Peter Schorsch
Sunburn – The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.
By Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster, Mitch Perry and Jim Rosica.
HAPPY RICHARD CORCORAN DAY!
The new rules of the Florida House of Representatives, among other things, will increase the ban on former members lobbying their colleagues from two years to six years, and prohibit state representatives from flying in aircraft owned, leased or otherwise paid for by lobbyists.
That’s according to a final copy of the rules, to be publicly released by the end of the week, approved by incoming House Speaker Richard Corcoran and obtained by FloridaPolitics.com.
“It is time that government embodies the very highest of standards and serve citizens and not self,” he said in a statement. “The Florida House, in adopting these rules, will take a transformational leap into a new era of accountability, professionalism, transparency, and fairness.
“Those who cannot live up to the highest ethical and professional standards will find the Florida House a difficult place to work or visit,” he added.
One of many new rules would let House members refuse to consider bill amendments on the floor if they are issues of “first impression” that haven’t been vetted through the committee process.
Other rules that have already leaked out include heightened lobbyist registration requirements, such as disclosing every bill, amendment and individual appropriation they are trying to influence.
Another previously-disclosed item requires House members to file separate bills for each budget request they make, such as for hometown projects.
Corcoran, a Land O’ Lakes Republican, had begun hinting at his program as early as his closing remarks on the budget during the 2015 session, calling the lobby corps “Gucci-loafing, shoe-wearing special interest powers-that-be.”
In his designation-as-Speaker speech last September, he went further.
“We must close the revolving door between the Legislature and the lobby corps,” said Corcoran, whose brother Michael is a prominent state lobbyist. “We need to restore the distance between those who seek to influence the laws and those of us who make the laws.”
He called for a constitutional amendment banning “any state elected official from lobbying the legislative or executive branch for a period of six years.”
Corcoran also said he wanted to toughen lobbyist registration rules by requiring lobbyists to specifically “disclose which bills, which amendments and which appropriations they are trying to influence.”
“Other states require such disclosure,” he said during his remarks. “It’s time Florida does too.”
Further rule changes include:
— Prohibiting lobbyists from sending text messages to House members while they sit committees or on the floor. Representatives should be focused on official business at hand, according to a commentary on the rules.
— Prohibiting members from entering into “business deals or financial relationships” with registered lobbyists or with businesses in which registered lobbyists have an ownership interest.
— Creating a new Committee on Public Integrity and Ethics, which would “consider legislation and exercise oversight on matters relating to the conduct and ethics standards of House members, state and local public officials, public employees, lobbyists and candidates for public office, the regulation of political fundraising and the constitutional prerogatives of the Legislature.”
“We cannot say we are serious about ethics reform, lobbying reform or judicial reform, without creating a mechanism to compel change,” the commentary says.
— Requiring members to disclose any new employment with a taxpayer-funded entity.
— Prohibiting sitting members from “lobbying local governments except to the degree that they are engaged in professional work,” such as “land planning.”
The House members will have to approve the new rules at a constitutionally-required organization session on Nov. 22 before they go into effect.
Unless the Senate adopts them as joint rules, they will only govern the House.
“We can never create a perfect society,” Corcoran told reporters after his designation speech last year. “Our burden is to do as many checks and balances to make the process as pure as it can be.”
CORCORAN TO LOBBYISTS: COOL YOUR JETS via Florida Politics — Florida House members better get used to flying commercial. Corcoran is expected to announce a new rule that would prohibit members from flying on planes, owned leased or paid for by lobbyists. The proposed rule change is meant to end a common practice among lawmakers and the influence industry, according to a sources close to the incoming House Speaker. The prohibition is expected to billed as a common sense measure toward a good government. Corcoran is expected to make the argument that lobbyists and their clients shouldn’t be covering the cost of travel for members to do their jobs. But Tallahassee could be one of the most difficult state capitals to get to in the country, especially from South Florida. It would take you about 8 hours to drive from the House District 120 office in Key Largo to Tallahassee. Want to fly? According to Expedia there are four non-stop flights to Tallahassee from Miami International Airport, where many members of the South Florida delegation would fly from, on Monday, Dec. 5, the first day of the committee weeks in the Florida House. Most of the other flights have a layover in Atlanta.
CORCORAN ROLLS OUT LEADERSHIP TEAM, ANNOUNCES COMMITTEE CHAIRS — Corcoran rolled out his leadership team Wednesday afternoon, tapping Miami Rep. Jeanette Nunez as as his House speaker pro tempore and Rep. Carlos Trujillo to be chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. Rep. Ray Rodrigues will serve as the House majority leader, while Rep. Jose Oliva will serve as the chairman of the Rules & Policy Committee. Corcoran tapped Rep. Jose Felix Diaz to serve as chairman of his Commerce Committee, while Rep. Mike Bileca will serve as the chairman of the Education Committee. Rep. Matt Caldwell has been selected to head the Government Accountability Committee, while Rep. Travis Cummings will chair the Health & Human Services Committee. Rep. Chris Sprowls has been selected to oversee the Judiciary Committee, Rep. Larry Metz will head the Public Integrity & Ethics committee, and Rep. Jim Boyd will chair the Ways & Means Committee.
CORCORAN WELCOMES NEW HOUSE MEMBERS via Florida Politics – Please, Florida House members, no big flower arrangements. That was one of the tips to new and returning state representatives in a memo from Speaker-designate Corcoran sent Wednesday, in advance of the Nov. 22 organization session. “Each political party conference will meet on Monday, November 21,” he also said. “You will receive information regarding this event from your respective partisan office.” The House’s Organization Session will convene the next day at 11 a.m., after an 8:30 a.m. breakfast.
