Winner and Loser of the Week in Florida politics — Week of 7.14.24

“Don’t be an asshole.” That great, yet simple, advice can do wonders for your success in a relationship, starting a business or, just spitballing here, navigating the halls of Congress.

Well, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz didn’t get that memo this week when he went out of his way to troll former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy while McCarthy was in the middle of an interview at the Republican National Convention.

“What night are you speaking? Are you speaking tonight?” Gaetz said sarcastically, attempting to throw off McCarthy during his interview. As others intervened to pull Gaetz back, the Panhandle Republican added, “If you took that stage you would get booed off of it.”

That prompted Republican National Committee member Richard Porter of Illinois to step in.

“Shut up, Gaetz,” Porter said. “Don’t be an asshole.”

“Dude, I don’t even know who you are, man,” Gaetz retorted.

“It doesn’t fucking matter who I am,” Porter replied. “Don’t be an asshole. You’re an asshole.”

Look, we gave Gaetz credit when he played his hand perfectly and made history by ousting McCarthy as Speaker, eventually leading to the latter’s resignation from the House completely.

But, man, you already won. Do you need to keep trolling this guy? Yes, there is still bad blood between the two, as McCarthy seems to be backing a likely doomed Primary challenge against Gaetz. But there’s got to be a better way to push back against McCarthy than by accosting him and, well, being an asshole.

It’s really just not a good look for Gaetz. Then again, not having a good look seemed to be the theme of the week for Gaetz in more ways than one.

Now, it’s on to our weekly game of winners and losers.

Winners

Honorable mention: Ben Sasse. Sasse made the difficult decision Thursday to step down as President of the University of Florida (UF) due to health complications for his wife.

While the move may sting for Sasse and for the university, Sasse gets credit here for putting family first during a difficult time.

Sasse explained the difficulties in a statement released shortly after Florida Politics publisher Peter Schorsch first broke the news that Sasse would be stepping down.

“This isn’t an easy note to write but wanted to give you an update on our family. As many of you know, my wife Melissa suffered an aneurysm and series of strokes in 2007. Back then, the docs prepared us for the worst, but — in God’s providence — she made an incredible comeback. In the years since — from Nebraska to DC to Florida — she kept our family grounded while I missed too many family dinners, little league games, hugs, and tears. She’s the strongest person I know,” Sasse said.

“We’ve battled some nasty seizures the last couple years, but she’s always remained a warrior. In recent months, Melissa has been diagnosed with epilepsy and has been struggling with a new batch of memory issues. It’s been hard, but we’ve faced it together.”

That prompted Sasse to reach out to UF leadership and step away.

“Gator Nation needs a president who can keep charging hard, Melissa deserves a husband who can pull his weight, and my kids need a dad who can be home many more nights. After extensive prayer and lots of family tears, I today asked UF Chair Mori Hosseini and our Board of Trustees to initiate a search for a new president of the university. I need to step back for a time and focus more on the needs of my family while we rebuild more stable household systems.”

It’s hard to give up powerful positions like this, which is why we see politicians routinely debase themselves to stay in power or continue grasping on even when their faculties are failing.

But Sasse has his priorities straight. And even though this is a tough time for him, he can at least know that when he looks back on this decision in the years ahead, he’ll be certain it was the right one for him and his family. Best wishes to them going forward.

Almost (but not quite) the biggest winner: Jared Moskowitz. There has been a lot of talk about unity following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. And it’s easy to talk about it, but hard not to completely revert to the same divisive rhetoric that has created our current political climate.

Moskowitz, however, went beyond just talk and attempted to take action multiple times this week to demonstrate a desire to bridge the divide between our two leading political parties.

The Democratic lawmaker started as many other officials did following the shooting, releasing a statement calling for unity and an investigation into security failures that led to the shooting.

But he took two additional steps. First, he joined Gaetz to file legislation honoring Corey Comperatore, a former volunteer Fire Chief who died during the shooting while shielding his family from harm. That’s a cause that should be unanimous in Congress and nationwide.

Second, Moskowitz partnered with another Republican, U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, to send a letter specifically pressing their colleagues in Congress to tone down the rhetoric.

“We have the ability to lead by example and show people we can disagree without dehumanizing each other,” the letter reads.

“Considering the current political division in our nation, we understand that this may be easier said than done. There is a system of hatred and grifting that has infused itself into our politics. We see it on TV and social media daily, making this task challenging. We must find ways to find commonality with each other.”

Amen. Can that message take hold longer than a week or two? Other past tragedies haven’t seemed to help things, so it’s unclear if this time will be different. But Moskowitz has made a good start in changing the tone of Washington discourse.

The biggest winner: Tampa Bay Rays. It looks like the Rays are here to stay.

In a 5-3 vote on Thursday, the St. Pete City Council approved a $6.5 billion project to build a new stadium and develop the surrounding area. The stadium itself would cost around $1.3 billion, and the deal would keep the team in the Tampa-St. Pete area for at least 30 years.

The team, like its neighbor to the southeast, has struggled with attendance throughout its history. But the Rays, like the Marlins, have routinely outperformed their payroll, making two World Series appearances since 2008 and several more playoff appearances.

Nevertheless, there have been rumors of possible relocation for years if the team didn’t nail down this stadium agreement. There remains one more vote from the Pinellas County Commission before the deal is finalized, but the St. Pete City Council vote was seen as the bigger hurdle.

