Late openings at polling places and other problems have caused long delays for voters across the country today, leading some groups to call for delayed closings at certain trouble spots.

Despite that, only two precincts are currently known to be postponing their end time.

Voters in Illinois' Kane County will have until 9:30 PM local time to vote, according to Chicago's CBS-2 News. That gives voters an extra half-hour. Indiana's Delaware County also extended its voting hours, until 8:40 local time.

Officials in Cook County, Ill., Colorado, Florida, Utah and Pennsylvania have been asked to grant extra time for voters to go to the polls, according to the non-partisan Election Protection pollwatching coalition. So far, none has agreed to do so.

GOP gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist is trying to use the daughter of a slain civil rights leader in a political ad -- even though the daughter has told friends she doesn't want to play a part in the race. The Tampa Tribune reports that the Crist campaign sent a crew to film the woman, Evangeline Moore, 76, the daughter of murdered civil rights activists Harry and Hariette Moore. Family friends tell the paper that Ms. Moore thought she was recording a "thank you" message to Crist, the Florida Attorney General, who's reopened an election-year investigation into the murders. Now the Crist camp is refusing to say whether they want to use the footage in an ad -- and friends of Ms. Moore are crying foul. More details here.

Charlie Crist easily won the Florida Republican primary for Governor, defeating the more conservative Tom Gallagher largely by tacking to the center.  Now that he’s won the primary, his choice of running mate—State Rep. Jeff Kottkamp--is causing some difficulties in his efforts to straddle the center of the political divide.  The issue at hand is Kottkamp’s support of a 2001 bill, which was intended to preserve the public display of the Confederate Flag in public spaces.  Crist has tried to paint himself as the stronger civil rights candidate in the wake of his Democratic opponent, Jim Davis, apologizing for  a 1990 vote against compensation for two black men wrongly convicted of murder in the 60s.  The Crist camp has said that Kottkamp would not be available for comment, but said in a statement that, “"Jeff Kottkamp is an advocate for civil rights and for veterans. His leadership on both issues is clear."

Taking his campaign on yet another hard right turn, Florida GOP gubernatorial hopeful Tom Gallagher demanded today that primary rival Charlie Crist denounce an endorsement given to him by the leading online gay and lesbian publication Watermark. Crist opposes gay marriage, but his support for civil unions earned him the pub's nod. Crist's response to Gallagher's demand: "I'm in the business of trying to get support." Maybe that explains why Crist's way ahead in the polls.

GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Gallagher has come up with a pretty creative way of painting primary opponent Charlie Crist as a liberal: He's just sent out a bizarre new campaign mailing which depicts an imagined crossroads between “Jeb Bush Blvd.” and “Liberal Lane.” Gallagher is depicted going down the boulevard named after the current governor, while Crist (of course) goes down Liberal Lane. We're not sure where Liberal Lane ends up -- the Upper West Side? The Times building? -- but it can't be anywhere good. Not in Gallagher's mind, anyway. View the mailer below:

Read more »

Republican gubernatorial candidate, Tom Gallagher, continues to bash his primary opponent Charlie Crist, as a “liberal lawyer.” Echoing his attacks from the recent debates in a new campaign mailer, Gallagher depicts Florida at the crossroads of “Jeb Bush Blvd.” and “Liberal Lane”, with Gallagher on the side of Jeb Bush, and Crist going down the opposite path. Both candidates in this race are seeking to portray themselves as the rightful heir to the popular and outgoing, Jeb Bush. In their most recent debate Gallagher mentioned the name “Jeb Bush” thirteen times in the space of one hour, and Crist dropped his name a mere ten.

Read more »

The last televised debate between Republican gubernatorial candidates Charlie Crist and Tom Gallagher, stayed heated, as the trailing Gallagher continued to accuse Crist of being a liberal on social issues such as civil-unions and abortion. Crist managed to avoid giving a definitive answer on whether he would sign a law banning abortion in Florida. Both candidates accused the other of flip-flopping on various issues and each tried to paint themselves as rightful heir to the legacy of the outgoing Jeb Bush. Both men are going at each other hard on TV and radio ads in the final days before the Sept. 6^th primary.

A televised debate between Republican gubernatorial candidates, Charlie Crist and Tom Gallagher turned heated when the lagging Tom Gallagher tried to bloody Crist on social issues in their last televised debate before the Sept. 6^th Primary.  Gallagher repeatedly called Crist and “liberal” and compared him to Howard Dean and John Kerry.  He hit Crist on his support for gay civil-unions and lack of sufficient enthusiasm for a bill outlawing abortion.  Crist leads Gallagher by as much as 20 points in the polls.

If you missed the Florida gubernatorial debates, don't despair: Someone took very meticulous notes. Who? The current Governor, Jeb Bush, that's who. And Jeb gave a press conference today to share his thoughts. Read what he had to say after the jump.

Read more »

Remember those rumors that Katherine Harris could be replaced by a more viable contender once she wins the GOP Senate primary? Among the potential replacements bandied about is Tom Gallagher, who is currently running a distant second to Charlie Crist in the Republicans' gubernatorial primary.

In June Gallagher's 27-year-old divorce file surfaced, highlighting the family values candidate's past extramarital affair and drug use. Now there's news that as the state's Chief Financial Officer, Gallagher violated ethics laws when he traded stocks of companies that were either regulated by or had contracts with his office.

More from the Palm Beach Post after the jump.

Read more »

Last week the AFSCME split its endorsement of Democratic gubernatorial candidates Jim Davis and Rod Smith, making it the state’s third union to hedge its bet before Florida’s September 5 primary.

Read more »