A digest of the day’s politics and law while the bartender refreshes your drink.
Last Call – First-time reading of what’s happening in Florida politics.
Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio and his main rival, Democratic U.S. Representative Val Demings, continued to pour money into advertising, all competing buying six people to start the week.
According to ad buying data, Rubio’s campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee booked a $527,180 TV flight that will cover advertising in the Tampa, West Palm Beach, Jacksonville and Orlando media markets starting tomorrow and running through next Monday.
Meanwhile, Demings raised another $109,009 for advertising in the Tampa and Jacksonville media markets. His new flight runs on the same dates as Rubio’s. Demings still leads in total advertising spending with more than $1.5 million spent to date.
While there is a gap between the two as far as spending goes, new polls from Progress Florida and Florida Watch show the race is closely tied, with each candidate receiving 45% support among voters. Basically, the poll thinks the GOP will have a four-point turnaround.
The results may indicate that Demings’ aggressive ad blitz is paying off, as his campaign emphasized Monday.
“Our strength continues to grow as Chief Demings travels from the Panhandle to the Keys to present his case for the American dream and hold Rubio accountable for failing to deliver in Florida. Nov., Floridians will send 27-year-old Val Demings to the United States Senate and end Marco Rubio’s political career.” almost 30,” Campaigner Zack Carroll said.
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried released a one-minute “mini-doc” through the gubernatorial campaign, continuing to attack her Democratic Primary rival, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist.
The video, posted on Twitter, says Crist is directly responsible for the rise of US Sens. Rick Scott and Rubio.
“In May 2009, Charlie Crist announced a terrible move,” one narrator says as the video opens before turning to footage of former Republican Gov. Crist’s decision to run for the U.S. Senate not a second term as Governor.
Some clips show Crist congratulating Rubio on his victory in the U.S. Senate elections.
The story is nothing new to those who have followed Florida politics for the past decade, however, the Fried campaign suggests that it is time for Crist to move on – making that point with pictures of Crist himself saying that following his loss to Scott.
The Florida Transportation Builders’ Association issued endorsements in all three Cabinet races on Monday.
“As the voice of the transportation industry, the FTBA board of directors is proud to endorse Ashley Moody for Attorney General, Jimmy Patronis for Chief Financial Officer and Wilton Simpson for Commissioner of Agriculture in the upcoming elections to continue their good work on behalf of all Floridians,” said Henry Mayfield, chairman of the FTBA board of directors. .
Mayfield had clear words for each representative, saying that Moody “fought every day to protect the rights of Florida businesses and citizens,” that Patronis “has shown himself to be a strong leader committed to ensuring that Florida remains not only the best state to do business, but also the best place to live and visit,” and that Simpson ” has made investments related to infrastructure investments that help create jobs, improve the lives of Floridians and provide a return on investment for the state.
FTBA President Ananth Prasad added, “Attorney General Moody, CFO Patronis and Simpson have been great contributors to our region during their time in office. FTBA has worked closely with each other over the years to ensure they understand how important the transportation construction industry is to supporting businesses, jobs, tourism and our nation’s energy.” The state’s road and bridge builders appreciate their continued support and believe Florida needs their leadership. We are proud to support each of their campaigns.”
– “Ron DeSantis will hit the campaign trail to rally support for Donald Trump’s supporters: ‘Hold and win'” via Brooke Singman of Fox News.
—”DeSantis, businesses clash over Florida ‘anti-woke’ law” via Andrew Atterbury of POLITICO Florida.
– “DeSantis’ committee supports candidates while supporting School board candidate faves across the state” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
-“‘Constitutional’ sheriff movement escapes DeSantis scrutiny” via Skyler Swisher of the Orlando Sentinel
– “It’s hard to win a Senate race if you’ve never won an election” via Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.
– “Val Demings said the protesters will remove the police in a ‘thoughtful’ way” via Colin Anderson of The Washington Free Beacon.
— “Florida marijuana company seeks to legalize pot through ballot measure” via POLITICO Florida’s Arek Sarkissian.
– “Black farmers feel left out of medical marijuana program” via Paul Nutcher of The Ledger/The Associated Press
– “Why most Americans aren’t paying attention to the monkeypox outbreak” via Alex Samuels and Zoha Qamar for Five Thirty Eight.
– “‘No more gatekeepers’: Meet the DeSantis spokesman who is putting the media on the defensive” via Laurel Duggan of The Daily Caller
—“Why the same temperature can feel different elsewhere” via Maggie Koerth of FiveThirtyEight
“All you have to do is Google ‘Florida sheriff is not enforcing,’ and there are many, many examples related to guns. If this is a game you’re going to play and tell me you’re not political, stop those people first.”
– Rep. Dan Daley, on Ron DeSantis to suspend elected officials.