Now, the Rays will need to turn to driving up support for the team, a reality that Rays owner Stu Sternberg acknowledged following the vote.

“The tent is only going to get much larger,” Sternberg said. “We need to convert those who had been naysayers. They don’t have to be rah-rah supporters, but if they can step back and accept what we’re trying to do and be part of it and be rewarded, that would go a long way. We need the entire region and the entire community.”

Losers

Dishonorable mention: Kim Kendall. Look, a lot of what is said publicly in politics is done out of convenience, not principles.

Republicans praising Trump’s character flaws and rapid policy shifts that they previously advocated against? Hey, he’s the leader of the party and the base loves him, better get on board.

Democrats roasting Republicans for marching in lockstep under Trump, then turning around and trying to shiv other Democrats who step out of line and announce they’d prefer Biden should step down? Well … blindly taking the party’s side is OK — necessary, even — when it’s our team!

It’s the type of political cravenness that turns people off from politics. But most of the time you have to read between the tea leaves. It’s not like these officials are coming out and directly saying, “I’m doing this out of convenience and self-preservation, not because I actually believe it.”

Well, Kendall just came about as close you can to saying just that.

You see, Kendall is now taking aim at groups like Americans for Prosperity and the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce after they endorsed her GOP Primary opponent Nick Primrose.

Those are groups whose principles line up with most Republicans. But not for Kendall, at least that’s what she’d like you to believe. They’re the swamp, special interests. She’s the true outsider. Normally, you’d look at that and think this was a matter of convenience and that she’d take their endorsements if she could. But it’s not like we usually have receipts to prove that conjecture.

Except, we do in this case. Kendall was reportedly courting endorsements from these groups behind the scenes. Only after being rejected did she try to call out Primrose for earning them.

Being an outsider by choice is a persona. Being an outsider because you tried and failed to get these established groups to like you is just sad.

Again, it’s convenience rather than principles. At least this time we get a clear answer on whose principles are lacking in this race.

Almost (but not quite) the biggest loser: Marco Rubio. Well, so much for all of that speculation that Rubio could be Trump’s VP pick this cycle.

Trump passed on Rubio, instead selecting one of Rubio’s colleagues, U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio. Vance spoke at this week’s Republican National Convention one night before Trump gave his formal acceptance speech.

Rubio had a lot of plusses as a potential VP. He’s an effective communicator, knowledgeable on foreign policy and has appealed to evangelical voters over his career. He’s also one of the country’s leading Latino elected officials, which may have helped Trump appeal to that demographic as the former President seeks to expand his voter coalition to court minority voters that have traditionally supported Democrats.

But then there was that nagging residency issue.

Contrary to some popular belief, the Constitution does not outright bar two candidates from the same state — Trump and Rubio are both Florida residents — from running on a presidential ticket. But it does bar electors from that state from supporting both candidates. That would have complicated matters if the election was close enough that Florida’s delegates would have put a Trump-Rubio ticket over the top.

It was a sticking point Trump identified amid recent speculation that Rubio was a finalist, even as Trump otherwise praised the Senator. After Trump made his pick, one of his sons admitted that the residency issue was a hurdle.

Of course, it stings coming so close to holding the No. 2 position in the executive branch, which could have helped springboard Rubio into a future presidential run.

But as much as he was directly impacted by the pick, Vance’s selection was an even bigger negative for another Florida Republican.

The biggest loser: Ron DeSantis. DeSantis’ positioning for a 2028 run just got a lot more difficult.

DeSantis famously flamed out as a candidate this cycle, going from someone seen as the future of the Republican Party to not winning a single county in Iowa.

But his favorability among Republicans has started to tick back up, and he clearly wants to take a shot at another presidential run in 2028.

Now, however, he may have to get through Vance. All of this may be a moot point if Trump loses. But if Trump’s current edge holds and Vance serves as the MAGA VP, it’s going to be hard for DeSantis to claim that lane.

That was the biggest flaw of DeSantis’ 2024 campaign. He ran as a Trump-like candidate even though Trump himself was running. And DeSantis failed to aggressively make the case against Trump until it was too late.

True, that’s less of a worry in 2028. Vance isn’t Trump, and DeSantis will have no problem hitting him. But Vance will still carry a seal of approval from Trump that DeSantis never got.

Now, you may argue that much of what we just said about DeSantis applies to Rubio as well. The state’s senior Senator certainly has future political ambitions, and he’s just as handicapped by the Vance pick in 2028 as DeSantis is. Plus, Rubio was actually passed over after having a shot at landing the VP gig. DeSantis wasn’t seriously considered.

So why is DeSantis a bigger loser here than Rubio? Simple: Rubio still has a job after 2026. He has the flexibility of deciding to run in 2028 or sit back, continue racking up experience in the Senate and wait in the wings.

DeSantis, meanwhile, is termed out as Governor. His main political play at continuing his political career was banking on a 2028 rebound. If that falls short, is he content on falling back on being Florida’s First Gentleman? Does he hope for a role in a potential Trump administration? If so, what does he do post-2028 when Trump is termed out?

Rubio has a lot of different options despite losing out on the VP gig. DeSantis, meanwhile, seems set on putting all of his chips on this 2028 run. And Vance is now showing the strongest hand.