ALSO DRIVING THE DAY TODAY IN TALLAHASSEE – STATE AGENCIES TO PRESENT BUDGET REQUESTS – This might smart a little. Today’s the day Florida’s state agencies present their triage plans for next fiscal year. State law requires the agencies to deliver their legislative budget requests during a public hearing, to help Gov. Rick Scott prepare his own recommendations for the Legislature. Agency officials get to explain those choices directly to House and Senate members later, in the new year. Interim committee hearings are scheduled to begin next month.
This is when Florida’s leaders set priorities for regulating the state’s businesses, banks, and insurance companies; which children, families, and people with disabilities to assist; and which roads, bridges, and economic development projects to support. As doctors say, you might feel some pressure: The state faces a budget crunch, so expect the agencies to explain which programs they would excise. “Each agency already released hundreds of pages of documents that, together, make up their request for the upcoming fiscal year,” LobbyTools Legislative IQ reported.
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U.S. FACES A STARTLING NEW POLITICAL REALITY AFTER DONALD TRUMP’S VICTORY via Patrick Healy and Jeremy Peters of The New York Times – The American political establishment was reeling from shock … as leaders in both parties began coming to grips with four years of President Donald J. Trump in the White House, a once-unimaginable scenario that has now plunged the United States and its allies and adversaries into a period of unprecedented uncertainty about the policies and impact of Trump. [Hillary] Clinton, in her first remarks to supporters after the election, said that she hoped that Trump “will be a successful president for all Americans,” and said she was “sorry that we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country.” … “This is painful, and it will be for a long time,” Clinton said, standing beside her husband, former President Bill Clinton, in a tableau that underscored the end of a nearly 25-year era when the Clintons dominated American politics. Noting that the country was “more deeply divided than we thought,” Clinton added: “We must accept this result and look to the future. Donald Trump is going to be our president — we owe him an open mind and a chance to lead.”
For many millions of voters, a sense of excitement and even euphoria coursed from coast to coast as they celebrated the election of a true political outsider who had promised to reverse policies of the Obama administration and be a champion for “forgotten Americans.” But millions of others felt a sense of dread and even fear as they tried to fathom how Trump could win the presidency when so many polls suggested otherwise, and to prepare themselves for the consequences of a new leader who has no experience in government or world affairs.
TRUMP’S VICTORY HAS ENORMOUS CONSEQUENCES FOR THE SUPREME COURT via Robert Barnes of The Washington Post – In the short term … Trump’s victory means that at some point next year, the nine-member court will be restored to full capacity, once again with a majority of Republican-appointed justices. Democratic attempts to filibuster Trump’s choice would likely lead Republicans to end that option for Supreme Court justices, just as Democrats did for other judicial nominations when their party controlled the Senate. Trump’s upset victory likely changes the court’s docket as well: Court challenges to President Obama’s regulations regarding the Affordable Care Act and immigration, which have preoccupied the justices in recent terms, will likely disappear under a President Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress. The long-term question will be Trump’s ultimate impact on the court’s membership, and whether he gets the chance to do more than choose the successor to Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February. Two of the court’s liberals, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer, are 83 and 78, respectively. Moderate conservative Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is 80. As long as those three stay, the court’s rulings on sensitive social issues — protecting abortion rights, affirmative action and gay rights, for instance — are secure. “A lot of the big things are actually ones on which the court already has a so-called liberal majority,” Neal K. Katyal, the acting solicitor general under President Obama, said before the court’s term began last month. Tuesday’selection assures that Kennedy will remain the court’s pivotal justice, for now. Trump has said he will draw his Supreme Court nominee from a list of 20 judges and one senator: Mike Lee of Utah. All appear to be more conservative than Kennedy, the court’s longest-serving justice.
HOW TRUMP WON: THE INSIDERS TELL THEIR STORY via Dan Balz and Philip Rucker of The Washington Post – Paul Manafort: Trump views Clinton as the personification of what’s rotten in Washington. He really does make the connection between the rigged system, as he calls it, the corruption of Washington, the gridlock of Washington and the all-talk, no-action approach that Washington takes. … His point was that the opponent was more than just Hillary. She was the symbol. Kellyanne Conway: There was maybe a 14-day period where she lost eight to nine contests, I believe, to Bernie Sanders. And I studied that and I thought, she’s going to have a real problem here because she’s somebody who’s always caught unaware. She was caught unaware by Obama in 2008. She seemed to be caught unaware of Bernie Sanders’s surge … And we could catch her unaware again. Sean Spicer: The narrative was already baked in. That was the beauty of her. In most campaigns, you’re trying to define a candidate. She was defined as someone that people don’t like and don’t trust, and all we had to do was reinforce the existing narrative. David Bossie: I always thought about prosecuting the case against Clinton very directly. The “Crooked Hillary,” the “drain the swamp,” those types of things which have become a little bit of slogans of the campaign are things that Republican conservatives for the last 20 years have really said, and maybe using different words, but they had never been able to get them to stick.
WHITE VOTERS PROPELLED TRUMP’S WIN IN FLORIDA via Steven Lemongello and Jeff Weiner of the Orlando Sentinel – Trump prevailed, as white voters, especially in the suburbs or rural counties, largely vaulted him to victory in the Sunshine State … Clinton outpolled Trump by 25 percent in heavily urban Orange, Broward and Miami-Dade. But Trump counteracted that by racking up 20- to 35-point wins in counties such as Pasco, Hernando, Sumter, Lake, Marion and Brevard. Although the Trump counties had smaller populations, collectively they provided enough votes for Trump’s ultimate statewide margin of victory of less than 120,000 votes. In all, Trump won 58 of Florida’s 67 counties. Here are reasons why Trump won Florida: Demographics … While turnout among Hispanic and African-American voters was expected to decide the race for Florida, it was white voters who appeared to put Trump over the top.
