Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump now have an equal chance of winning the presidency in two years, according to oddsmaker BoyleSports.
The update comes after DeSantis became the overall favorite with 11/4 odds — the equivalent of 27% — while Trump fell to 10/3. The shift at the top came early last week, following the FBI search at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
DeSantis’ boost was short-lived, however, with his odds slipping to 3/1 and Trump’s rising to the same level.
“Last week all the support was coming for Ron DeSantis to win the 2024 US Presidential Election following the FBI search at Donald Trump’s home. But Trump is back in favour this week and he’s now 3/1 from 10/3 meaning they are joint favourites yet again,” BoyleSports spokesperson Sarah Kinsella said.
Trump has repeatedly hinted at running for the White House again with the chances of him winning the Republican ticket rated a short 11/10 shot.
BoyleSports gives President Joe Biden the third-highest 2024 odds at 11/2 while Kamala Harris’ odds have dropped to 12/1.
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Nikki Fried’s gubernatorial campaign has launched a statewide radio ad campaign asking Floridians to vote for “something new” in the Democratic Primary for Governor.
The ads began airing on Friday and will continue through the Primary Election, where she is battling U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist for the Democratic nomination to challenge DeSantis.
According to ad buy data, Fried’s political committee spent $45,034 on the ads, which will air in the Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Tallahassee and Tampa media markets.
It includes all of the iHeart Black radio stations in those markets as well as independent gospel, internet and Caribbean stations in both those markets as well as smaller markets and rural areas.
In the ad, the voice of a Black woman tells listeners that she only trusts Fried to beat DeSantis. She then goes on to say “she was the first Democrat to win statewide since Barack Obama (so we know she can win) and she is the only candidate in the primary endorsed by the Democratic Black Caucus (so we know we can trust her).”
Additionally, there is a Haitian Creole language ad that speaks to the need for change and how Fried is the most qualified candidate to make that change.
Fried senior adviser Obi Umunna said, “Commissioner Fried’s plan has always been to reach out to Black voters wherever they are. We have already made a significant investment in Black newspapers but wanted to make sure our radio buy wasn’t just mainstream but would reach rural and Caribbean voters.”
To listen to the ad, please click on the image below:
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Suspended Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren will hold a news conference in Tallahassee tomorrow to announce new developments in his challenge to regain his office.
The event will be held at 9 a.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel at 101 S. Adams St. There, Warrant will be joined by his attorney, J. Cabou, who is the co-chair of the White Collar and Investigations practice of the international law firm Perkins Coie.
“If the Governor’s attempt to unilaterally overturn an election is allowed to stand, it would threaten the integrity and outcome of elections throughout the state for years to come. The danger posed by this illegal act cannot be overstated,” Warren said in a news release announcing the event.
Following the Tallahassee stop, Warren and Cabou will head back to Tampa for a second news conference at the Hyatt Place Tampa Downtown, 325 N. Florida Ave, beginning at 2:30 p.m.
DeSantis suspended Warren from office two weeks, claiming that Warren, a Democrat, refused to enforce the law — specifically, he cited Warren’s refusal to enforce bans on abortion and gender-affirming surgery.
The Governor replaced the progressive prosecutor with Hillsborough County Judge Susan Lopez, who has already stoked controversy by rescinding all of Warren’s presumptive non-enforcement policies, including controversial bike stop and pedestrian stop that opponents refer to as “Biking While Black.”
Warren has argued that the Governor is “trying to overthrow the results of a free and fair election” and was based on “a lot of conjecture and lies.”
Evening Reads
—“FBI interviewed top White House lawyers about missing Donald Trump documents” via Maggie Haberman of The New York Times
—“What’s in big Joe Biden bill? Health, climate goals become law” via Lisa Mascaro of The Associated Press
—“Florida’s Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls stake out positions on education and culture wars” via Jake Stofan of Action News Jax
—”UNF poll first to show Nikki Fried ahead of Charlie Crist. Some see a ‘Nikki Surge’; others are skeptical.” via James Call of the Tallahassee Democrat
—“New polls show Val Demings gaining on Marco Rubio. Can they be trusted?” via Alex Roarty of the Miami Herald
—“Florida lawmakers could defy Ron DeSantis in Andrew Warren case. They likely won’t.” via Kirby Wilson of the Tampa Bay Times
—“DeSantis proposes measures to aid Florida’s teacher shortage — next year” via Andrew Atterbury of POLITICO Florida
—“Schools are looking in unusual places to deal with teacher shortage” via Sara Randazzo of The Wall Street Journal
—“Video shows Demings’ security pushing man to ground outside event” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
—“First pediatric case of monkeypox confirmed in Florida” via Caroline Catherman of the Orlando Sentinel
Quote of the Day
“It’s not rocket science: we have a teacher shortage crisis because DeSantis has turned classrooms into battlegrounds to fight his culture wars and divide our state.”
— Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, after Ron DeSantis proposed hiring former police and firefighters as classroom teachers.
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