Staff Reports
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
The latest CNN poll showed a favorability boost for Vice President Kamala Harris following President Joe Biden’s exit from the campaign.
The SSRS Opinion Panel, conducted July 22-23 for CNN, surveyed around 1,600 voters following Biden’s withdrawal from the race. The survey includes questions on candidate options and favorability ratings.
More than three-quarters of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters said Harris should be the Democratic nominee, with 23% saying a different candidate should earn the nomination. This is a significant leap from Biden’s last poll in August 2023, where only a third supported his candidacy, and 67% said the party should run a different candidate.
According to SSRS’ historical poll results, voter approval of renominating former President Barack Obama never fell below 70% in 2011, near the end of his first term.
These results are also reflected in how voters feel about Biden’s withdrawal. Nearly seven in eight voters (87%) approved of Biden’s exit, while just 13% disapproved. Of those voters, 58% said they felt “relieved” by Biden’s announcement. Another 37% identified with the word “hopeful,” while 28% felt “surprised” and 20% felt “worried” – the totals exceeded 100% because respondents were able to select multiple answers from a prompted list.
Additionally, 70% of voters said Biden should serve the rest of the term, while 29% said he should resign and allow Harris to ascend to the presidency.
The poll also tracked the approval ratings of Harris, Biden, and former President Donald Trump throughout their political careers. Biden polled poorly, with 37% approval and 59% disapproval in the latest period, but this still ranked as his best performance in SSRS’ polling this year. Biden last polled above 40% in January 2023.
Harris, meanwhile, has 39% approval in the latest polling period, her best performance since her 51% approval in January 2021. Trump currently holds a lead against her, with 43% approval and 55% disapproval, which is the best he has performed since August 2020. This comes after the assassination attempt on him at his rally on July 13, his receiving of the Republican nomination, and his decision to select JD Vance as his running mate. According to the poll, Vance currently holds 28% favorability, though 16% said they had never heard of him, and 22% held no opinion.
The results show that Harris has some momentum – at least more than Biden did when he was the presumptive nominee – and that she will likely receive the nomination during the Democratic National Convention next month. However, she has a lot of ground to gain to catch up to Trump before the election on Nov. 5.
Evening Reads
–“The most important speech Joe Biden will ever give” via POLITICO Magazine
–“Historic flood of cash pours into Kamala Harris campaign and allied groups” via Michael Scherer, Gerrit De Vynck and Maeve Reston of The Washington Post
–“8 electoral maps that explain where we are” via Chris Cillizza of So What
–“Ron DeSantis: Harris is too liberal for Donald Trump” via Gary Rohrer of the Tallahassee Democrat
–“What would a Harris presidency mean for the economy?” via Jon Kamp, Richard Rubin and Justin Lahart of The Wall Street Journal
–“Harris has sought to raise her profile among executives, to whom she has been something of an enigma.” via Sydney Ember, Rob Copeland and Maureen Farrell of The New York Times
–“Is Harris the presumptive Democratic nominee? Not quite.” via Kaleigh Rogers of FiveThirtyEight
–“Should doctor-patient confidentiality still apply when the patient is the President?” via the Orlando Sentinel
–“Vote No on 3’s own poll finds support for recreational pot ‘stagnant’ but above threshold to pass” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
–“Monday breaks the record for the hottest day ever on Earth” via Sibi Arasu and Seth Borenstein of The Associated Press
Quote of the Day
“I’ve talked to some other Governors about maybe how we can kind of come together on some things. I don’t think Congress is ever going to address this. They can’t address anything.”
– Gov. Ron DeSantis, discussing the state’s need to act on NIL compensation.
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.
Pour Gov. Ron DeSantis a Melon Ball for his comments on name, image and likeness and compensation for college athletes, dare we say “ballers.” The melon liquor and vodka-based drink is a sweet one, so serve it with something salty, like the Governor’s comments.
Order a Welcome Back for Kent Fuchs, who’s stepping up as UF’s interim President following Ben Sasse’s exit.
It’s not your imagination – the record for the hottest day ever on Earth was set this week. Stay hydrated with these Summer Cocktails for a Hot Weather Buzz.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
Looking ahead to the USWNT 2024 Olympic debut
In what is a prime-time game in Paris, the U.S. faces Zambia in the first group stage match of the Olympic soccer tournament (3:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, USA Network).
The match is the first meaningful one for new USWNT head coach Emma Hayes, who took the job after directing Chelsea to seven Women’s Super League titles in twelve years. Now, she takes over a U.S. Women’s national team ranked the lowest they have ever been in the FIFA world rankings (No. 5).
The rosters for the Olympic teams are smaller than the usual USWNT rosters. With only 18 players available, some cuts had to be made, including leaving off Alex Morgan, who scored 123 goals in 224 international games representing the United States.
Expectations for the U.S. are high but the matchup with Zambia, ranked No. 64, the highest in the history of the country, could prove tricky as an opener. Led by Barbra Banda of the Orlando Pride and Racheal Kundananji of Bay FC, the “Copper Queens” can create headaches for any team in the tournament. Also in the group with the U.S. and Zambia are Australia and Germany.
The group winners, runners-up, and the two best third-placed countries advance to the knockout rounds, which begin on Aug. 3.
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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.