… The Clinton campaign had a vaunted ground game in Florida, with 500 staffers, more than 70 offices, including five in Orange alone, and an explicitly detailed voter database for get-out-the-vote efforts. But the campaign didn’t spend enough time in counties such as Volusia and Brevard, said Doug Head, former Orange County Democratic chair. “They hired the usual raft of unknown young people moving into town to run things, and it didn’t work,” Head said. “It’s been going on in Democratic politics since 2004. A cadre of young people, ever younger and less informed, moves into town and takes over — and kicks everyone who understands the community to the curb, listens to polls and takes orders from on high.”
TRUMP WIN FUELED BY PANHANDLE, LEE, BREVARD, PASCO COUNTIES via Scott Powers of Florida Politics – Were it not for the sizable margins of voters Trump picked up in winning Lee (66,416) and Brevard (62,095) counties, Clinton would have won Florida. Trump won Florida by 119,673 votes, according to the unofficial returns posted by the Florida Department of State. He got 49 percent, and Clinton got 48 percent. Trump got more than 80 percent of the vote in six Panhandle counties: Holmes, Lafayette, Baker, Dixie, Union and Gilchrist. He topped 70 percent in 15 other counties, all in the Panhandle or the North Florida-Jacksonville area. He topped 60 percent in 41 counties throughout Florida. Clinton’s best showings were in Gadsden, where she drew 68 percent; Broward County, 66 percent; Miami-Dade County, 64 percent; Leon and Osceola counties, 61 percent; and Orange County, 60 percent. She won only three other counties, Alachua, Palm Beach and Hillsborough. Broward and Miami-Dade counties each gave Clinton cushions of about 289,000 votes; Orange threw in a 134,000-vote advantage for her; Palm Beach, despite a relatively close contest there, provided her with a 100,000-vote advantage; and Hillsborough, Leon, and Osceola each offered cushions of between 30,000 and 40,000 votes. But that, along with much smaller vote cushions provided by Alachua and Gadsden, was it for her. And they didn’t stack nearly high enough to match all the county cushions Trump won. Trump had 30,000-vote or bigger wins just about all over Florida, and mostly in medium-sized counties.
THE FLORIDA HISPANIC SURGE THAT WASN’T ENOUGH FOR HILLARY CLINTON via Patricia Mazzei and Nick Nehamas of the Miami Herald – The votes poured in on Election Night … about 575,000 more for Clinton than Trump in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties. That was more than 100,000 votes better than Obama, who defeated Mitt Romney by about 472,000 votes in the same media market four years ago. It was not enough. Trump took Florida, in spite of record Miami-Dade and Broward turnout and a Hispanic voter surge across the state. The two developments, revealed in demographics of voters casting early ballots, had suggested an insurmountable Clinton advantage in a state Trump simply could not lose. Both trends were real. But after all the stories about the dying Cuban-American Republican vote in Miami and the rising Puerto Rican Democratic vote in Orlando, other Florida factors proved to be more important.
TRUMP DUE TO APPEAR IN COURT LATER THIS MONTH via Josh Gerstein of POLITICO – Before Trump raises his right hand to take the oath of office in January, he’s set for a less-auspicious swearing-in: taking the witness stand in his own defense in a federal court civil trial over alleged fraud in his Trump University real estate seminar program. Trump faces a legal ordeal no president-elect has ever encountered: juggling defending himself before a jury with preparing for the vast challenges a political novice will face in assuming the presidency. And the class-action case set for trial the Monday after Thanksgiving is just one of a plethora of lawsuits and threatened suits Trump was entangled in during the campaign-litigation that doesn’t seem likely to disappear anytime soon and might even intensify with Trump headed to the White House.
RICK SCOTT SAYS ‘I’LL PASS’ ON ADONALDTRUMP CABINET SPOT via Michael Auslen of the Miami Herald – After Trump‘s victory in the presidential race … rumors have started to swirl about who might join his administration. And Scott — an ardent Trump supporter, chairman of his super PAC and, like Trump, a self-styled outsider — is a name that naturally comes up. But the Republican governor told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer … that he doesn’t plan to leave office. “I want to do everything I can to help him, but I love my job here,” Scott said. “I’ve got 789 days to go and I want to make sure we’re No. 1 for jobs, education and the best place to live because you’re safe.” Blitzer pushed back: If Trump called and asked Scott to take a spot on his Cabinet, would the governor accept? “I like my job here, and I’ll pass,” Scott said. “I want to stay in Florida.”
MARCO RUBIO CALLS FOR POST-ELECTION HEALING; “CHANNEL THAT ANGER … INTO SOMETHING POSITIVE” via John Kennedy of the Palm Beach Post – Rubio didn’t mention another presidential run. But a Trumpvictory may make it further away for the West Miami lawmaker who told supporters gathered for an election night party at Miami’s Airport Hilton that it was time to quash bitterness remaining from the hard-fought national and state races. “People are so frustrated. But we must channel that anger and frustration into something positive,” Rubio said, condemning the harsh rhetoric of election season without naming names. Rubio endorsed Trump, but steered clear of him during the campaign.
