Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried made her bid for the governorship official Tuesday.
Fried dropped a video on Twitter calling herself “something new” for Florida. The video suggested a campaign platform of expanding Medicaid, increasing the minimum wage, improving education, fighting for racial justice and legalizing marijuana.
The only Florida Democrat currently holding statewide office, Fried faces U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, a St. Petersburg Democrat and former Republican Governor. Crist launched his campaign last month.
And while Fried starts the campaign flush with cash for a Florida Democrat, she has nearly $1.5 million available in her Florida Consumers First committee compared to around $750,000 in the bank for Friends of Charlie Crist, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis dwarfs both candidates. DeSantis raised more than $5 million in May alone after reporting $14 million in contributions in April.
Toppling DeSantis, a regular on the national political stage through his late-night cable news appearances, will be a tall order for whoever wins the nomination and Democratic voters, so far, might be favoring Crist as the challenger. A St. Pete Polls survey gave Crist a decisive edge over Fried: 55%-22% among likely Democratic voters.
The main takeaway from that poll was that Democrats, by a wide margin, don’t believe Fried can beat DeSantis. Asked about Crist’s chances of beating DeSantis, about 30% of voters give the Congressman better than even odds to unseat the Republican incumbent. Only 14% of Florida Democrats expect that Fried could beat DeSantis.
But Fried hasn’t officially been in the race as long as Crist, who announced back in early May. With this announcement, she will now put her message to Florida voters.
Coronavirus Numbers
Positive cases:
— 2,283,315 FL residents (+5,845 since May 28)
— 43,440 Non-FL residents (+92 since May 28)
Origin:
— 18,709 Travel related
— 918,909 Contact with a confirmed case
— 24,914 Both
— 1,320,783 Under investigation
Hospitalizations:
— 95,210 in FL
Deaths:
— 37,609 in FL
Vaccinations:
— 17,856,173 Doses administered
— 10,344,328 Total people vaccinated
— 2,021,427 First dose
— 811,056 Completed one-dose series (+25,358 since May 28)
— 7,511,845 Completed two-dose series (+109,665 since May 28)
Evening Reads
“How the world ran out of everything” via Peter S. Goodman and Niraj Chokshi of The New York Times
“Everything’s becoming a subscription, and the pandemic is partly to blame” via Heather Long and Andrew Van Dam of The Washington Post
“Amazon faced 75,000 arbitration demands. Now it says: Fine, sue us” via Sara Randazzo of The Wall Street Journal
“Gov. Ron DeSantis signs bill banning transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
“Democrats blast transgender athlete ban” via Jason Delgado of Florida Politics
“Nikki Fried, Florida’s lone statewide elected Democrat, is running for Governor” via Samantha J. Gross of the Miami Herald
“Fried needs to tack left if she wants to replace DeSantis” via Mac Stipanovich for the Tampa Bay Times
“Attempts to ban teaching on ‘critical race theory’ multiply across the U.S.” via Daniel C. Vock of the Florida Phoenix
“To veto or not to veto: Five tough decisions facing DeSantis” via Peter Schorsch of Florida Politics
“Workers should have the power to say ‘no’” via Annie Lowrey of The Atlantic
“Ashley Moody wants quick action in immigration appeal” via Jim Saunders of News Service of Florida
“On Pre-K, America should follow Florida’s lead … and Florida should do better” via Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel
“How should Florida teach civics? You’re invited to chime in.” via Jeffrey S. Solochek of the Tampa Bay Times
“80% of cruise enthusiasts would prefer to sail with vaccine requirement” via Ron Hurtibise of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“Clock is running for 2022 candidates in Northeast Florida” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
Quote of the Day
“Let’s be very clear: Gov. DeSantis and the GOP are attacking trans kids on the first day of Pride Month to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.” — House Democratic Co-Leader Bobby DuBose, on the transgender athlete ban.
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