Delegation for 11.5.24: Election Day!

Tomorrow marks the end of two expensive — and contentious — constitutional amendment campaigns.

It’s Election Day!

In a Presidential Election that most pollsters call a coin toss, members of the congressional delegation traversed the country in the final days of the cycle, rallying votes for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris or Republican candidate Donald Trump. With campaign season now in its final hours, political leaders from the Sunshine State mobilized votes everywhere that still looks purple on the map.

Sen. Marco Rubio could be spotted alongside Trump in North Carolina, suggesting the nation longs for a return to Trump’s first term.

“Our country took a wrong turn four years ago and now we’re stuck in a malaise,” he told rally attendees on Monday. “Everything is bad news. Our border is broken. We’re not respected in the world. Hardworking men and women have been forgotten. We are tired of living in a country that is not dreaming big, and that is going to change tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Maxwell Frost campaigned for Harris in Arizona. Hopeful to see a new President sworn in with a Democratic Congress, America’s youngest Congressman also stumped for Democratic Senate candidate Ruben Gallego.

“He’s going to be an advocate for all the issues we care about, from protecting reproductive rights to making sure we’re safe from gun violence,” the Orlando Democrat said in an online video posted by Gallego’s campaign.

To watch the video, please click the image below:

 

An itinerary on X for Rep. Kat Cammack showed the Gainesville Republican flying through Michigan and Pennsylvania, both swing states.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Fort Walton Beach Republican, shared a video of a rally speech for Trump in Henderson, Nevada. In it, he encouraged elected officials and Trump supporters throughout the country to mobilize until the campaign’s final hours.

“There is still something you can do to be a part of this campaign,” Gaetz said. “There are still doors to be knocked on in North Carolina. There are still text messages in Michigan. There are churches to reach in Pennsylvania. And there are the working class in this country, retirees and all of the Americans we are bringing together here in Nevada to ensure the greatest victory on Nov. 5.”

But as Tuesday’s election neared, most Sunshine State politicians landed back on Florida soil. While only the most devoted Harris supporters envision a victory in the Sunshine State, nearly every delegation member had a self-interested reason to be in their home district: reminding voters to bubble a spot below the presidential field.

Senate attention

The biggest statewide race outside of the presidential race remains Sen. Rick Scott’s re-election campaign. Polls have consistently shown Scott leading Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, herself a former member of the House delegation. But Scott’s leads have most often been within a survey’s margins of error.

The contest has drawn plenty of outside political leaders to the Sunshine State. Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia rallied in Miami to campaign for Mucarsel-Powell and swung through the state with hopes of affecting down-ballot races.

Scott, meanwhile, has campaigned alongside members of the delegation, including Rep. Brian Mast and with Florida Sheriffs who have endorsed his re-election. He also saw Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuño release a campaign video supporting Scott days after the Senator condemned an off-color joke about the island at a Trump rally. GOP Sens. John Barrasso of Wyoming and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin also campaigned alongside the incumbent.

If he secures re-election, Scott heads straight into another race. He hopes to succeed Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky as caucus leader in the Senate, preferably Majority Leader. But McConnell has thrown a bit of a wrench in Scott’s plan, releasing excerpts of an upcoming book blaming the Naples Republican for GOP losses in 2022 and accusing him of playing the “victim.” And to the chagrin of some of Scott’s Senate allies, McConnell has offered no help to Scott as Scott sought a second six-year term.

Sunshine State battlegrounds

Tuesday will also decide House races, each drawing various levels of attention to battlegrounds in Florida.

Arguably, the most likely Florida district to flip is in Pinellas County; Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a St. Petersburg Republican, faces a challenge from Democrat Whitney Fox.

The battle in Florida’s 13th Congressional District could serve as a bellwether for future election cycles.

CD 13 pits an ally of Trump who tends to toe the Make America Great Again line against a moderate Democrat who casts the incumbent as a disliked Representative whose extremism doesn’t place constituents’ best interests at heart.

