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If he decides to run, Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine will be the most enigmatic and unpredictable candidate for Florida governor in 2018.

Many political elites doubt the self-described "radical centrist" entrepreneur will jump into a Democratic primary that already includes Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham and Winter Park businessman Chris King.

But the fact is Levine, 55, is far more likely to run than not, and he could quickly emerge as the Democratic front-runner. He intends to make his announcement in October.

Unlike the other, better-known multimillionaire considering a run (trial lawyer John Morgan), Levine is traveling the state talking to Democratic groups and raising money, and he has a core group of veteran political advisers on the payroll. (SiriusXM is promoting Levine's tour through Florida for a weekly radio show.)

Still, it's easy to see how people can doubt his level of interest in the Democratic nomination.

He almost never fires off press releases or tweets criticizing President Donald Trump or Gov. Rick Scott.

At a time when many liberals are hungry for a champion fighter, Levine dismisses Bernie Sanders' message.

"Bernie Sanders lost the Florida primary to Hillary Clinton, okay? I love the idea of a revolution, but unfortunately in South Florida the term 'revolution' doesn't sound like such a good idea," he quipped to a group of Democrats in Miami recently.

Last month, he sat down for a radio interview with Fox News' Brian Kilmeade and sounded like he was sympathetic to President Trump's attacks on CNN.

"I want Walter Cronkite to come back. I think we need objective news," Levine said when asked about Trump tweeting out a clip of himself body-slamming someone with a CNN logo over their face.

In May, Levine threw the door wide open to shunning the Democratic label and running as an independent candidate for governor.

"I love the Democratic Party. But you know what's interesting? I actually like the Republican Party, and I like a lot of Republican ideas, and I like a lot of the people in the Republican Party as well," he declared in Tampa, again more or less poking hard-core liberal Democrats in the eye.

Whether he was just winging it or seriously considering the move is unclear, but that door has closed. State law requires a candidate for governor to change parties more than 365 days before qualifying for office, and the deadline passed in June.

What's especially striking about Levine's pattern of inviting liberal partisans to attack or dismiss him is that he may have the most progressive record of any Democrat running.

He bucked state law to try to mandate a higher minimum wage in Miami Beach; he has been among the country's most vocal champions of combating sea level rise; he is a vocal advocate for LGBT rights; and he oversaw police department reforms.

Levine, a close pal of former President Bill Clinton, was all over national TV last year as a surrogate for Hillary Clinton. Some Florida political observers speculate that his media consultant, Adam Goodman of St. Petersburg an adviser to Republican Pam Bondi and a frequent Trump defender is largely shaping Levine's emphasis on nonpartisanship and bipartisanship.

Nope. Levine insists that's who he is and he believes it's the winning campaign message.

"It's no longer a party message," said Levine, who plans to attend a Pinellas Democratic Party meeting Thursday. "I really believe it's a message of being pro-business and being pro-people."

You don't win an election just by attacking the other guy, he says, you win by drawing people to you and offering solutions.

The Kumbaya talk belies his short fuse, which has popped up in frequent skirmishes with the Miami Herald on covering his administration, a videotape of him berating a double-parked delivery driver in Miami Beach and Twitter barbs ripping Airbnb.

"But this millionaire Democrat also is making headlines with words like 'tirade' and 'flies off handle' because of his off-the-cuff remarks and juvenile posts on social media," the South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorialized in March. "With the gubernatorial field beginning to take shape, Democrats should be asking themselves whether they really want a nominee whose temperament draws comparisons to that of President Donald Trump."

Levine makes no apologies. He's not a career politician, but a businessman interested in results. He is finishing his second two-year term as part-time mayor, his first elective office, and in September will marry for the first time and welcome a baby boy.

The real model for leaders, Levine argues, can be found in the employee handbooks of innovating companies including Apple, Tesla, Amazon and Boeing. These are companies that value their employees and diversity and invest in them.

"It's a message of economic opportunity for everybody. It's not dividing, but unifying and bringing America together," Levine said.

Don't expect him to start criticizing the unpopular Republican president, as the other Democrats do.

"I may not respect the occupant of the office, but I respect the office," Levine said. "Right now he's the pilot, and I'm on the plane like everybody else. I don't wish the pilot failure. I want a smooth and safe landing."

