticket with President Gerald Ford.

Through all of that he carried the mark of war. Charging a German position in northern Italy in 1945, Dole was hit by a shell fragment that crushed two vertebrae and paralyzed his arms and legs. The young Army platoon leader spent three years recovering in a hospital and never regained use of his right hand.

To avoid embarrassing those trying to shake his right hand, Dole always clutched a pen in it and reached out with his left.

Dole could be merciless with his rivals, whether Democrat or Republican. When George H.W. Bush defeated him in the 1988 New Hampshire Republican primary, Dole snapped: “Stop lying about my record.” If that pales next to the scorching insults in today’s political arena, it was shocking at the time.

But when Bush died in December 2018, old rivalries were forgotten as Dole appeared before Bush’s casket in the Capitol Rotunda. As an aide lifted him from his wheelchair, Dole slowly steadied himself and saluted his one-time nemesis with his left hand, his chin quivering.

Full Coverage: Death of Bob Dole

In a vice presidential debate two decades earlier with Walter Mondale, Dole had famously and audaciously branded all of America’s wars that century “Democrat wars.” Mondale shot back that Dole had just “richly earned his reputation as a hatchet man.”

Dole at first denied saying what he had just said on that very public stage, then backed down, and eventually acknowledged he’d gone too far. “I was supposed to go for the jugular,” he said, “and I did — my own.”

For all of his bare-knuckle ways, he was a deep believer in the Senate as an institution and commanded respect and even affection from many Democrats. Just days after Dole announced his dire cancer diagnosis, President Joe Biden visited him at his home to wish him well. The White House said the two were close friends from their days in the Senate.

Biden recalled in a statement Sunday that one of his first meetings outside the White House after being sworn-in as president was with the Doles at their Washington home.

“Like all true friendships, regardless of how much time has passed, we picked up right where we left off, as though it were only yesterday that we were sharing a laugh in the Senate dining room or debating the great issues of the day, often against each other, on the Senate floor,” Biden said. “I saw in his eyes the same light, bravery, and determination I’ve seen so many times before.”

Biden ordered that U.S. flags be flown at half-staff at the White House and all public buildings and grounds until sunset Thursday.

Dole won a seat in Congress in 1960, representing a western Kansas House district. He moved up to the Senate eight years later when Republican incumbent Frank Carlson retired.

There, he antagonized his Senate colleagues with fiercely partisan and sarcastic rhetoric, delivered at the behest of President Richard Nixon. The Kansan was rewarded for his loyalty with the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee in 1971, before Nixon’s presidency collapsed in the Watergate scandal.

He served as a committee chairman, majority leader and minority leader in the Senate during the 1980s and ’90s. Altogether, he was the Republicans’ leader in the Senate for nearly 11½ years, a record until Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell broke it in 2018. It was during this period that he earned a reputation as a shrewd, pragmatic legislator, tireless in fashioning compromises.

After Republicans won Senate control, Dole became chairman of the tax-writing Finance Committee and won acclaim from deficit hawks and others for his handling of a 1982 tax bill, in which he persuaded Ronald Reagan’s White House to go along with increasing revenues by $100 billion to ease the federal budget deficit.

“When Bob asked you to do something, that was it. I can tell you so many things we were able to solve by invoking Bob’s name,” said former GOP Sen. Pat Roberts, who served alongside Dole in Kansas’ congressional delegation.

But some more conservative Republicans were appalled that Dole had pushed for higher taxes. Georgia Rep. Newt Gingrich branded him “the tax collector for the welfare state.”

Dole became Senate leader in 1985 and served as either majority or minority leader, depending on which party was in charge, until he resigned in 1996 to devote himself to pursuit of the presidency.

That campaign, Dole’s last, was fraught with problems from the start. He ran out of money in the spring, and Democratic ads painted the GOP candidate and the party’s divisive House speaker, Gingrich, with the same brush: as Republicans out to eliminate Medicare. Clinton won by a large margin.

He also faced questions about his age because he was running for president at age 73 — well before Biden was elected weeks before turning 78 in 2020.

Relegated to private life, Dole became an elder statesman who helped Clinton get a chemical-weapons treaty passed. He also tended his wife’s political ambitions. Elizabeth Dole ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, then served a term as senator from North Carolina.

Dole endeared himself to the public as the self-deprecating pitchman for the anti-impotence drug Viagra and other products.

He also continued to comment on issues and endorse political candidates.

In 2016, Dole initially backed former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for the GOP presidential nomination. He later warmed to Donald Trump and eventually endorsed him.