On Tuesday, Rubio called for a softer tone, speaking in both English and Spanish to the crowd, taking the extra step of thanking Puerto Rican voters, many of whom were expected to vote Democratic in the presidential race. “There’s no way we can move forward as a great nation, if we leave anybody behind,” Rubio said. But he also said he’ll return to Washington mindful of certain limits.
LENNY CURRY EXPRESSES ‘STRONG SUPPORT’ FOR TRUMP via AG Gancarski of Florida Politics – With Trump elected and the GOP retaining control of both houses of Congress, Jacksonville’s Republican mayor believes the city is well-positioned in the upcoming federal food fights. “I believe my strong support of President-Elect Trump, like my relationship with Governor Rick Scott, will be good for the City of Jacksonville as we move forward with bold new ideas,” Curry wrote. Curry also expressed optimism for Jacksonville’s new U.S. Representatives-Elect, Republican John Rutherford and Democrat Al Lawson, who will be serving in the 4th and 5th congressional districts. “Sheriff Rutherford and I are great friends and he fully understands the priorities of Jacksonville. I expect that I will be able to have a great relationship with Congressman-Elect Lawson and look forward to meeting with him very soon,” Curry noted. Both Rutherford and Lawson have positioned themselves as pragmatists, looking to work with colleagues across the aisle. Though Lawson is from Tallahassee, he is well-regarded, especially among Jacksonville Republicans with experience in the state capital. Clearly, the mayor is confident that the city’s congressional delegation and the mayor’s own support of President-Elect Trump will help Jacksonville plead its case on the federal level.
MIAMI-DADE’S GOP MAYOR WHO VOTED CLINTON: “WE WORK IN A VERY NON-PARTISAN WAY WITH WHOEVER IS IN POWER” via Doug Hanks of the Miami Herald – Carlos Gimenez, the Republican mayor of Miami-Dade who announced his Clinton vote during a heated re-election fight, said Wednesday that Miami-Dade plans to work “in a very non-partisan way” with President-Elect Trump. “He is our president-elect,” Gimenez said. “As president-elect, we will try to work with him, and hopefully work with him the best that we can, and move not only Miami-Dade forward, but the country… He’s President-Elect Trump. We work in a very non-partisan way with whoever is in power…I look forward to working with him over the next four years.” Trump became fodder for Gimenez challenger Raquel Regalado in the mayor’s successful re-election bid. Before the real estate mogul ran for president, he and Gimenez played golf as Trump began his pursuit of a management deal at Miami-Dade’s Crandon golf course. The deal fizzled once it became public about year after talks began.
FLORIDA POLITICS’ GENERAL ELECTION WINNERS & LOSERS
Winners
Rick Scott — The Naples Republican was an early backer of the president-elect, comparing Trump’s rise to his own 2010 gubernatorial run and even penning an op-ed way back in January that Trump captured “the frustration of many Americans.” No doubt he’s taking notes for his own rumored 2018 U.S. Senate bid.
Blaise Ingoglia — Republicans keep their majority in the Florida House and Senate. Rubio easily re-elected to a second term. And Florida helps send Trump to the White House. It’s a good time to be the head of the Republican Party of Florida.
Joe Gruters — The Sarasota GOP chairman stood by Trump through a series of controversies, and will go down as one of his most loyal supporters. Bonus: He cruised to victory in House District 73, crushing his Democratic opponent.
Brian Ballard — It took him three tries to find his winning horse, but what a bonanza is now in store for him. The president-elect of the United States of America is his client, for goodness’ sakes. The only question now is to which country does Ballard wish to serve as Ambassador?
Susie Wiles — Does she know how to pick them? Wiles was an early supporter of Trump, even taking over his Florida operations. Like Gruters, she’ll go down as one of his most loyal supporters.
Roger Stone — All in on Team Trump from Day One. He issued an ominous warning in early October about the WikiLeaks dump. Did he have inside info? Maybe. But his prediction of a Trump presidency was on point.
Richard Corcoran — There will be a lot of friendly faces when the Speaker-designate officially takes charge in a few weeks. No Republican incumbents lost their re-election bid, and the GOP even picked up a few seats in.
Florida Senate Leadership — In a ‘Fair Districts’ environment, there was talk that the GOP majority in the upper chamber was in jeopardy. Hardly. It’s now 25-15 Republican with sometimes-not-a-team-player Miguel Diaz de la Portilla not coming back.
Gwen Graham — By default, she is now the leader of the opposition to Republican hegemony in Florida AND, truly, the Florida Democrats only hope for redemption. Bob Buckhorn and Phillip Levine should announce today they are not running for governor so that the field is clear for Graham to go to war against Putnam/Weatherford/Corcoran/Latvala/Beruff.
Matt Gaetz — He was already on his way to Congress, but something tells me he will thrive in a Trump’s Washington, D.C.
Carole Crist — Eight years after marrying Charlie, she finally gets to celebrate at an election night party.
John Morgan — The only expletive-filled rant you’ll hear from this medical marijuana advocate today will be one of joy.
Ben Pollara and Brian Franklin — Beat off a serious opposition campaign to help guide the 2016 medical marijuana ballot initiative to a decisive victory.
Costa Farms — Floridians gave a resounding “yes” to medical marijuana, and the Miami-Dade grower is well-positioned to get a big boost in business from the growing market.
AFP-Florida — Knocked on more than 1 million doors, talked with more than 3 million voters by phone, flooded the airwaves and filled Floridians’ mailboxes all in the name of taking down “Pay More Patrick.” Looks like Americans for Prosperity’s $2.5 million investment in Florida’s Senate race worked.
Marion Hammer — Diaz de la Portilla single-handedly kept major pro-gun legislation from being heard in the Florida Senate. With DLP out of the way, Hammer should be locked-and-loaded next legislative session.
