Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Joe Biden’s presidential campaign announced a flurry of Florida hires Wednesday, including some veterans from Andrew Gillum’s gubernatorial bid, amendment campaigns, and the Obama-Biden ticket’s two successful Florida outings.
“This slate of Florida leaders is truly reflective of the diversity and size of our state,” said Biden for President Florida State Director Jackie Lee. “With this group, we continue to build a team that knows the state and is uniquely qualified to engage and mobilize the diverse communities and constituencies across Florida. Together, this team will help make Donald Trump a one-term president.”
Team Biden announced eight hires in all. At the top of the list were Gabriela Castillo and Stacy Eichner, who will join the campaign as Deputy State Directors.
Castillo most recently served as Communications Director for Organizing Together 2020 Florida and is the former Communications Director for Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. Eichner has been with the Biden campaign since June 2019, serving as the National Political Chief of Staff and Florida Primary State Director. In 2016, she was Florida Surrogates Director for Hillary Clinton‘s presidential campaign.
The rest of the hires:
— Shahra Anderson Lambert, Florida Political Director: Lambert most recently served as Federal Affairs Director for Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. She is also a veteran of Bill Nelson’s U.S. Senate campaigns.
— Cedric McMinn, Florida Coordinated Deputy Political Director: McMinn, a political strategist, is the former Executive Director for the Miami-Dade Democratic Party. In 2008, he served as the African American Outreach and Deputy Political Director for the Obama-Biden campaign.
— Faith Lowe, Florida Coordinated Chief of Staff: In 2018, Lowe managed operations for Amendment Four, the voting rights restoration amendment that passed overwhelmingly. She is a FAMU Law alumna.
— Carlie Waibel, Florida Communications Director: Waibel was National Press Secretary and Communications Director for U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s presidential campaign. Previously, she worked as a senior spokesperson for Gillum’s gubernatorial campaign.
— Luisana Pérez Fernández, Florida Coordinated Deputy Communications Director: Luisana was most recently Deputy Communications Director and Hispanic Media Director for the Florida Democratic Party
— Kevin Munoz, Florida Press Secretary: Munoz joined the Biden Campaign last year as Nevada Press Secretary. He was named Florida Press Secretary during the primary campaign.
Coronavirus Numbers
Positive cases:
— 374,920 FL residents (+9,676 since Tuesday)
— 4,699 Non-FL residents (+109 since Tuesday)
Origin:
— 3,217 Travel related
— 97,397 Contact with a confirmed case
— 3,167 Both
— 271,139 Under investigation
Hospitalizations:
— 22,243 in FL
Deaths:
— 5,459 in FL
Unemployment numbers
As of Tuesday:
Total claims: 3,238,254
— Confirmed unique claims: 3,033,986
— Claim verification queue: 297,095
— Claims processed: 2,736,891
— Claims paid: 1,771,241 (+6,037 since Monday)
Total paid out: $11.04 billion (+$50 million since Monday)
Evening Reads
“Senate GOP struggles to finalize $1 trillion coronavirus bill” via Erica Werner, Jeff Stein, Seung Min Kim and Rachael Bade of The Washington Post
“9,785 new COVID-19 cases in Florida on Wednesday” via the staff of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune
“South Florida sees another 37 COVID-19 deaths as Broward adult ICU beds now at 92% capacity” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics
“A public health employee predicted Florida’s coronavirus catastrophe — then she was fired: ‘This is everything I was trying to warn people about’” via Alexander Nazryan of Yahoo News
“Convalescent plasma donations needed to treat COVID-19” via Dr. Michael Patete for the Sun-Sentinel
“Florida teachers’ union chief: It’s ‘ridiculous’ to open brick and mortar schools while virus rages” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
“Want a COVID-19 test? It’s much easier to get in wealthier, whiter neighborhoods” via By Soo Rin Kim, Matthew Vann, Laura Bronner and Grace Manthey of FiveThirtyEight
“Pfizer gets $1.95 billion to produce coronavirus vaccine by year’s end” via Noah Weiland, Denise Grady and David E. Sanger of The New York Times
“America’s inescapable offices” via Olga Khazan of The Atlantic
“Can you get coronavirus twice? Doctors are unsure even as anecdotal reports mount.” via Carolyn Y. Johnson and Ariana Eunjung Cha of The Washington Post
“Matt Gaetz appears to run afoul of House ethics rules” via Jake Sherman of POLITICO
“Emergency Jacksonville council vote looms on Republican convention, free speech zones” via David Smiley and Erin Doherty of the Miami Herald
“Andrew Gillum and the long shadow of the Florida Governor’s race” via Patricia Mazzei of The New York Times
“Elijah Cummings’ widow says Marco Rubio made ‘honest mistake’ in mixing up her husband and John Lewis” via Caroline Kelly of CNN
“Barbara Lagoa, Robert Luck under pressure to exit felons voting case” via Dara Kam of the News Service of Florida
“More legal trouble for former officer charged with murder of George Floyd, plus a FL angle” via Tony Webster of the Florida Phoenix
Quote of the Day
“If a school district needs to delay the school year for a few weeks so that everything will be in good shape, have at it. The important thing is that our parents have a meaningful choice when it comes to in-person education.” — Gov. Ron DeSantis, giving schools the OK to put the school year on pause.
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