But six weeks after the 2020 election, with Trump refusing to concede and promoting unfounded claims of voter fraud, Dole told The Kansas City Star: “It’s a pretty bitter pill for Trump, but it’s a fact he lost.”

Trump issued a statement Sunday praising Dole as “an American war hero and true patriot for our Nation” who represented “Kansas with honor and the Republican Party was made stronger by his service.”

In September 2017, Congress voted to award Dole its highest expression of appreciation for distinguished contributions to the nation, a Congressional Gold Medal. That came a decade after he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Congress honored Dole again in 2019 by promoting him from Army captain to colonel, in recognition of the military service that earned him two Purple Hearts.

Robert Joseph Dole was born July 22, 1923, in Russell, a western Kansas farming and oil community. He was the eldest of four children. His father ran a cream and egg business and managed a grain elevator, and his mother sold sewing machines and vacuum cleaners to help support the family during the Depression. Dole attended the University of Kansas for two years before enlisting in the Army in 1943.

Dole met Phyllis Holden, a therapist at a military hospital, as he was recovering from his war wounds in 1948. They were married and had a daughter, Robin. The couple divorced in 1972.

Dole began his political career while a student at Washburn University, winning a seat in the Kansas House.

He met his second wife, Elizabeth Dole, while she was working for the Nixon White House. She also served on the Federal Trade Commission and as transportation secretary and labor secretary while Dole was in the Senate. They married in 1975.

Dole published a memoir about his wartime experiences and recovery, “One Soldier’s Story,” in 2005. The Dole Institute of Politics on the University of Kansas keeps an archive of World War II veterans from Kansas.

Florida

Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia Targets Orange County Over $300 Million in Alleged Wasteful Spending

Published

5 days ago

May 21, 2026

Willie David

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) — Blaise Ingoglia announced that more than $300 million in the 2025-2026 Orange County budget has been identified as “excessive and wasteful spending,” as part of an ongoing statewide review of local government finances.

According to the Florida Agency of Fiscal Oversight, Orange County’s General Fund Budget has increased by 66.06% since 2019. Last year, the CFO’s office identified nearly $200 million in what it described as excessive spending in the county’s 2024-2025 budget.

Ingoglia said the continued increase in spending highlights the need for property tax reform across Florida.

“Last September, my office revealed that Orange County’s local government officials were irresponsibly spending taxpayer dollars,” Ingoglia said in a statement. “Not only did they not heed our warning, but they doubled down on excessive spending. The taxpayers are suffering the consequences of their wasteful spending problem. The time for property tax reform is now.”

ORANGE COUNTY BUDGET GROWTH

State officials reported that Orange County’s General Fund Budget increased by $688,768,908 since 2020, while the county’s population grew by 131,538 residents during that same period.

According to the report, for every family of four that moved to Orange County, the budget increased by approximately $20,945.

The Florida Agency of Fiscal Oversight also stated that Orange County has spent an estimated $747.5 million in excessive or wasteful expenditures over the last six years.

PROPERTY TAX RELIEF PROPOSAL

The report claims Orange County could reduce its millage rate by 1.22 mills without disrupting essential county services. If implemented, homeowners could see annual savings based on taxable property values:

A taxable home value of $300,000 could save approximately $365 annually.
A taxable home value of $400,000 could save approximately $486 annually.
A taxable home value of $500,000 could save approximately $608 annually.

The findings come as Florida leaders continue discussing broader statewide property tax reform initiatives focused on reducing the burden on homeowners.

STATEWIDE FISCAL OVERSIGHT EFFORT

Ingoglia said his office has now uncovered more than $2.4 billion in excessive and wasteful government spending statewide. He pledged to continue reviewing local government budgets and advocating for transparency and accountability in taxpayer spending.

Americans for Prosperity also voiced support for the effort.

“CFO Ingoglia continues to keep his foot on the gas when it comes to identifying wasteful spending within local governments,” said Greg Ungru of Americans for Prosperity. “Taxpayers deserve transparency, especially as Orange County has continued to throw away money over the last six years.”

Florida

DeSantis Calls for Homestead Property Tax Reform as Florida Revenues Surge to $60 Billion

Published

5 days ago

May 21, 2026

Willie David

FILE - Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Florida) answers questions about the Reedy Creek Improvement District during his press conference in The Villages, in which he announced legislation to lower drug prices at the Eisenhower Regional Recreation Center Thursday, January 12, 2023. Photo: J. Willie David III/Florida National News file photo.

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. (FNN) — Ron DeSantis held a property tax relief roundtable Monday in Melbourne, making the case for sweeping tax relief for Florida homeowners while urging state lawmakers to finalize the budget so the proposal can move forward.