In South Florida, Rep. María Elvira Salazar, a Coral Gables Republican, faces a challenge in Florida’s 27th Congressional District from Democrat Lucia Báez-Geller, a former high school teacher who, in her four years on the Miami-Dade School Board, distinguished herself as its most progressive member.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee targeted both Republican incumbents, naming Fox to its high-profile Red to Blue program. Meanwhile, the National Republican Campaign Committee lists just one target in the state.

Rep. Darren Soto, a Kissimmee Democrat, returned to Washington with the narrowest margin of victory of any member of Florida’s congressional delegation and now faces former Osceola County School Board member Thomas Chalifoux, who invested heavily in the race in Florida’s 9th Congressional District.

Yet nearly every voter in Florida will see a U.S. House race on the General Election down-ballot, with some races earning more attention than others.

Voters in Florida’s 8th Congressional District will choose a successor to retiring Rep. Bill Posey. First-term Reps. Aaron Bean, Laurel Lee, Cory Mills and Jared Moskowitz all seek re-election in potentially competitive seats. Incumbent Reps. Gaetz, Neal Dunn, Lois Frankel and Carlos Giménez all have been in high-attention contests before, and opponents hope to deliver surprise upsets tonight.

Only Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Miramar Democrat who won another term unopposed, will enjoy an evening without checking a vote total beside her name.

Military vote

Will military members stationed overseas be given a chance to vote? Reps. Michael Waltz, a St. Augustine Beach Republican, and Mast, a Stuart Republican, both sounded alarms about whether the Department of Defense properly dispatched resources to ensure troop participation in the election.

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have mobilized federal manpower, resources, and tax dollars to block state-level election integrity measures, including in Georgia and Virginia, through lawsuits and smears,” Mast said.

“They claim to care about democracy and the right to vote, yet they’ve failed to plan accordingly to facilitate the right to vote for every single one of our nation’s brave men and women in uniform. This is absolutely unacceptable. Our nation’s elite warriors deserve to have every opportunity to vote for the next commander in chief, especially since that person will be making life-and-death decisions for our troops.”

The Florida Republicans sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin raising “grave concerns over deficiencies” in voting protocols.

“Both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have dismissed our warfighters serving in combat zones by either falsely claiming the U.S. has suffered no casualties under this administration or by claiming thousands of these service members aren’t in active combat zones,” Waltz said. “We need assurances these service members who are putting their lives on the line for our country have the information and tools they need to cast their ballot to vote.”

Hot against Houthis

Both of Florida’s Senators this week called on the State Department to re-designate the Yemeni Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Rubio and Scott were among the six signatures on a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the change.

“Relisting the Houthis as an FTO would make individuals or entities providing material support to the group liable for criminal prosecution and considered Tier III terrorists subject to sanctions and a travel ban, open up economic tools to target the Houthis’ weapons procurement networks and manufacturing capabilities, provide a legal right of action to U.S. victims of Houthi terrorism, and ban Houthi members from obtaining a visa or entering the United States,” the bipartisan letter states.

“We, therefore, urge you to immediately restore the designation of the Houthis as an FTO, which would enable the United States to better target the group’s assets and financial support and hold the group accountable for committing terrorism against the United States, Israel, and our partners and allies throughout the region.”

The Yemeni rebel group has increasingly engaged in violence in the Red Sea region.

City settlements

Gaetz also benefited from a legal settlement with two California cities this week. He and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene had sued Anaheim and Riverside for canceling a fundraiser three years ago. The municipalities paid for the settlement, which resulted in the two receiving $150,000 to split.

“We are pleased to announce that we’ve reached a settlement with the cities of Riverside and Anaheim, California, and the Raincross Hospitality Management Corp,” Gaetz and Taylor Greene said in a statement to Newsweek. “In 2021, we both had our First Amendment rights trampled when left-wing city council members conspired to cancel our planned fundraiser and rally in California. Needless to say, we didn’t take this sitting down, so we sued, and we’ve now won, bigly. Thank you for all your support and prayers.”

Phil Pitchford, a spokesperson for Riverside, said the cities have always been committed to the First Amendment.