A lot of campaign professionals would dismiss this feel-good talk as a nonstarter among rabidly partisan primary voters. They may be right. But the way the other Democratic candidates are struggling to raise money so far, nobody should underestimate the little-known mayor.

He has raised about $4 million for his political committee without hosting a single fundraising event. That includes nearly $2.6 million of his own money, and his campaign has signaled he may put in at least $10 million total.

The national leader he sees as the best model for Democrats?

"I'd have to say Michael Bloomberg, and I don't even know his party registration," Levine said of the billionaire former New York mayor, who is registered to neither major party.

Bloomberg looked at running for president in 2016 and concluded he couldn't win.

So far, Levine seems to think he can win Florida.

Contact Adam C. Smith at asmith@tampabay.com. Follow @adamsmithtimes.

Democrat Philip Levine won't attack Trump. Can he be Florida governor? 08/18/17 [Last modified: Friday, August 18, 2017 11:10am] Photo reprints | Article reprints

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Democrat Philip Levine won't attack Trump. Can he be Florida governor? - Tampabay.com (blog)

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- It's Democrat Day at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield - and that means Republicans like Gov Rauner and President Trump are getting an earful.

A handful of Democratic officials stopped by the fair today but there was no formal event, the party did not have its traditional rally.

Instead, officials, activists and candidates packed the ballroom of a Springfield hotel for the breakfast.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth and House Speaking Michael Madigan to swings at the GOP.

We Democrats will campaign on a record of opposition to the Rauner hostage taking, Madigan said.

The Democratic candidates for governor also made an appearance.

There's a realization that too many people sat on the sideline during the last election and that resulted in the election of Donald Trump, Chris Kennedy said.

I plan to meet everybody I can meet in Illinois and do my best to secure a vote, Tio Hardiman said.

The candidates focused on Charlottesville attacking President Trump.

J.B. Pritzker said, Donald Trump is a racist and a bigot and a xenophobe and a liar.

Governor Rauner was also a favorite target and nearly every candidate took a shot at him.

We're talking about race and class and how Bruce Rauner pits poor white people against poor black and brown people, Ameya Pawar said.

Today, State Senator Daniel Biss scored the endorsement of Congresswoman Robin Kelly. Biss is pushing a progressive agenda.

Do we follow the herd or do we follow our hearts? he said.

Activists gave the biggest applause to 83-year-old Secretary of State Jesse White, who announced he will seek a sixth term.

I am your man and I will be at my duty station every day, he said.

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Democrat Day at the Illinois State Fair - WGN-TV

U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur's new effort to write health care legislation intended to help stabilize insurance marketplaces without repealing the Affordable Care Act has garnered the attention of the Democrats interested in replacing him in Congress.

And they aren't exactly applauding him.

Democrats Andy Kim and Katherine Hartman took turns blasting the 3rd District Republican on Thursday for once again partnering with Rep. Mark Meadows on health care reform.

The North Carolina congressman chairs the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and he was MacArthur's partner in writing a key amendment to the Republicans' Affordable Care Act repeal-and-replace legislation that helped the measure garner enough votes to advance from the House.

This time around, the two are working on legislation intended to help stabilize individual insurance markets in some parts of the country that are in danger of collapsing due to rising premiums and the exodus of insurers willing to sell individual health plans.

Details about their proposal have not been released, but MacArthur has said it includes funding for cost-sharing reduction subsidies paid to insurers to keep out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles and co-payments manageable for low- and moderate-income consumers.

The subsidies, which are separate from the ACA's tax credits awarded to consumers to help defer some of the expense of their premiums, have become the focus of the health care debate following the Senate's failure to pass an overhaul of "Obamacare."

Democrats and many Republicans have called for the subsidies to be funded and distributed, but President Donald Trump has called them a "bailout" for insurers and has threatened to withhold them.

MacArthur has said his plan would fund the subsidies and would also include provisions intended to bring down costs.

In his statement, Kim said MacArthur could not be trusted following his first foray into health care reform with Meadows.

"None of us will forget what MacArthur did by leading the charge to take away health care from millions of Americans. We can't trust anything he does after he authored one of the worst pieces of legislation that would jeopardize many lives," the Evesham resident said. "After he burned his bridges with the moderate Republicans' Tuesday Group, MacArthur is now working with the most extreme right-wing leaders who are strong supporters of Steve Bannon, refuse to condemn Trump's statements on Charlottesville, and just introduced a measure for a straight repeal of the ACA with no replacement."

