Last Call for 5.6.24 — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics

Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

The Florida Democratic Party has a new mascot: The Florida Panther.

“We gave the donkey the boot. It’s time to kick ass in Florida,” FDP Chair Nikki Fried said in a Saturday tweet unveiling the party’s new logo, which features the silhouette of a panther set over a red, white and blue ‘D.’

Though the rebrand may have fired up some Democrats at Leadership Blue over the weekend, Florida Republicans were quick to throw shade.

“First, I would like to congratulate Nikki Fried on, by our count, the 28th relaunch of the Florida Democrats under her leadership. The choice in changing your mascot from a donkey to a Florida Panther is particularly fitting with its status as an endangered species,” Republican Party of Florida Chair Evan Power said in a news release.

“If you come into contact with a Florida Democrat in the wild, whether they identify as a donkey or a panther, we urge you to notify Nikki Fried and her team immediately. Their far-left policies, such as open borders, high inflation, and surging crime, only risk further collapsing Nikki’s voter registration numbers in the state.”

Power’s social media rejoinder was pithier: “I guess Nikki Fried and the Florida Democrats are admitting they are at the herding cats’ stage of their decline.”

Indeed, the Florida Panther is among the most endangered animals in the Western Hemisphere, with an estimated 200 left in the wild according to the National Wildlife Federation — a remarkable rebound from the 20 remaining in the 1970s, but they’re not out of the woods yet.

To be fair, the GOP’s mascot is endangered, too, just not to the same extent. Assuming it’s an Asian Elephant, there are about 45,000 remaining. If it’s an African Elephant, it’s merely ‘vulnerable,’ according to the World Wildlife Foundation.

Mascots aside, RPOF has been winning the numbers game. Florida Republicans overtook Democrats in voter registrations nearly two years ago, marking the first time in modern history that the GOP held a registration advantage in the Sunshine State.

Republicans’ edge has only grown over the past two-and-a-half years. According to the Florida Division of Elections, there were 5.24 million registered Republicans and 4.35 registered Democrats as of March 31 — a gulf of 892,034 voters and a 39%-32% edge in the overall electorate.

Third- and no-party voters account for another 3.87 million voters, or about 29% of all registered voters in the Sunshine State.

Evening Reads

—”Brad Parscale helped Donald Trump win in 2016 using Facebook ads. Now he’s back, and an AI evangelist” via Garance Burke and Alan Suderman of The Associated Press

—“Why is the simplest explanation of campus protests so hard to accept?” via Philip Bump of The Washington Post

—”Candidates for federal office can raise unlimited funds for ballot measures” via Maggie Haberman of The New York Times

—“The new propaganda war” via Anne Applebaum of The Atlantic

—“America’s prison system is turning into a de facto nursing home” via Abdallah Fayyad of Vox

—”How a Texas-based think tank upended Florida’s homelessness strategy” via Ryan Gillespie of the Orlando Sentinel

—”Florida Republican Party officially comes out against initiative to legalize adult cannabis” via Mitch Perry of the Florida Phoenix

Quote of the Day

“This is equivalent to saying to the Russians and the American and allied forces in World War II: ‘Stop at the outskirts of Berlin. Don’t go in.’”

— U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, on the Israeli incursion into Rafah.

Put It on the Tab

Look to your left, then look to your right. If you see one of these people at your happy hour haunt, flag down the bartender and put one of these on your tab. Recipes included, just in case the Cocktail Codex fell into the well.

As an aficionado of World War II’s eastern theater, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio would enjoy a bottle of Marshal Zhukov’s Penultimate Push — hopefully, Cigar City still has a few of these in the backroom.

Is it really almost hurricane season again? Yep, and Gov. Ron DeSantis is urging Floridians to restock their prep kits — so go buy batteries, check your flashlights, keep your tank half full, and have at least three days’ worth of ice, dark rum, silver rum, fruit juices and simple syrup on hand at all times so you can make plenty of these.

Brad Parscale used social media to propel Donald Trump to the White House in 2016, and now he’s looking at an AI strategy to get him back there. Given BarGPT’s recommendation when asked for a “campaign-themed cocktail,” we’re not convinced.

Breakthrough Insights

Tune In

Panthers open series vs. Bruins

After eliminating their in-state rivals, the Florida Panthers open a best-of-seven series against the Boston Bruins tonight in South Florida (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Florida dispatched the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in a first-round series including a series-clinching 6-1 win. Before the final game of the series, Florida led the goal differential by one goal but led the series 3-1. 

Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe led the Panthers in the first-round series. Both accounted for nine points with Verhaeghe scoring a team-high five goals against the Lightning.

Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was in net for all five games. He allowed 14 goals in the five games. He will likely need to be better to help the team earn a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Panthers (110 points) and Bruins (109 points) were the top two teams in the Atlantic Division standings this season.

The Panthers are in search of their first Stanley Cup championship. Twice, Florida has reached the Stanley Cup Finals only to fall short. In 1996, Florida was swept out of the finals by the Colorado Avalanche. Last season, the Vegas Golden Knights topped the Panthers in five games. 

The Panthers lost all four games against the Bruins this season, including a pair of overtime losses. 

The winner of the series will advance to face the winner of the Carolina Panthers-New York Rangers series in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Also tonight:

6:50 p.m. — Chicago White Sox @ Tampa Bay Rays

10:10 p.m. — Miami Marlins @ Los Angeles Dodgers

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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.