Florida's Republican presiding officers for 2012-14 were a reflection of the generational and ideological differences that divide the Republican Party. In 2016, those differences were manifest in Florida in the debate over immigration, particularly whether to extend in-state tuition to the children of undocumented immigrants.

The redistricting reform fight that is playing out across the country came early to Florida, where for four years the party in control worked behind the scenes to defy the new rules and tilt the outcome in their favor. It worked, until they got caught and, in 2015, the courts drew the Senate and congressional maps.

We couldn't resist: As toxic algae explodes again along Florida's waterways this election season, draining the swamp has a new meaning.

We explain the political fight behind an seemingly logical attempt to prevent another explosion of green toxic algae along Florida beaches and waterways.

In a quick profile of State Sen. Lauren Book, we explain how she turned her experience as a trauma victim into action and used that to help the kids of Douglas High to work for change in Tallahassee.

The annual push to update a gaming compact between the state and the Seminole Tribe of Florida has begun but this year there are some key new developments.

With comprehensive research and graphics, we were the first to give readers a look into how uneven Florida's economic recovery really has been -- an issue that in 2017 became a central theme of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. With the help of data compiled by demographers at Florida International University, we put into context what economic insecurity meant for Floridians in the run-up to the 2016 election.

Republican Senate president attempted to push several controversial conservative issues in 2011 only to realize what many have since learned: The Senate by its very nature moderates. We apply real life lessons to a classic civics lesson for readers.

A proposal to bring resort casinos to Florida emerged with all the force and fury the industry could muster in early 2012. We broke down the odds and explained it to readers.

As part of our "Cruel and Unusual" investigation into deadly abuse and cover-up at the Florida Department of Corrections, we examine the chronic underfunding and understaffing at the agency and the failure of legislators and the governor to address it.

After Gov. Rick Scott first took office in 2010, with an unprecedented GOP majority in the Cabinet and state Legislature, we assessed the political landscape and saw conflict ahead. The story proved prescient.

For the first time in Florida history, a law prevented legislators from drawing redistricting maps to benefit incumbents or political parties. The challenge impossible for politicians to overcome so the maps landed predictably in the courts, in what was to become an epic battle. We explained it for readers here.

The regulators, targets of the powerful utility industry became casualties in the bitter political feud between the governor and the legislature. We explain what happened to readers.

Gov. Rick Scott's promise that private prisons would save money have never materialized, according to audits done by state legislator and offered exclusively to the Miami Herald. We use the story as a way to give readers another window into the political influence of Florida's private prison industry.

Gov. Rick Scott campaigned in 2010 on a promise to create 700,000 jobs and spent the rest of his term touting his successes. After three years in office, reporters in our Tallahassee bureau took a look and found he had promised more than he had delivered and told the story using an interactive database. This piece of the series honed in on the less-reported trend: jobs lost.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill not only soiled Florida's gulf beaches, it sent many of the state's politicians -- who had vigorously touted the virtues of oil drilling -- into a full-spin mode.