Hartman, of Moorestown, said she was concerned that MacArthur would use funding for the cost-sharing reduction payments as cover to also try to weaken Affordable Care Act protections guaranteeing that insurers cover necessities such as hospitalization, prescription drugs, prenatal care, and mental illness and substance abuse treatment.

"The cost-sharing reduction payments need to be funded, with no change to essential benefits. The attempts by President Trump and congressional Republicans to hold these payments hostage is another example of putting politics over the needs of constituents," Hartman said. "This gamesmanship will negatively affect the people of our district, and I will not stand for it. We cannot play games with people's health."

Chris Russell, a consultant and spokesman for MacArthur's re-election campaign, said that MacArthur continues to show leadership on health care and that the Democrats' attacks were the equivalent of "shooting spitballs from the sidelines."

"Do Katherine Hartman and Andy Kim even know what they are talking about? Every Democrat in Congress wants cost-sharing reductions funded, which Congressman MacArthurs proposal does. Second, many Democrats have called for the most onerous Obamacare taxes to be repealed, which Congressman MacArthurs proposal also does," Russell said. "Attacking the congressman for advancing bipartisan ideas within the framework of the current law proves that Hartman and Kim dont really care about fixing health care. They are just looking for an excuse to push for a European-style, single-payer system that will bankrupt the country, destroy our growing economy, and increase taxes on every American."

The back-and-forth on the issue marks an early start to what's expected to be an active 2018 campaign for the 3rd District seat, which represents almost all of Burlington County and a large portion of neighboring Ocean County.

The district has been represented by a Democrat only once during the last century, but Democrats have become energized in the wake of MacArthur's role in writing the Republicans' health care overhaul legislation and the election ofTrump, who headlined a fundraiser for the congressman at his golf club in Bedminster, Somerset County.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has listed MacArthur's seat among its top targets in 2018 and was also critical of his renewed partnership with Meadows.

Once again, Rep. MacArthur is showing his true colors by aligning with the most extreme right-wing members of the Republican Party. The centrist Tuesday Group already kicked MacArthur out of its leadership for the MacArthur Amendment, which gutted protections for pre-existing conditions and led to the passage of the destructive Republican repeal bill. This recent scheme should finally put an end to the myth of MacArthur as moderate," said Evan Lukaske, a spokesman for the DCCC.

Russell said that MacArthur is willing to work with Republicans and Democrats to fix health care, and that voters deserve to know if Kim and Hartman are in favor of a single-payer system being pushed by far-left Democrats.

"The fact remains that the current health care system is a mess, and rising premiums are making health insurance unaffordable for tens of millions of middle-class Americans. Doing nothing and letting it collapse isn't an option. Neither is President Trump's plan to repeal Obamacare with no replacement," Russell said.

"That's why Congressman MacArthur is once again leading the fight to stabilize the markets, and ultimately pass a more patient-centered and consumer-friendly health care system that creates a strong safety net for the less fortunate, while allowing Americans to customize plans that best suit them and their families. Hes shown leadership and put forward a plan. What do Katherine Hartman and Andy Kim stand for?"

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Democrat challengers attack MacArthur's new health care plan - Burlington County Times

John Delaney says hes a different kind of Democrat.

I work to pursue goals that I think the Democratic Party shares broadly, but I think about how you do that differently, Delaney says.

Delaney is a member of Congress from Maryland and the first officially declared Democratic candidate for president in 2020.

It bears reminding that the 2020 presidential election is more than three years away, and even Iowas first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses are roughly 2 years off.

Yet here was Delaney, making his way around the 2017 Iowa State Fair this past week, holding multiple media interviews and meeting with people interested in his campaign over the span of a couple of days in Des Moines.

The 54-year-old Delaney said he is not a typical Democrat because he believes the best government work is done when both major political parties work together, and that he has a different view on economic issues because of his experience as an entrepreneur.

Assuming he stays in the race for the long haul --- during the interview he assured he would --- Delaney will be among what almost assuredly will be a large crowd of Democratic candidates. (CNN political analyst Chris Cillizza recently estimated more than 20 possibilities --- and that list did not include Delaney.) So Delaney will need a message that differentiates himself from the crowd.

A key element of Delaneys message is that he thinks federal officials are, as he said it, having the wrong conversation. He said too much political debate is about re-litigating battles of the past, and not enough about looking toward the future.

