Staff Reports
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
As a storm expected to form into Hurricane Helene closes in on Florida, 41 counties are now under a state of emergency per Gov. Ron DeSantis’ order.
The order covers all coastal counties up Florida’s west coast, the Panhandle, and a few inland counties that could be impacted by the storm.
The order spans Alachua, Bay, Bradford, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, Columbia, Dixie, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Hernando, Hillsborough, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Monroe, Okaloosa, Pasco, Pinellas, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Wakulla, Walton and Washington counties.
The 5 p.m. update showed the storm potentially heading into the Panhandle or perhaps the Big Bend region, an area already hit by Hurricane Debby earlier this year and Hurricane Idalia last year.
While Debby landed right around a Category 1 storm, current forecasts show that the hot Gulf of Mexico water could make this latest storm significantly stronger.
Parts of Cuba and Mexico are already under a hurricane watch or tropical storm warning. Landfall in Florida isn’t expected until later this week, however, giving plenty of time for the storm to change paths. And areas outside of a direct hit must still be ready for flooding, as happened during Debby last month.
The Governor’s executive order specifically mentions potential “storm surge, coastal flooding and erosion, heavy rainfall and flash flooding, and damaging winds” as reasons for the state of emergency.
Stay safe, and stay tuned for more updates as things come into shape in the days ahead.
Evening Reads
—“Don’t believe Donald Trump about 2028” via Chris Cillizza of So What
—“Suspect in Trump assassination attempt outlined plans in note” via Glenn Thrush and Adam Goldman of The New York Times
—“The 31 wackiest lines from Trump’s interview with Sharyl Attkisson” via Chris Cillizza of So What
—“Is Trump’s whole political career just a cockeyed revenge plot against the NFL?” via Noah Shachtman of Rolling Stone
—“Could Nebraska be the ultimate swing state?” via Charles Hilu, David M. Drucker, and Michael Warren of The Dispatch
—“Murder and other violent crime dropped across the U.S. last year, FBI data shows” via Ryan J. Reilly and Ken Dilanian of NBC News
—“Critics see Ron DeSantis double standard in Florida abortion petition case” via Lawrence Mower and Romy Ellenbogen of the Tampa Bay Times
—“Amendment 4 committee raises $7.8M in 1 week for reproductive rights initiative” via Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics
—“Orlando police investigates its own use of force on pro-Palestine protesters” via Cristóbal Reyes of the Orlando Sentinel
—”40 fun and weird facts about our Presidents” via Chris Cillizza of So What
Quote of the Day
“It is not a question of will or strategy or preference. It is a question of money. … If we have it, we have a very strong chance of winning. And if we don’t, we don’t.”
— U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii on Democrats’ chances in Florida’s U.S. Senate race.
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.
Senate Democrats offered a “Show Me the Money,” saying that their national fundraising arm needs to ship more resources to Florida to ensure the race between Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is competitive.
It’s Steady as She Goes for Florida’s unemployment rate of 3.3% for the fifth straight month. And the state’s rate has been below the national figure for a whopping 46 consecutive months.
UCF football fans should be mixing up plenty of Golden Knights on Saturday, as the university is playing host to Fox’s college football pregame show, Big Noon Kickoff. They’re taking on the Deion Sanders-led Colorado Buffaloes in what should be a highly-watched matchup.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
After losing consecutive games to start the season, the Jacksonville Jaguars must upset the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football in Buffalo to avoid an 0-3 start (7:30 p.m., ESPN).
The Jaguars (0-2) lost to the Miami Dolphins in the season opener on a last-second field goal. They followed it up with a loss to the Cleveland Browns last week. The Jaguars have opened the season 0-3 six times, including most recently in the 2021 season under Urban Meyer, when the team lost its first five games.
Jacksonville began this season with playoff hopes. But if they lose tonight, those would be all but dashed. Only six teams have started 0-3 and made the playoffs since 1979. It has happened only once since 2000. Simply put, tonight’s game is a must-win for the Jaguars.
Jacksonville comes into the game depleted in the secondary, not a preferred situation when facing Josh Allen. Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell is on injured reserve and yesterday, the team announced that defensive back Darnell Savage was downgraded to out and did not travel with the team. Savage has a quadriceps injury.
The Jaguars offense has been the bigger issue over the past six quarters of football. Since opening the season with an impressive first half against the Dolphins, Trevor Lawrence and company have just one touchdown. They will likely have to do better than that to keep up with the Bills.
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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.