Team Rubio — If you separate the man from his machine, you have to give props to Rubio’s vaunted campaign staff, which led the Republican to a 717,000 vote over Murphy. Credit goes to Alberto Martinez, Todd Harris, Heath and Malorie Thompson.
Matthew Van Name – Crist is not the easiest candidate to manage but in his first time as a CM, Van Name quarterbacked the former governor to victory.
Team Curbelo — Give Chris Miles, Nicole Rapanos and Roy Schultheis a hand for Rep. Carlos Curbelo’s resounding victory in Florida’s 26th Congressional District. They’re young; they’re smart and they’re fiercely dedicated to Curbelo.
Team Mast — Jose Mallea and Zach Burr were part of the formidable team that helped turn Florida’s 18th Congressional District back to red, sending Republican Brian Mast, a combat veteran and political newcomer. This is one congressional seat you can’t buy. P.S. Comms guy Jacob Perry was a valuable late addition.
Rob Bradley — Behind the scenes, he was a chief surrogate and top fundraiser for Keith Perry‘s narrow victory over Rod Smith in state Senate District 8.
Joel Springer — Perhaps the most underrated political brain in Florida politics, but the man behind the GOP’s Senate campaign operations seems always to win.
James Blair — Going into Tuesday, the talk was that the GOP would lose as many as 10 (!) seats in the Florida House. Not under Blair’s watch as he laid claim to the title of “the new Frank Terraferma.”
Marc Reichelderfer and Chris Spencer — The consultant and the campaign manager for Dana Young helped fend off a strong challenge from a smart, well-financed Democrat. Of course, Young worked her tail off as her campaign made personal contact with 85,000 SD 18 voters.
Front Line Strategies — Came out on top Tuesday with a host of wins in their back pockets. Winners included first-time candidates Bobby Payne, Chuck Clemons, Byron Donalds, Don Hahnfeldt, Stan McClain, and Bob Rommel. They also helped bring home victories for Reps. Bob Cortes, Manny Diaz, Jay Fant, Tom Goodson, MaryLynn Magar, Elizabeth Porter, and Jay Trumbull, and Sens. Dennis Baxley and Doug Broxson.
Tim Baker, Brian Hughes — Another day, another victory for Jacksonville’s dynamic duo, this time getting conservative northeast Florida voters to sign off on the possibility of slots.
Anthony Pedicini and Tom Piccolo — If you are the tip of the spear in Tampa Bay for the Speaker-designate, you don’t lack for work. The two GOP operatives enjoyed several victories for their House campaign clients. Also, an attagirl to Ryan Wiggins for her work in HD 60 and other races.
St. Pete Polls — Despite what Marc Caputo thinks :-), the little polling shop that could nail the outcomes of Crist versus Jolly, Smith versus Perry, and Buesing versus Young. And, don’t forget, it was the first poll (back in July 2015) to predict Trump would win Florida.
Christian Ulvert — A rare bright spot for the Democratic consulting class, chalking up wins for Jose Javier Rodriguez, Robert Ascencio, Ben Diamond, and Nick Duran.
Florida’s sugar cane growers — After ending up on the receiving end of attacks from Florida’s environmental activists, candidates receiving support from sugar cane farming companies like U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals won big Tuesday. Sugar industry lobbyists picked winning horses including Senators Bill Montford, Dana Young, Kelli Stargel, Darryl Rouson, Vic Torres, Bobby Powell, Gary Farmer, Daphne Campbell, Doug Broxson, George Gainer, Bill Montford, Travis Hutson, Randolph Bracy, Dennis Baxley, Dorothy Hukill, Jack Latvala, Victor Torres, Debbie Mayfield, Ed Rousson, Rene Garcia, and Frank Artiles. In the House, candidates included Representatives Matt Caldwell, Ray Rodrigues, Manny Diaz, Pepe Diaz, and Holly Raschein.
Christina Johnson — The public affairs pro is $1,000 richer after winning bets against David Johnson that Trump would win Florida and the presidency.
Mixed bag
Marco Rubio — Good news? He won his re-election bid bigly. Bad news? With Trump on his way to the White House, he’s stuck with the job for the next six years.
Pam Bondi — All her hard work for Trump paid off, but it wasn’t all celebratory parties for Bondi. Her former boss, Mark Ober, lost his seat as the Hillsborough County State Attorney, in a tight, tight race.
Sarah Bascom — Any time your cousin loses a congressional race, it’s a tough night, but when you are the PR firm sending out the official statements from both the Speaker-designate and the Senate President-designate (along with wins in CD 2, SD 18 and 40) things have a way of working themselves out.
Kevin Cate — Finally helps delivers a victory for Crist, but that “Clinton will win Florida in a landslide” prediction could haunt him.
Eric Johnson — The Democratic consultant could be in the losers column, but just the fact that he got Murphy — who was shown to be a highly flawed candidate — this far is a testament to how smart he is.
Jack Latvala — His ally DLP went down, and he was way out front in his opposition to Amendment 2, but that was a principled stand that may turn out to be very right once there are pot shops on every corner.
Editorial boards — Among Florida newspapers, only the Florida Times-Union endorsed Trump. But the ed. boards were the de facto opposition campaign to Amendment 1, which failed to reach 60 percent.
My predictions — Last Wednesday on “The Usual Suspects,” I predicted Trump would win Florida by two or three points. But then I let Schale and Co. and those damn memos get into my head and I backed off my prediction. Grrr. Down-ballot, I called Rubio’s big win, the right percentage Amendment 2 received, Crist’s win over Jolly and Murphy’s win over Mica, DLP going down, and was the only person to suggest Amanda Murphy was in trouble. But I also predicted that some South Florida Republicans, including Mike Bileca, would lose.
