Update: It's being reported that Congressman Issa could fill the void left by Congressman Duncan Hunter Jr. in the 50th Congressional District, should a grand jury file criminal charges against Hunter. Issa serves the 49th district, which neighbors the 50th. A Congressman can switch districts as long as they live in the state where that district resides.

Floridians have never been closer to putting an open primaries referendum on the 2018 ballot than we are today.

A proposal to amend our primary system was submitted by Commissioner Bill Schifino of the Florida Constitutional Commission (CRC). Schifino’s open primary proposal is now one of six being considered by the full Commission, out of more than 2000 original proposals.

News broke Tuesday that a panel of federal judges struck down North Carolina's congressional map, ruling that it constituted an illegal gerrymander.

Dear Oprah,

I watched you at the Golden Globes on Sunday night. Congratulations! You looked beautiful, and it must have been great to feel all the love in the room.

Now the talk is all about you running for president.  It seems a lot of people would like you to run, must be another sign that so many are sick of politicians. After all, that’s part of why Donald Trump won the election last year.

He'd had enough of a stifling two-party system and suddenly the mayoral seat in the city of Phoenix opened up? So Nick Sarwark you threw is hat in the ring.

He's a Libertarian with plenty to say about the uphill climb for third parties in America. I caught up with Nick as he made his way across the Grand Canyon state fighting to get in front of the Republicans and Democrats.

Independent candidate Nick Thomas is optimistic about his chances in Colorado's 2nd Congressional District, and the timing of his candidacy may be just right.

A troubling spike in flu-related deaths was reported by county health officials Tuesday.

The number doubled last week, bringing this season’s total to 91.

Incredibly, 11% of all emergency room visits in San Diego County last week were for treatment of the flu. There were 2,992 confirmed cases in the region during the same time period compared to 3,354 the previous week. The season’s total now stands at 10,324. That's roughly eight times higher than the number of cases this time last year.

NOT EMERGENCY STATUS, YET

DENVER –– Unite Colorado, formerly the Colorado Centrist Project, announced its first four independent candidate endorsements for the 2018 election cycle.

Unite Colorado’s SLATE OF INDEPENDENT STATE LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATES includes strategy consultant Steve Peterson (SD-30), small business owner Maile Foster (HD-18), army veteran and college professor Jay Geyer (HD-33), and Thornton City Council member Eric Montoya (HD-31).

As with many issues today, the debate on immigration is mired in partisan opposition instead of pragmatism. At one time, nearly everyone agreed that illegal immigration was a problem, but now one side acts as if it's a "human right" to live anywhere you want while the other suggests anyone here illegally is up to something nefarious.

Even where people understand the space between, we have no real solutions that address the disease rather than the symptoms.

The newspaper headline caught my eye. For 15 years, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA) illegally hired physicians and surgeons with revoked licenses and malpractice convictions.