Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign is showing up for the NFL kickoff this week.
Biden-Harris 2024 will debut a new ad on Thursday during the NFL season opener between the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs, highlighting the incumbent Democrat’s economic agenda that the campaign said, “is delivering results for the American people.”
Titled “Got to Work,” the ad outlines how Biden “defied the odds to avoid economic catastrophe with decisive leadership and action, all the while lowering costs, bringing back manufacturing, and creating good-paying jobs for the American people.”
Campaign Communications Director Michael Tyler said, “President Biden led an unprecedented economic recovery and is overseeing a historic legislative agenda that is creating good-paying jobs across the country, lowering costs for hardworking Americans, and bringing manufacturing back to the United States.
“While MAGA Republicans compete against each other on their most extreme and unpopular positions, our campaign is investing in reaching a general election audience by investing in prime-time placement. This buy sends a clear message that we are running an aggressive, winning campaign.”
Biden’s campaign said “Got to Work” is the first piece of a 16-week, $25 million advertising campaign that will run on cable, broadcast and streaming services in battleground states. Notably, Florida is not one of those states — the list includes Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Still, the ad will get some play in the Sunshine State through national buys on MSNBC, CNN, and daytime Fox News.
Evening Reads
—”A Ron DeSantis speech too dangerous to teach in Florida” via Adam Serwer of The Atlantic
—“Donald Trump memo plays up divide between DeSantis super PAC, campaign” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
—”Walt Disney makes a strong charge against DeSantis” via Daniel Kline of The Street
—”Once the leading alternative to Trump, turnover in the DeSantis team spells trouble” via Ashley Lopez of NPR
—”The cost of DeSantis’ ideological purity” via David A. Graham of The Atlantic
—”Why we all need to think like Floridians now” via Michael J. Cohen of The Washington Post
—”Is public school as we know it ending?” via Rachel M. Cohen of Vox
—”Towns ravaged by Hurricane Idalia worry about losing ‘old Florida’ ways” via Alex Harris and Joey Flechas of the Orlando Sentinel
—”Estimated insurance losses from Idalia now near $90 million, state says” via Mitch Perry of the Florida Phoenix
—”Amid Army Corps clash, Anna Paulina Luna says Idalia upped urgency for Pinellas beach renourishment” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
—”Americans are losing faith in the value of college. Whose fault is that?” via Paul Tough of The New York Times
Quote of the Day
“If you are an organization of lawyers, and you don’t have a damned word to say about the removal of two state attorneys, you ought to look at your charter and figure out why you exist.”
— Former Rep. Shawn Shaw, on lawyers not speaking out about State Attorney Monique Worrell’s suspension.
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Breakthrough Insights
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Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.