The Biggest Loser
Scott Arceneaux — The Washington Generals won more than the Louisiana native, whose sole talent — beyond convincing otherwise smart people to hire him — is finding new ways to make the Florida Democratic Party less relevant each cycle.
Losers
Bill Nelson — Not that he thought he’d go unchallenged in 2018, but after last night, the bull’s-eye on his back tripled in size.
Allison Tant — See above what’s written about Scott Arceneaux.
Florida Democrats — There are not enough dumpster fire gifs created to articulate how much the donkeys suck.
Oscar Braynon — The incoming Senate Minority Leader had the chance to pick up a few seats in South Florida, but couldn’t get it done. The reason? He blames Trump.
“The Fortress of Democracy” — We’re still not sure about what Matt Dixon reported about in May, but if the shadowy Democratic-aligned Florida Alliance was supposed to make the state go blue, it failed spectacularly.
The voters of House District 36 — Republican Amber Mariano may turn out to be the Doogie Howser of Florida politics, but she’s only 21 years old. Swapping her for the capable and decent Amanda Murphy seems like the worst kind of party-line voting.
Mike Fernandez — The Miami billionaire and mega-supporter of the Bush family went all in on Clinton. Looks like that $2 million pledge to help the Democratic nominee could have been better spent elsewhere. He also backed Murphy and Jolly.
Ryan Tyson, Steve Schale, and other handicappers — Don’t worry guys, we won’t hold it against you. You can’t always be right.
Quinnipiac University and almost all the other pollsters — Q-poll’s final call of Florida: Clinton +1. Bet polling director Peter Brown also predicted the Indians would beat the Cubs.
Laura Jolly’s friends on Facebook — The feed of the wife of U.S. Rep. David Jolly was filled with warm, optimistic photos and messages from the campaign trail. There were even puppies! We’ll miss hitting the like button underneath her posts.
Candidates supporting buying up sugar cane farmland — These candidates include Mary Higgins, Crystal Lucas, Robert Simeone, John Scott, and Charles Messina. As with the primary, voters delivered a strong rebuke among state House candidates calling for buying sugar cane farmland. The lack of candidates who will support a land buy in the Legislature dealt a significant blow to environmental activists’ plans for action next session.
Duke, FPL, Gulf Power, TECO — Poured millions upon millions of dollars into Amendment 1, but it wasn’t even close when the results came in. The utility companies need to figure out a way to stop being made out as bogeymen when they’re actually pretty good at delivering their product.
Florida Education Association – The teachers union went all in for Dwight Bullard in SD 40 and came away empty-handed.
Redistricting — It was supposed to reset the Florida Legislature, but did anything but. Democrats only flipped one district, which means the new Florida Senate looks a whole heck of a lot like the old Florida Senate.
Ruth’s List — Marley Wilkes and her team raised beaucoup bucks for pro-choice women candidates, all of whom save Daisy Baez, lost.
Tampa Bay Democrats — So much for Hillsborough and Pinellas being bellwether counties. They were as red as hamburger meat. A lot of grassroots activists deserve credit here, but my paisano Nick DiCeglie and his lieutenants Todd Jennings and Matt Lettelier deserve a shoutout.
John Dowless and Alan Byrd — Faced with the toughest challenge of his 20-plus-year congressional career, Rep. John Mica’s team couldn’t seem to get their guy across the finish line.
Mac Stipanovich, Rick Wilson, and so many others — How did that #NeverTrump movement work out for you? At least Mac and Co. are established enough that they can still say “F*ck you” to anyone who gives them sh*t.
***November marks National Home Care Month, which recognizes more than 68,000 Florida nurses, home care aides, therapists, and social workers who provide cost-effective, high-quality health care in the patient-preferred setting. These caregivers represent more than 2,500 home care agencies that serve 180,000 Floridians at home every day. Last year alone, the Florida home care industry created 109,000 jobs at a $3.92 billion net economic growth to the state. Celebrate the home care industry’s contribution to Florida’s families and economy at HomeCareFLA.org***
PATRICK MURPHY’S LOSS TO RUBIO WAS FORESEEABLE — BUT NOT CERTAIN via Kristen Clark of the Miami Herald – Although Murphy would become one among a wave of devastating losses for Democrats nationwide … the signs for Murphy, in particular, were long there. And … before the final outcome was known — even Murphy, his dedicated campaign team and his passionate supporters gathered in Palm Beach Gardens understood the reality he faced … after 20 months of campaigning, he didn’t move the needle enough. Poll after poll showed many Florida voters still didn’t know who he was … Murphy was plagued since early summer by revelations that he’d exaggerated his résumé — a critical weakness that Republicans capitalized on to define Murphy through a barrage of attack ads. And, as Murphy struggled, Democrats withdrew millions of dollars in aid in favor of states where ad rates are cheaper and other Senate candidates had better shots at winning. The strategy stunted Murphy’s ability to fight back through TV ads of his own … political observers say Murphy could have done more to improve his prospects, even while being an obvious underdog against Rubio. Perhaps Murphy’s greatest weakness was his lack of name recognition across the vast Sunshine State, and he wasn’t as visible as he could have been even after more than a year and a half on the campaign trail. “It looked like Murphy was not out and about enough, even in the I-4 corridor,” said Susan MacManus, political science professor at the University of South Florida. “We just didn’t see him here that much.”
