Winner and Loser of the Week in Florida politics — Week of 7.21.24

We normally lead off this space with talk of politics. But we’ve all had plenty of that the last few weeks and will have plenty more in the months ahead. So in a nod to the former head of this column, the great Joe Henderson, let’s talk sports.

This part of Summer is supposed to be the doldrums for sports, with baseball the only of the four major sports running (sorry MLS, you’ll get there someday). Nevertheless, this week was full of major Florida headlines in the sports world, and that’s not even counting the Summer Olympics (we’ll get to that later).

Perhaps the biggest, breaking late Friday, was news that the Miami Dolphins signed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to a four-year, $212.4 million extension. That’s the largest deal in franchise history and makes him the No. 3 QB in the NFL in terms of annual salary.

It also ends speculation surrounding the QB after a generally successful, but at times up-and-down, first few years in the league after being drafted No. 5 overall in 2020. And it shows that the team feels like they have their QB of the future, putting the team in position to compete at the highest level in the years ahead.

By the way, one of those two QBs whom Tagovailoa trails in annual salary is Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who inked his own extension last month. The Jaguars followed up this week by extending cornerback Tyson Campbell, making him one of the highest-paid CBs in the league.

All three Florida NFL teams opened camp this week as well, giving us the sweet, sweet taste of football with the start of the regular season just weeks away.

Things were less sweet on the MLB front, with the Marlins and Rays each trading away significant players as their respective seasons sputter. The Marlins dealt reliever A.J. Puk to the Diamondbacks, while the Rays traded Randy Arozarena to the Mariners.

It’s yet another sign that this season hasn’t gone as planned for either team, though the Rays aren’t fully out of the wild car picture just yet, and could make a playoff appearance with a strong second-half run.

In basketball, the Heat managed to win this year’s Summer League title earlier in the week. Hey, it’s not as glitzy as their two recent title runs, but it’s something. And the Magic and Heat will each have two players representing countries in Olympic basketball, which kicked off yesterday.

It’s been a fast-moving week for the supposed slow period for sports, and a welcome distraction for the political chaos we’ve all been wading through in recent weeks.

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

Winners

Honorable mention: Val Demings. After losing a 2022 Senate bid in a historically strong cycle for Republicans, former Democratic U.S. Rep. Demings landed a new position this week, being appointed Governor of the U.S. Postal Service.

Demings, if confirmed, will serve until Dec. 8, 2030.

Demings, a former Police Chief and well-respected Congresswoman, faced what was, in retrospect, an impossible task in 2022 when she won the Democratic nomination to take on Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. Demings had many strengths as a candidate, but none enough to overcome the near 20-point advantage Republicans had in statewide races last cycle.

The Joe Biden administration has served as a landing spot for other high-profile Democrats who have lost difficult races. Former Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson now serves as NASA Administrator after losing his seat in 2018, and former Democratic state Sen. José Javier Rodríguez is now the Labor Department Employment and Training Administration’s Assistant Secretary after he was narrowly ousted in 2020.

Demings has been a leading voice in Florida for years, and is deserving of this new role.

Almost (but not quite) the biggest winner: Alex Heckler, Chris Korge, et al. Vice President Kamala Harris’ top Florida fundraisers in the state are activating after she emerged as the leading candidate to replace President Joe Biden atop the 2024 Democratic ticket.

Heckler and Korge spoke to Florida Politics this week, outlining their optimism that Harris’ candidacy could help put Florida back in play this cycle. That’s a message that has been echoed by other leading Democrats in the state.

Consider us more skeptical (see the entry above regarding Republican dominance just one cycle ago). Things are likely to slingshot back from 2022, as it’s unlikely Florida is now a permanent R+20 state. So Harris can make Florida closer, but it’s going to be tough to win outright.

Still, the candidacy has certainly excited the base. That’s where Heckler, Korge and others, such as Orlando lawyer Mark NeJame, can see an advantage. With Biden’s zombie campaign now over, these top dogs in the fundraising circuit will be able to bring in big bucks. That can help Harris here or elsewhere, and can be used smartly to help lift down-ballot Democrats in Florida.

This sea change in the Democratic Party is going to lead to a lot of new opportunities, and Heckler and others are well-positioned to shine as movers and shakers within Democratic circles.

The biggest winner: Florida Olympians. The Opening Ceremony is complete, and the Games are underway. And while Americans cheer on their nation’s athletes, Floridians will have plenty of competitors to focus on in the weeks ahead.

