Staff Reports
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Vice President Kamala Harris has a four-point lead over former President Donald Trump going into the Democratic National Convention.
Morning Consult’s latest polling update shows that the Democratic nominee has 48% support nationwide, followed by Trump at 44%. The four-point spread ties a record high set earlier this month.
Harris’s popularity is also high, with 50% of voters holding a favorable view of the Vice President compared to 45% who hold an unfavorable view. Trump, meanwhile, is five points underwater.
Voters continue to hear good things about Harris — Morning Consult said that for the fourth week running, voters are more likely to say they heard something positive (43%) than negative (31%) by a double-digit margin. For Trump, voters report being more likely to hear something negative than positive, although the gap has waned from the minus-20 posted at the beginning of this month.
Regarding running mates, the worst appears to be over for Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance. He debuted at a minus-one favorability rating before hitting a nadir of minus-11. The latest polling shows voters are now only two points more likely to have unfavorable than favorable views of him.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz remains above water, though not by much — 39% continue to have favorable views of the Democratic vice presidential candidate, while 36% hold an unfavorable view of him after two weeks on the ticket. That’s down slightly from the week prior (39% to 34%).
Evening Reads
—“Can Kamala Harris win in incumbent mode?” via Nate Silver of the Silver Bulletin
—“How Harris has *transformed* the electoral map” via Chris Cillizza of So What
—”How Democrats reversed the script on the GOP” via Jonathan Martin of POLITICO
—”Hillary Clinton and Harris: Inside their quietly close bond” via Annie Karni and Katie Glueck of The New York Times
—”Joe Biden was to be the headliner. Instead, he’s an opening act.” via Matt Viser of The Washington Post
—”The mistake that could cost Donald Trump the election” via David A. Graham of The Atlantic
—”Trump’s RNC is backing Georgia Republicans’ voter purge in court” via Justin Glawe of Rolling Stone
—”Democrats are set to approve a party platform that hasn’t been updated with Harris’ candidacy” via Ali Swenson of The Associated Press
—”Outside the Democratic Convention, a 90-year-old sandwich shop fights to survive” via Jeanne Whalen of The Wall Street Journal
—”1.9 million Floridians have cast their votes in the state’s Primary elections” via Jackie Llanos of the Florida Phoenix
Quote of the Day
“I am an innocent victim; I will not settle, not today and not ever.”
— Rep. Fabian Basabe, on the latest lawsuit alleging inappropriate behavior.
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.
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott may be onto something regarding sanctions, but he’ll have to settle for a Conspiracy Theory for now.
There’s no “right” version, so Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis must make do with a Left Bank Martini for his plan to counter ‘woke’ banks with state-chartered alternatives.
Send a round of Gator Grogs to the University of Florida Athletic Department, which announced a shake-up among top staff.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
Rays open series vs. A’s
The Tampa Bay Rays have a chance to gain momentum as they open a four-game series against one of the worst teams in baseball, the Oakland Athletics (9:40 p.m. ET, Bally Sports Sun).
Since trading off most of their high-priced veterans before the trade deadline, the Rays (62-61) have been hanging around the .500 mark. Tampa Bay sits 10 games out in the American League East and 6.5 games behind the final wild-card spot.
Could the Rays make a run at the wild card? Perhaps. Facing the A’s (53-71) could be a springboard to contending. Oakland has been more competitive lately. In August, they have won or split their last four series, including a weekend rivalry series with the San Francisco Giants. Oakland took the first of two games over the weekend.
Before the Bay Area series, the A’s won the series against the White Sox, Blue Jays, and Mets.
Tampa Bay has been inconsistent this month, sweeping a series with the Arizona Diamondbacks after being swept by the Houston Astros.
With 39 games remaining on the schedule, the Rays can’t afford to be swept if they want to keep their long shot playoff hopes alive.
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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.