And a critical piece of that forward-looking debate, Delaney said, is technology and the disruption it will have on the global workforce.

Technology, automation, global interconnections, these are changing everything, Delaney said. These things are going to have profound effects over the next 20 or 30 years, and theyre going to create large-scale opportunities and challenges, and were doing nothing to prepare our country and our citizens.

Delaney said the federal government should be doing more to prepare for those profound effects by creating a more competitive and entrepreneurial business climate, creating a better educated and more well-trained workforce, investing in communities, and make smarter investments of government resources to create a healthier budget and environment.

That, to me, is a blueprint for the future, Delaney said.

Delaney founded two companies: a finance company for health care providers and a commercial lender. Both went public within three years of their founding, according to Delaneys biography.

He was first elected to Congress in 2012 and serves on the financial services committee.

Delaney said his business background gives him a different economic perspective that is different that some Democrats, that he does not view the private sector as the enemy.

And that message, Delaney said, is what will help Democrats regain voters they lost in 2016 --- including in Iowa, which went twice for former President Barack Obama but flipped for Trump.

I dont think its the policy goals of the Democratic Party are wrong. But I definitely think that we are not talking to people about what they care most about. We tend to talk to people about what we care most about. And those are very different things, Delaney said.

Obviously what most people care about is their job and the economy in their local community. Because really at the end of the day everything flows from that: a persons sense of dignity, their ability to raise a family, their ability to support their kids, the ability to make sure the community has the resources it needs so its vital and vibrant. And Democrats arent talking enough about that.

As for his early entry into the race, Delaney said part of the reason is his desire to be straight with voters, who he thinks are tired of all the b.s. in politics.

We all know there are a lot of people running for president right now, Delaney said. Theyre just not saying it.

Erin Murphy covers Iowa politics and state government for Lee Enterprises. His email address is erin.murphy@lee.net.

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Murphy: A 'different' Democrat comes to Iowa - Mason City Globe Gazette

Following Donald Trumps equivocating of white supremacists and those who oppose them in the wake of violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia, another Democrat has signaled his intention to file articles of impeachment against him in the House of Representatives. Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee, a ranking member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, sent out a press release Thursday announcing his intention to begin the impeachment process against the president for his widely condemned reaction.

Related: Impeaching Trump may not be necessary to remove him from the White House

I believe the president should be impeached and removed from office, Cohen said in the release. Instead ofunequivocally condemning hateful actions by neo-Nazis, white nationalists and Klansmen following a national tragedy, the president said there were very fine people on both sides. There are no good Nazis. There are no good Klansmen.

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One person, Heather Heyer, died in Charlottesville on Saturday after a white supremacist allegedly drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters. But in an impromptu press conference Tuesday, Trump said there were very fine people among a group protesting the removal of a Confederate-era statue, despite videos showing them chanting anti-Semitic and racist slogans.

President Trump has failed the presidential test of moral leadership, Cohen added. No moral president would ever shy away from outright condemning hate, intolerance and bigotry. No moral president would ever question the values of Americans protesting in opposition of such actions, one of whom was murdered by one of the white nationalists.

President Donald Trump walks across the South Lawn after arriving via Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., on August 14. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Cohen went on to detail other potentially impeachable actions Trump has committed, claiming he had no choice but to begin the process to remove the president from the White House.

Not only has he potentially obstructed justice and potentially violated the Constitutions Foreign Emoluments Clause, but he has also shown that he is incapable or unwilling to protect Americans from enemies, foreign and domestic. Neo-Nazis and the KKK are domestic terrorists, he said. It is morally and legally incumbent upon me, based on my oath of office, to introduce articles of impeachment.

It is not the first time articles of impeachment have been introduced in the House. Last month, another Democrat, Rep. Brad Sherman, of California, introduced his own articles, accusing Trump of obstruction of justice. The move followed Trumps firing of FBI Director James Comey, who was leading an investigation into possible collusion between Trumps campaign and Russia.

However, any hopes of impeaching Trump at this stage remains largely a pipe dream for Democrats. A majority vote in the House of Representatives and a two-thirds majority in the Senate is required to remove the president. Republicans currently have control of both houses.

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Trump Impeachment Process Begins as Democrat States President 'Failed Test of Moral Leadership' - Newsweek