Speaking at the Space Coast Association of Realtors, DeSantis said a ballot initiative centered on homestead exemptions for Florida residents is the next major item on his agenda once state budget negotiations are completed.

“This is something that a lot of people have been talking about for a long time,” DeSantis said. “Once there’s a budget agreement, then we move forward on putting something on the ballot for property tax.”

PROPERTY TAX RELIEF PLAN

The governor said the proposal would focus on providing relief to homeowners with homesteaded primary residences across Florida. DeSantis argued that rising property values and increased local government revenues have placed added pressure on homeowners already dealing with higher insurance premiums and overall living costs.

The proposed reforms are expected to center around homestead exemptions and could ultimately require voter approval through a statewide constitutional amendment.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVENUE SURGE

DeSantis pointed to a dramatic increase in local government property tax collections as a major reason for pursuing reform. According to the governor, local governments across Florida collected approximately $32 billion in property tax revenue in 2019. That figure has now climbed to nearly $60 billion in 2026.

The governor said the sharp increase demonstrates that local governments have experienced significant revenue growth during the state’s population and housing boom.

NEXT STEPS IN TALLAHASSEE

Before any proposal can advance to voters, lawmakers must first finalize the state budget during the current legislative process. DeSantis indicated property tax reform discussions could intensify once a budget agreement is reached.

The governor has continued to position property tax relief as a major legislative priority heading into the 2026 election cycle.

Florida

Darren Soto Faces Toughest Re-Election Fight as Puerto Rican Political Influence Shifts in Central Florida

Published

2 weeks ago

May 13, 2026

Willie David

US Congressman Darren Soto Federal Update on Milton

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) — A decade ago, Central Florida’s growing Puerto Rican population was widely viewed as a political force poised to reshape Florida politics for generations.

Today, that momentum faces growing uncertainty.

As congressional redistricting redraws political boundaries, voter turnout fluctuates, and internal political divisions deepen, Puerto Rican political representation in Central Florida is confronting one of its most significant challenges in modern Florida history.

At the center of the debate is Darren Soto, Florida’s first Puerto Rican member of Congress, who now faces a dramatically reshaped congressional district that political analysts say could strongly favor Republicans in 2026.

The battle over Soto’s political future has become symbolic of a larger question unfolding across Orange and Osceola counties: Can Puerto Rican political influence maintain its footing in a rapidly changing Central Florida electorate?

A Community That Once Redefined Florida Politics

Puerto Rican migration to Central Florida accelerated in the early 2000s and surged further following the economic downturn in Puerto Rico and the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017.

The migration transformed communities throughout Orlando, Kissimmee and surrounding areas, creating one of the largest Puerto Rican populations in the continental United States.

The political impact soon followed.

Puerto Rican candidates increasingly won elections at both the state and federal levels, creating what many viewed as a rising pipeline of Hispanic leadership in Florida.

That rise included the elections of leaders such as:

US House of Representatives

Darren Soto (D) — U.S. Congressman(2016) ; former State Senator (2012) and State Representative (2007)

Florida State Senate

Victor Torres (D) — former State Senator (2016-2024) and State Representative (2012)

Florida House of Representatives

Susan Plasencia (R) — State Representative (2022)
Johanna López (D) — State Representative (2022) and former Orange County School Board Member
Daisy Morales (D) — former State Representative (2020) and former Supervisor of Orange County Soil & Water Conservation District
Amy Mercado (D) — former State Representative (2016)
René Plasencia (R) — former State Representative (2014)
John Cortes (D) — former State Representative (2014)
Bob Cortes (R) — former State Representative (2014)
Ricardo Rangel (D) — former State Representative 2012
John Quiñones (R) — former State Representative (2002) and former Osceola County Commissioner
Anthony Suarez (D) — former State Representative (1999)

Puerto Rican representation reached a high point during the mid-2010s.

In 2016, six Puerto Rican elected officials simultaneously held seats in Congress or the Florida Legislature, including Soto, Torres, Bob Cortes, John Cortes, Amy Mercado and Rene Plasencia.

Political strategists at the time predicted that Puerto Rican voters could eventually help Democrats establish long-term dominance in Florida.

That projection, however, has not materialized.

Redistricting Changed the Political Landscape

The congressional map approved by Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Legislature significantly altered Central Florida’s political boundaries following the 2020 Census.

The changes reshaped Soto’s congressional district by expanding it eastward and incorporating more conservative coastal and suburban voters.

Under the revised district:

The Hispanic voting-age population declined substantially.
Puerto Rican voter concentration dropped sharply.
White voters became the district’s largest demographic group.
Republican performance improved across multiple precincts added to the district.