AMENDMENT 1 BACKERS SAY FAILED VOTE SHOWS SUPPORT FOR ‘SOLAR DONE THE RIGHT WAY’ via Bruce Ritchie of POLITICO Florida – The political committee backing solar Amendment 1 is reacting to the measure’s defeat on … by pointing out that a majority of Floridians supported the measure that was opposed by environmentalists. Amendment 1 would maintain regulation of solar by state and local governments and prohibit those without solar from subsidizing those who use it. The measure received 51 percent approval, which is less than the 60 percent required for approval. “While Amendment 1 fell short of the 60 percent threshold required for approval, it appears that more than half of all Florida voters – including a majority of voters in 47 of Florida’s 67 counties – sent a message that they want solar done the right way, in a manner that protects customers and respects those who choose solar, as well as those who do not,” Sarah Bascom, spokeswoman for Consumers for Smart Solar, said in a statement. Utilities contributed more than $20 million to the political committee backing the amendment, which opponents said was misleading and could lead to policy changes that would development of rooftop solar in Florida.
CD 4 LOSER CHARGES FLORIDA TIMES-UNION WITH ‘ELECTION VIOLATION’ via AG Gancarski of Florida Politics – Gary Koniz finished a distant third in the race in Northeast Florida’s 4th Congressional District, garnering 2.21 percent of the vote. Days before his latest in a series of electoral drubbings, the NPA candidate made his displeasure known via a mass email to a few dozen people, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, Gov. Scott, Robert Redford, area sheriffs, and at least one representative of the FBI. The subject: a lack of coverage of his insurgent campaign in an October article written by Nate Monroe in the Florida Times-Union … [who] wrote an article in late October positing that Rep.-elect John Rutherford, who got over 70 percent of the vote. The problem? Monroe determined, via an examination of campaign finance and internal polling in the race, that Rutherford was the “easy favorite” to replace Ander Crenshaw in Congress. “It was Really rude of you to snub me as you did,” Koniz writes. “I am after all a viable and valid Independent Candidate in this Congressional Race with a Working Class Constituency in need of my Representation and my voice in their behalf with a point of view to be ‘reasoned fairly’ before the public.” Monroe’s failure to interview Koniz was framed in the email from Nov. 7 as a “definite violation” of federal election law and “Illegal Election Tampering.”
ORLANDO’S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION GOT A LOT MORE DIVERSE via The Associated Press – The increased diversity was helped by the redrawing of some congressional districts that made the central Florida districts more Democratic-leaning. New members to central Florida’s congressional delegation are Val Demings, Orlando’s first female African-American police chief; Darren Soto, who will be Florida’s first congressman of Puerto Rican descent; and Stephanie Murphy, a businesswoman whose family fled Vietnam when she was an infant. Murphy said at her victory party … that the diversity reflects how the nation’s demographics are changing and how that change needs to be reflected in Washington.
PRO-VOUCHER FORCES CLAIM VICTORY IN FLORIDA STATE RACES via Jeffrey Solochek of the Tampa Bay Times – Florida Federation for Children, a group led by key backers of the state’s tax credit scholarship and similar programs, cheered … its successful influence in 20 of the 21 state House and Senate races it involved itself in. Each race featured candidates who strongly favored school choice issues including open enrollment and voucher-like systems. “Florida voters have shown their commitment to giving every child the opportunity to find the educational environment that best suits their individual needs,” John Kirtley, Federation chairman and founder of Florida’s tax credit scholarships model, said in a news release. “Although we are faced with lawsuits against the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program and McKay Scholarships, tonight’s results reveal the public’s desire to empower parents with the ability to make the best decisions for their children’s educations.” Among the big winners for the Federation was state Rep. Manny Diaz, a charter school employee who has led key education committees in the House. Diaz’s seat was perhaps the key target for the FEA and other Democratic-focused groups. The Federation also backed Dana Young, a Tampa Republican who won a tough bid to move from the House to the Senate, and Frank Artiles, who ousted public school teacher Dwight Bullard from the Senate. The Federation, which vocally has opposed a lawsuit challenging Florida’s tax credit scholarship, surfaced in elections two years ago when it helped oust two leaders of the Florida School Boards Association. The FSBA was involved in the suit at the time, but later walked away from the case.
FRANK ARTILES’ MILITARY APPROACH WINS OVER FLORIDA SENATE GOP LEADERS via Jeremy Wallace of the Miami Herald – When Republicans in the Florida Senate mapped out a plan of attack in a bid to maintain their majority, Artiles, a 3-term House member taking on a Democratic incumbent in a tough district didn’t look like a good bet. Incoming Senate president Joe Negron said he had his eye on two other Miami-based Senate districts that needed attention, a seat based in Gainesville and another in Tampa. “I was only going to participate in those four races,” Negron said. But Negron said that started to change as Artiles, a Marine Corps veteran, started showing him what he was doing on the ground. He was campaigning hard, had broken his district up in quadrants to attack every day, was raising money and routinely sharing a “Daily Operations Report From the Field” document with him. “He ran his campaign like it was a military operation,” Negron said. “From the moment you walked into his campaign office there was a military feel.” That’s not a surprise given that Artiles, 43, was in the Marines from 1998 to 2006 and was part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. “He won us over by earning it on the ground,” Negron said. The final result? Artiles beat [Dwight] Bullard by 10 percentage points.