There are dozens of athletes competing in the Olympics who originally hail from Florida, and dozens more who have lived in the state at some point.

Delray Beach’s own Coco Gauff is likely the most well-known of the former group thanks to the incredible start to her tennis career. She also served as the U.S. flag-bearer alongside NBA legend LeBron James. And Katie Ledecky headlines the latter group, as she — one of the most dominant American swimmers in history — is originally from Maryland but trains at the University of Florida.

Indeed, there are plenty of Gators at this year’s games. And there are high-profile athletes from the Tampa Bay area, South Florida, North Florida and all around the state.

Swimming may be one of Florida’s strongest disciplines, with Caeleb Dressel and Bobby Finke joining Ledecky as previous gold medalists. Track and field is another discipline featuring many Florida athletes, such as Aaliyah Butler, Kendall Ellis, Erriyon Knighton, Noah Lyles, Monae’ Nichols and Twanisha “Tee Tee” Terry, among others. And don’t forget golfer Nelly Korda, who won the gold in Tokyo.

You can find Floridians in Paris in most places you look. We know we’ll have our eyes glued to the TV to see if the U.S. can dominate the medal count once again, with a big help from the Sunshine State.

Losers

Dishonorable mention: Andrew Warren. Warren recently screwed up by announcing that Hillsborough County Tax Collector Nancy Millan had endorsed his campaign when, in fact, she had not.

It’s not the first time a politician has made such an error, but these mistakes are infrequent for a reason: Florida law.

As our publisher, Peter Schorsch, noted in a recent column, Florida Statute 106.143 says “it is unlawful for any candidate or person on behalf of a candidate to represent that any person or organization supports such a candidate, unless the person or organization so represented has given specific approval in writing to the candidate to make such representation.”

“This is important because, had Warren’s campaign obtained written approval from Millan of her endorsement, this little oversight would not have occurred,” Schorsch noted. “So it begs the question, if he didn’t get it for her, did he get it from anyone?”

Let’s be real: This is a minor point that most voters would not care about in a normal election, and may still not care about. But Warren’s run is so unique in that Gov. Ron DeSantis removed him from office for failing to execute the law.

We’ve noted before that the Governor’s move was heavy-handed. And there is still a court saga playing out to determine if it was proper legally.

But Warren should not be giving the Governor any reason to start looking his way again should Warren win.

And even aside from the drama surrounding Warren’s removal, Warren is running to be the top prosecutor in Hillsborough County. If he ignored the law here, that’s not a good look.

Almost (but not quite) the biggest loser: Aaron Zahn. Prosecutors are pushing for a multiyear prison sentence against Zahn, the former JEA CEO.

Zahn was convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy over a 2019 scheme where he was accused of trying to pad his pockets by selling JEA to a private buyer.

And now, with the walls almost closing in around him, Zahn is on the precipice of finding out just how long he’ll stay behind bars.

Prosecutors haven’t said explicitly how long their recommended sentence will be. That announcement will reportedly come Tuesday. But there is some indication from a pre-sentencing report that it will fall short of nine years, but will be higher than one.

For betraying public trust in such a way, we hope that recommendation is closer to the ceiling than the floor. Maybe then the Zahn types will realize there are consequences to enriching themselves in the shadows while many of their neighbors struggle to get by.

The biggest loser: Aaron Dimmock. This guy is a walking punchline at this point as he continues his flailing Primary bid against Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz in Florida’s 1st Congressional District.

But now, he may be in danger of violating Missouri law.

You might ask: Why would a candidate for a Florida congressional seat be facing scrutiny over Missouri law? Well, that’s because this carpet-bagger is apparently taking home a six-figure salary from the Missouri state government, working remotely while running for Congress three states away.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is now having to answer questions about this arrangement, and it seems like, at the very least, Dimmock is not going to have that job for much longer.

But the bigger question here is: If former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy wanted so badly to prop up a Primary challenge against Gaetz to get back at the Florida Man for ousting McCarthy as Speaker, was this really the best he could find?

We’ve already covered Dimmock’s woke past (nothing wrong with that on its face, but in a GOP Primary in the Panhandle???) and his failure to snatch up his own campaign web addresses. Now, there’s the Missouri controversy. It’s just strike after strike for this guy.

Ousting Gaetz — who has his problems but is nevertheless quite popular among Republicans in his district — was already going to be a long shot. But at this rate, Dimmock may as well have competed for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. It seems like his odds of success there are about as good as his odds to win this Primary.