Political analysts say the new map transformed what had been a Democratic-leaning Hispanic-majority district into a far more competitive seat.

The map also intensified concerns among civil rights advocates and Puerto Rican community leaders who argue the changes diluted Hispanic voting power.

Several legal challenges were filed against the congressional maps, though Florida courts have thus far allowed the districts to remain in place.

Election Results Raise Concerns

Recent election outcomes have further fueled debate over the future of Puerto Rican political representation.

In Senate District 25, Puerto Rican leadership ended after term limits forced the departure of Victor Torres.

His wife, Carmen Torres, sought to retain the seat in 2024 with support from Democratic leaders and Puerto Rican political organizations. She ultimately lost to a White candidate, Kristen Arrington.

In House Districts 35, 44 and 47 — districts with large Hispanic populations — White candidates also prevailed.

Meanwhile, former State Representative Daisy Morales lost her re-election bid after facing opposition supported by portions of the Democratic establishment. That opposition included, but not limited to Johanna López (Puerto Rican), who previously served as campaign manager for Samuel Vilchez Santiago during his unsuccessful 2020 challenge against Morales and later strongly supported a white candidate in Morales re-election race in 2022.

Some Puerto Rican community leaders argue these election outcomes reflect a growing disconnect between Central Florida’s expanding Hispanic population and the candidates ultimately elected to represent those communities.

Others point to changing coalition politics in Central Florida, where Venezuelan, Colombian, Brazilian and non-Hispanic voters increasingly shape election outcomes alongside Puerto Rican voters.

Internal Political Divisions Complicate the Picture

Political observers also note that internal divisions within Democratic and Puerto Rican political circles have contributed to leadership turnover.

Several recent races featured:

Competing endorsements among Puerto Rican leaders.
Financial support directed toward non-Puerto Rican candidates.
Divisions between progressive and establishment Democratic factions.
Low turnout in local and legislative elections.

The victories of candidates such as Rita Harris demonstrated how coalition-building among African American, White progressive and non-Puerto Rican Hispanic voters could overcome traditional Puerto Rican political bases.

Voter Turnout Remains a Major Challenge

Despite population growth, Puerto Rican voter turnout has remained inconsistent in nonpresidential elections.

Political strategists say turnout gaps continue to weaken electoral influence, particularly in:

Midterm elections.
Local legislative races.
Municipal and county contests.

Lower participation rates among younger voters and newly relocated residents have also limited the community’s ability to fully translate population growth into political power.

Republicans, meanwhile, have made gains among Hispanic voters across Florida, particularly among working-class and socially conservative voters concerned about inflation, public safety and economic issues.

Soto Still Maintains Key Advantages

Despite the challenges, Darren Soto enters the next election cycle with several advantages.

Soto remains one of the most recognizable political figures in Central Florida and has built strong relationships throughout Osceola and Orange counties during his years in public office.

Supporters credit Soto with helping secure federal investments involving:

Transportation infrastructure.
SunRail expansion efforts.
Airport development.
Economic development initiatives.
Hurricane recovery assistance for Puerto Rican families relocating to Florida.

Democrats also believe backlash against aggressive redistricting and growing concerns over immigration enforcement policies could energize Hispanic voter turnout.

Still, many political analysts acknowledge that the new district lines significantly complicate Soto’s path to reelection.

What Happens if Soto Loses?

If Soto is defeated, Florida could temporarily lose Puerto Rican representation in Congress entirely.

For many community leaders, the symbolic impact would be significant.

Puerto Rican advocates argue that representation matters not only legislatively, but culturally and politically, particularly for communities that spent decades building political infrastructure in Central Florida.

The concern extends beyond a single election cycle.

Currently, Johanna López and Susan Plasencia remain among the few Puerto Rican voices serving in the Florida House.

López has announced she will not seek reelection and instead is running for Orange County commissioner. She endorsed Samuel Vilchez Santiago, a Venezuelan American candidate, to succeed her.

If elected, Santiago would further reflect the political evolution of Central Florida’s Hispanic electorate, where multiple Latino communities increasingly share political influence once largely associated with Puerto Rican voters.

A Defining Election Cycle Ahead

As Central Florida continues to diversify politically and demographically, the 2026 election cycle is expected to test whether Puerto Rican political influence can regroup under new district boundaries and changing coalition dynamics.

For Soto and many longtime Puerto Rican leaders, the coming election may determine whether the political movement that transformed Central Florida over the last two decades can maintain its influence — or whether a new political era is already emerging.