Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
The Florida Democratic Party is blasting Gov. Ron DeSantis for his response following the severe weather that tore through Tallahassee last week.
“Tallahassee is reeling from historic storms, and Ron DeSantis is too busy planning fundraisers for Donald Trump to care,” FDP Chair Nikki Fried said in a news release. “While first responders and linemen were working around the clock to help the people of Leon County, Ron was busy playing golf and tweeting about pizza.”
The tweet in question highlighted the Governor’s visit to Miami Slice over the weekend, where he apparently enjoyed a pepperoni pizza served with hot honey.
Fried added, “It’s appalling that thousands of people are on day five without power and FEMA hasn’t been called in. Florida Democrats are calling on Ron to swallow his pride and coordinate with the Biden Administration to make sure that everyone who needs assistance is getting it as quickly as possible.”
According to the Florida Public Service Commission, as of Wednesday, power had been restored to 96% of Tallahassee utility customers, with approximately 5,000 still without power.
Evening Reads
—“The 30 wackiest lines from Donald Trump’s appearance on the ‘Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show’” via Chris Cillizza of So What
—”2024: Same as it ever was” via David Catanese of Too Close To Call
—“Joe Biden’s path to winning the Electoral College runs through the Midwest” via Nathaniel Rakich of FiveThirtyEight
—”The eight dynamics that will shape the election” via David A. Graham of The Atlantic
—”Are registered Democrats being ‘purged’ in Florida?” via Dave Trotter of Voting Trend
—”Sixty days in jail and forced psychiatric treatment: What Florida could do next to homeless people” via Jason Garcia of Seeking Rents
—”Does Florida law ban the state from taking action against a dentist for antisemitic remarks?” via Christine Jordan Sexton of Florida Politics
—“Florida TaxWatch finds $855M in budget ‘turkeys’” via Gray Rohrer of Florida Politics
Quote of the Day
“What I will say is not everything he said, while offensive, would trigger his license revocation. What triggers his license revocation is the calling for the death of his patients.”
— Rep. Randy Fine, on his call to suspend Fadi Kablawi’s dental license.
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.
Order DeSantis a Chinese Fizz for signing a bill that will push the state to divest from companies based in the country of concern.
The team at Florida TaxWatch gets a round of Frozen Turkeys for poring over the state budget for questionable appropriations.
Will professor and potential presidential spoiler Cornell West address the Florida Association of Counties? Time will tell, but he gets an Up In The Air while FAC “revisits” the booking.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
NFL schedule revealed tonight
The NFL will reveal the 2024 schedule this evening (8 p.m. ET, NFL Network).
Every team in the league already knows the opponents on the schedule and tonight, we will find out when they will play, and more importantly, which teams will be featured in prime-time games.
Coming off a playoff appearance, the Miami Dolphins should find themselves with some high-profile games. Two matchups with the Buffalo Bills are good candidates for national games. So, too are games against high-profile quarterbacks from the AFC South’s last two division winners, Houston (C.J. Stroud) and Jacksonville (Trevor Lawrence).
A home game against the reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers could also be a prime-time game candidate for the Dolphins.
If the schedule maker has a dark sense of humor, they could send Miami to Green Bay late in the season to recreate the Dolphins’ frigid playoff loss in Kansas City.
In addition to the matchup with the Dolphins, the Jaguars will play two games in London, Oct. 13 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against the Chicago Bears and the following week at Wembley Stadium against the New England Patriots. The Jaguars will also travel to Philadelphia to face the Eagles, a return to the City of Brotherly Love for Jacksonville head coach Doug Pederson. Road games at the Bills and Detroit Lions are also candidates for prime time. Notably, the Jaguars have never played on Thanksgiving, so the game against the Lions could become a first.
Florida’s NFC team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, includes visits by the Eagles and 49ers, the last two NFC champions. Road games at the Chiefs and Cowboys could also be highlighted.
Also tonight:
7:10 p.m. — Tampa Bay Rays @ Boston Red Sox
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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.