Marketplace manipulation

As the new open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act marketplace plans begins, Rep. Kathy Castor introduced legislation to prevent insurers from disenrolling Americans without consent.

“The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been a godsend to families in Florida and across America. The ACA has lowered the cost of high-quality health care and banned discrimination for preexisting conditions,” the Tampa Democrat said. “Unfortunately, a few bad actors are exploiting people and signing them up for health insurance plans without their consent.”

Castor filed the Insurance Fraud Accountability Act with Rep. Deborah Ross, a North Carolina Democrat, to address the system-gaming tactic, with six Democratic Senators filing companion legislation in the Senate.

“On the first day of open enrollment, I’m proud to introduce the Insurance Fraud Accountability Act with Rep. Ross to bring greater transparency and accountability to the health insurance marketplace by cracking down on predatory health insurance sales, ensuring consumers are notified of plan changes, establishing stronger penalties for fraudulent enrollments and requiring brokers to act in the best interest of the customer,” Castor said.

“Together, these measures will protect hardworking Americans from predatory practices and keep money in their wallets where it rightfully belongs.”

Comms hire

Rep. Vern Buchanan has brought on a new face for his office. Josh Gregory joined the Longboat Key Republican’s staff as Press Secretary, according to POLITICO.

According to LinkedIn, Gregory has been a strategy associate for the Penta Group since June 2023. Before that, he was the Director of State Government Relations for the University of Georgia’s Student Government Association. In political work, he served as the Treasurer and Chair of the University of Georgia College Republicans.

Medical education

With a lame-duck Session looming and control of the House next Congress uncertain, Salazar pressed Speaker Mike Johnson to prioritize budgeting federal dollars for physician instruction as soon as possible.

The Coral Gables Republican led a letter to the House leader pressing him on multiyear funding for appropriate teaching centers. She and 14 Republican lawmakers, including Lee, called for reauthorizing the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program through 2030.

“Teaching health centers are a vital response to the primary care physician shortage, placing doctors in rural and underserved communities where they are needed most,” the letter reads.

Last year, the House passed a bipartisan version of the “Lower Costs, More Transparency Act” that included funding for the program on a 320-71 vote, but negotiations with the Senate stalled.

Teaching groups praised the push for funding before the end of the 118th Congress.

“We are grateful for Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar’s dedication to the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program,” said Joe Dunn, Chief Policy Officer of the National Association of Community Health Centers.

“Her and her colleagues’ advocacy for a long-term extension and increased funding reflects their commitment to resolving the primary care workforce shortage across America. Their support will ensure we can train and retain the next generation of providers to improve the well-being of our nation.”

On this day

Nov. 5, 1872 — “Susan B. Anthony votes illegally” via The National Archives — Anthony was arrested, indicted, tried and convicted of voting illegally after casting her ballot in the 1872 Presidential Election in Rochester, New York. At her two-day trial in June 1873, which she later described as “the greatest judicial outrage history has ever recorded,” she was convicted and sentenced to pay a fine of $100 and court costs. After Anthony’s arrest, two weeks after the election, there was a hearing to determine if she had broken the law. The three young men who registered her as a voter and accepted her ballot at the polls on Election Day were interviewed.

Nov. 5, 1940 — “Franklin D. Roosevelt elected to a third term, preceding 22nd Amendment” via the National Constitution Center — President Roosevelt won a third term in office — an unprecedented act. Roosevelt’s decision to break the precedent set by George Washington was made in July 1940, as the United States neared its entry into World War II. The third-term decision dominated his election campaign against the Republican contender, Wendell Wilkie. In the end, Roosevelt won the election by a wide margin and won his fourth election in 1944. However, the widespread fallout about the concept of a long-term President led to the ratification of the 22nd Amendment in 1951.

Happy birthday

Best wishes to Rep. Frederica Wilson, who turns 82 today, Nov. 5.

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Peter Schorsch publishes Delegation, compiled by Jacob Ogles, edited and assembled by Phil Ammann and Ryan Nicol, with contributions from A.G. Gancarski, Janelle Irwin Taylor, and Jesse Scheckner.