Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Older voters are split along partisan lines when it comes to the presidential election, but a new poll shows party registration doesn’t factor into whether voters over 50 would get vaccinated for coronavirus.
Though there is not yet a vaccine available for COVID-19, a poll conducted by AARP found fewer than half Florida’s older voters are eagerly awaiting its arrival — just 46% said they would agree to be vaccinated if one were available to them at no cost.
AARP described the results as “strikingly nonpartisan,” with Democrats, Republicans and independents all similarly skeptical of a new vaccine.
At 49%, Democrats were most likely to say they would get vaccinated. Independents followed at 46% while 44% of Republicans said the same.
In each case the balance was split between uncertainty and refusal, with Republicans leading the way on the latter — a third said they would not get vaccinated, with independents trailing by a point at 32%. A quarter of Democrats said they would not get vaccinated.
Broken down by gender, men were more likely to be on board with a vaccine, with 54% willing to get vaccinated and 23% against. Women were in favor by a 41%-34% margin.
Also, voters over 65 were more receptive to vaccination, with 52% in favor and 24% against. Voters between 50 and 64 years old leaned toward vaccination 41%-35%.
The AARP poll was conducted between Aug. 30 and Sept. 8. It took responses from 1,600 likely voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
Coronavirus Numbers
Positive cases:
— 647,318 FL residents (+2,537 since Wednesday)
— 7,413 Non-FL residents (+46 since Wednesday)
Origin:
— 5,046 Travel related
— 223,371 Contact with a confirmed case
— 5,358 Both
— 413,543 Under investigation
Hospitalizations:
— 40,807 in FL
Deaths:
— 12,482 in FL
Evening Reads
“Kamala Harris makes unannounced visit to Doral, home to Miami’s Venezuelan community” via David Smiley and Alex Daugherty of the Miami Herald
“Most Americans want to vote before Election Day, a significant shift from previous years, poll finds” via Amy Gardner, Emily Guskin and Scott Clement of The Washington Post
“GOP’s slimmed-down virus bill scuttled by Senate Democrats” via Andrew Taylor of The Associated Press
“‘Sick’: Marco Rubio blasts Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi for putting politics over virus aid” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
“America is trapped in a pandemic spiral” via Ed Yong of The Atlantic
“Donald Trump spurns traditional debate prep with first faceoff less than 3 weeks away” via Carol E. Lee, Monica Alba, Hallie Jackson and Mike Memoli of NBC News
“Why Trump might be scaring off older voters” via Clare Malone of FiveThirtyEight
“Do jobless benefits deter workers? Some employers say yes. Studies don’t.” via Patricia Cohen of The New York Times
“Twitter to label or remove misleading claims on vote results” via Barbara Ortutay of The Associated Press
“Most Americans support athletes speaking out, say anthem protests are appropriate, Post poll finds” via Rick Mease and Emily Guskin of The Washington Post
“Jeanette Núñez, Manny Diaz make ‘law and order’ case for Trump” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
“Ron DeSantis’ lawyers try to clear path for Supreme Court pick” via The News Service of Florida
“Florida teachers slam Ron DeSantis on school coronavirus transparency” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
“‘It’s been tough.’ Central Florida hospitals adapt to COVID-19” via Naseem S. Miller of the Orlando Sentinel
“Andrew Gillum to discuss Miami hotel room incident on Tamron Hall show” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
“Hillsborough Schools report highest number of student COVID-19 cases Wednesday” via Kelly Hayes of Florida Politics
“Jacksonville sees 26 coronavirus deaths in one day, breaking record” via Drew Dixon of Florida Politics
“Hillsborough Schools report highest number of student COVID-19 cases Wednesday” via Kelly Hayes of Florida Politics
“Florida’s consumer sentiment falls again in August” via UF News
“Jobless claims down in Florida as layoffs loom” via Jim Turner of The News Service of Florida
“Tax hit: An energy efficiency finance program is trapping Florida homeowners in debt.” via Malena Carollo of the Tampa Bay Times
Quote of the Day
“These black swans seem a lot closer than they ever have before.” — State economist Amy Baker, on Florida’s economic forecast.
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