Florida (ⁱ/ˈflɒrɪdə/) is a state in the southeastern United States, bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. Florida is the 22nd most extensive, the 4th most populous, and the 8th most densely populated of the 50 United States. The state capital is Tallahassee, its largest city is Jacksonville, and the South Florida metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan area in the southeastern U.S.

Much of Florida is situated on a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Straits of Florida. Its geography is marked by a coastline, by the omnipresence of water and the threat of hurricanes. Florida has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, encompassing approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), and is the only state to border both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the state is at or near sea level and its terrain is characterized by sedimentary soils. The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south. Its symbolic animals like the American alligator, Florida panther and the manatee, can be found in the Everglades, one of the most famous national parks in the world.

Richard Florida (born 1957 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American urban studies theorist.

Richard Florida's focus is on social and economic theory. He is currently a professor and head of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Management, at the University of Toronto. He also heads a private consulting firm, the Creative Class Group.

Prof. Florida received a PhD from Columbia University in 1986. Prior to joining George Mason University's School of Public Policy, where he spent two years, he taught at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College in Pittsburgh from 1987 to 2005. He was named a Senior Editor at The Atlantic in March 2011 after serving as a correspondent for TheAtlantic.com for a year.

Florida lives in Toronto and is married to Rana Florida.

Florida is best known for his concept of the creative class and its implications for urban regeneration. This idea was expressed in Florida's best-selling books The Rise of the Creative Class, Cities and the Creative Class, and The Flight of the Creative Class. A book focusing on the issues surrounding urban renewal and talent migration, titled Who's Your City?, was recently published.

Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American politician who has been the U.S. Representative for Texas's 14th congressional district, which includes Galveston, since 1997, and a three-time candidate for President of the United States, as a Libertarian in 1988 and as a Republican in 2008 and currently 2012. He is an outspoken critic of American foreign and monetary policies, including the Military–industrial complex and the Federal Reserve, and is known for his libertarian-leaning views, often differing from his own party on certain issues.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Paul is a graduate of Gettysburg College and Duke University School of Medicine, where he earned his medical degree. He served as a medical officer in the United States Air Force from 1963 until 1968. He worked as an obstetrician-gynecologist from the 1960s to the 1980s, delivering more than 4,000 babies. He became the first Representative in history to serve concurrently with a child in the Senate when his son Rand Paul was elected to the United States Senate for Kentucky in 2010.

Keith Fitzgerald is a former Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 69th District for two terms from 2007 to 2010.

In December 2005, Keith Fitzgerald announced his candidacy for the Florida State House, running as a Democrat in District 69, which contains the city of Sarasota, Florida and part of Manatee county. Fitzgerald narrowly defeated Republican Laura Benson 51% to 49% in the November 2006 election.

In 2008 Fitzgerald was re-elected, again running against Laura Benson. In 2010 however, he was defeated by Ray Pilon.

In 2012, Fitzgerald will seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Vern Buchanan in Florida's 13th congressional district.

Keith Fitzgerald is also a political scientist specializing in American politics with a focus on institutions and public policy. He is the author of Face of the Nation: Immigration, the State, and the National Identity. Following a stint at Grinnell College, since 1994 Fitzgerald has been a professor of political science at the New College of Florida. He received his B.A. from the University of Louisville and his Ph.D. from Indiana University.