Staff Reports
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
The latest polling shows U.S. Sen. Rick Scott up by a touchdown over Democratic challenger Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, and his campaign is hoping to solidify his position by getting voters to the polls early.
Tomorrow afternoon, Scott’s operation will be joined by Alaska U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and military veterans from the “Veterans for Rick Scott” coalition to rally supporters and get out the vote for Sen. Rick Scott’s re-election.
The rally is the latest in a string of GOTV events put on by the Scott campaign in recent days — over the weekend, former Republican presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy stumped for the Senator in Palm Beach, urging voters to cast their ballots for Trump, Scott and Republicans up and down the ballot.
The same Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy survey that found Scott leading 48%-41% showed Trump with a six-point lead at the top of the ticket, 49%-43%. Notably, a larger share of Democrats (7%) than Republicans (4%) say they plan to cross the aisle and vote for the other party’s nominee.
As the apparent Republican advantage gels ahead of Election Day, Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried will attend the Tri-County Political Forum in Apalachicola tonight to discuss state and local politics alongside a handful of candidates for local office.
Mucarsel-Powell, CD 2 Democratic nominee Yen Bailey, SD 3 Democratic nominee Daryl Parks, and HD 7 Democratic nominee Kenny Beasley will also attend the event, which starts at 5:30 p.m. at Fort Coombs Armory.
Evening Reads
—”A mystery repeats: Kamala Harris up 4 in Pennsylvania, and Donald Trump up 6 in Arizona” via Nate Cohn of The New York Times
—”New York Times polls are betting on a political realignment” via Nate Silver of the Silver Bulletin
—”Inside the Trump admin’s secret battle plans for North Korea” via Zach Dorfman of Rolling Stone
—“How reported threats in North Carolina trace to Trump-fueled misinformation” via Aaron Blake of The Washington Post
—“Poll: Abortion, recreational pot measures have majority support, but just 1 has enough backing to pass” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics
—”Poll: Rick Scott leads Debbie Mucarsel-Powell by 7 points, winning with Hispanic voters” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics
—”TECO has power restored to nearly all Polk customers, 75% in Hillsborough and Pinellas” via Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics
—”Five days after Milton, fewer than 5K Central Florida customers still without power” via Annie Martin of the Orlando Sentinel
—”How climate disasters are making mobile homes a huge risk” via Hilary Howard and Christopher Flavelle of The New York Times
—”Worldwide efforts to reverse the baby shortage are falling flat” via Chelsey Dulaney of The Wall Street Journal
Quote of the Day
“I mean, the fact is, these are private businesses, the fuel supply is a private sector. We are not Venezuela.”
— Gov. Ron DeSantis, on the gas station generator shortfall.
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.
Gov. Ron DeSantis isn’t interested in controlling the fuel supply, but that doesn’t mean he’d turn down a nice Guarapita.
The Governor also earned himself a Speedboat Manatee for using state cash to “jump-start the recovery” at SeaPort Manatee.
USF homecoming and stadium groundbreaking have been pushed back to early November, giving you plenty of time to stock up on Brave Bulls.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
Yankees, Guardians open ALCS
It’s the final step before the World Series for the New York Yankees or Cleveland Guardians as the American League Championship Series opens at Yankee Stadium tonight (7:38 p.m. ET, TBS).
The Yankees advanced to the ALCS by knocking out the Kansas City Royals three games to one in the division series. The Guardians eliminated the Detroit Tigers in five games.
The series matches the teams with the two best records in the American League this season. New York won 94 games in the regular season; Cleveland won 92.
The Yankees feature the more potent offense, powered by likely American League MVP Aaron Judge and slugger Juan Soto. The duo combined for 99 home runs and 253 runs batted in.
Cleveland’s hitting start was third baseman Jose Ramirez, who slammed 39 home runs and drove in 118.
It was Cleveland’s bullpen that made the difference this season. The Guardians had four pitchers with earned run averages under 2.00 in the pen, including dominant closer Emmanuel Clase, who saved 47 games while posting a 0.61 ERA. Nick Sandlin, the other regular out of the bullpen, had a 3.75 ERA but finished the season with eight wins and no losses.
The best-of-seven series is scheduled to continue tomorrow with Game 2.
The National League series opened yesterday with the Los Angeles Dodgers taking Game 1 9-0 over the New York Mets.
___
Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.