2018 WATCH – BOB BUCKHORN: DON’T EXPECT A DECISION ON GOVERNOR’S RACE BEFORE JANUARY via Richard Danielson of the Tampa Bay Times – Buckhorn said, check back with me after New Year’s. “At this point, I don’t have an answer,” the two-term Democrat said during an interview at City Hall. “Certainly, last night’s outcome will have an impact on those deliberations. I have to look at the data as well to see what the new registration numbers look like, what the turnout model looks like … I do think with a Trump presidency that the midterm elections of 2018 take on a whole different flavor,” he said. “Historically, Democrats have not done well in the second year of a Democratic administration. Whether or not the reverse is true we don’t know because we haven’t experienced this in a while. But I think it’s an assumption that has to be put in the calculation. I think the dust has to settle on all of this before anybody who’s looking at an ‘18 election makes a decision,” said Buckhorn, who is term-limited as mayor after 2019. “If my decision is no, it’s because I’m perfectly happy doing what I’m doing and love coming to work every day and want to finish my job … I’m blessed that I have the two options. In either case, they’re good options to have. And I’ve got a lot of stuff to finish, too.”
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FEDERAL COURT FAVORS SEMINOLES IN GAMBLING LAWSUIT via Dan Sweeney of the South Florida Sun Sentinel – Siding with the Seminole Tribe over the state of Florida, federal Judge Robert Hinkle … ruled that the tribe can continue to offer blackjack and other banked card games for the entire duration of the 20-year gambling agreement reached with the state in 2010. The ruling means blackjack until at least 2030 at Seminole-owned casinos and means less money for state coffers at a time when state budgets over the next few years are expected to be tight. The court case arose after the tribe and the state sued each other, with the state arguing that the tribe could not have blackjack after the first five years of the 20-year agreement, and the tribe arguing that it was free to offer the games because the state violated the terms of the agreement when it allowed pari-mutuel casinos to offer games similar to blackjack. “The Seminole Tribe is very pleased with Judge Hinkle’s ruling and is carefully reviewing it,” said Seminoles spokesman Gary Bitner. “The Tribe believes the ruling provides for its future stability and ensures 3,600 Seminole Gaming employees will keep their jobs.” … he found that the state violated the terms of the agreement with the Seminoles by approving of the pari-mutuel card games, Hinkle ruled the tribe is now authorized to conduct blackjack at all seven of its casinos, including those near Hollywood and in Coconut Creek, until the end of the agreement in 2030.
SIX APPLICATIONS NOW IN FOR STATE SUPREME COURT VACANCY via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics – Appellate judge Wendy W. Berger and Circuit Judge Michelle T. Morley are the latest applicants for a seat on the Florida Supreme Court. That brings to six the number of those who have filed to replace Justice James E.C. Perry, who is retiring at the end of the year. The latest applications were confirmed by Jason Unger, chair of the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission. Berger, a Jacksonville native, was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to the 5th District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach in late 2012. Morley, who sits in Sumter County, was elected to the 5th Judicial Circuit bench in 2006 and re-elected in 2012. Scott, a Republican, will name Perry’s replacement, making it his first opportunity to pick a state Supreme Court justice.
DISASTROUS FINANCIALS CAST SHADOW ON FLORIDA’S $85 MILLION HERTZ DEAL via William Patrick of FloridaWatchdog.org – Hertz Global Holdings, the parent company for Hertz rental car, is having a tough second Tuesday in November as its shareholders are electing to dump the company’s stock after it announced dismal third quarter earnings. The news has millions of implications for Florida taxpayers. Hertz is the recipient of an $85 million tax credit and economic incentive package from Enterprise Florida, the state’s public-private business development organization, and the Lee County government. The rental car giant agreed to move its corporate headquarters from high-tax New Jersey to the Gulf Coast town of Estero as a result of the 2013 deal. According to a Tuesday press release, the former Fortune 500 company reported earnings of $1.50 per share, badly missing forecasts of $2.73 per share and causing a steep drop in the company’s stock price. The stock closed Monday at $35.74 per share. By Tuesday at noon the price had plummeted to $20.05 per share – a 43 percent drop. “Our near-term financial performance continues to be uneven,” Hertz CEO John Tague said. Tuesday’s financial revelations continue to cast a shadow on the long-term economic benefits the deal is supposed to bring to the state. The taxpayer-funded incentive package is good for 20 years. It’s unclear what might happen if Hertz doesn’t deliver on the terms of its agreement, but the state-level incentive metrics appear relatively modest.
WHAT STEPHANIE SMITH IS READING – UBER AND LYFT GET OFFICIAL GO-AHEAD IN HILLSBOROUGH via Christopher O’Donnell of the Tampa Bay Times – The Public Transportation Commission … voted 4-3 to adopt a temporary agreement for the two ridesharing companies to operate legally in Hillsborough through 2017. The deal ends a long legal battle with the companies, which sued the PTC after it fined their drivers for working without insurance and permits. The agreement means Uber and Lyft drivers will not be required to undergo the FBI fingerprint-based background check that the PTC wanted. Instead, they will be subject to “enhanced” background checks that only go back seven years. But it wasn’t a total victory for Uber and Lyft. With a nod to the taxicab industry, board members approved emergency rules that allow cab firms to offer ridesharing services. Those rules also open the door for other rideshare companies to operate in the county, though they would have to fingerprint their drivers. The breakthrough came at some cost. The three-hour meeting ended with Tampa City Council member Frank Reddick resigning from the board. And PTC Executive Director Kyle Cockream said he will now step down at the end of the year. He had planned to stay until March. PTC Chairman Victor Crist negotiated the deal with Uber and Lyft. It also was supported by Tampa City Councilman Guido Maniscalco, Plant City Commissioner Nate Kilton and County Commissioner Ken Hagan.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to two great women in The Process, Rana Brown and Samantha Sexton.
