Staff Reports
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
According to the latest tourism report from the state, tourists spent more money in Florida in 2023 than ever before.
Gov. Ron DeSantis detailed this week that $131 billion was spent in the state by tourists in 2023, a new record for Florida. That figure is a 5% jump over 2022, the previous state record.
While more tourism dollars were spent in Florida last year, that also meant more tax revenue generated for the state due to all that money flowing from visitors to the Sunshine State. An estimated $36.9 billion was generated in tax revenue from tourism spending. That revenue came from multiple levels of taxation on tourism dollars, including local, state, and federal tax revenue.
One key element attributed to the tourism industry’s uptick last year was economic impact. In 2023, the state’s economic impact was estimated at $127.7 billion, a 5% jump from the previous year.
Every single day in 2023, it’s estimated visitors to the state spent a collective $359 million, and for every dollar spent by a tourist, Florida retained 97 cents. Of that, 58 cents on each dollar spent went to worker salaries, with another 13 cents funneled into state and local taxes.
Every single day in 2023, it’s estimated visitors to the state spent a collective $359 million, and for every dollar spent by a tourist, Florida retained 97 cents. Of that, 58 cents on each dollar spent went to worker salaries, with another 13 cents funneled into state and local taxes.
Evening Reads
—”Donald Trump says he supports DREAMers. His past actions say differently.” via Li Zhou of Vox
—“TIME magazine to name Trump ‘Person of the Year’” via Meridith McGraw
—”Strengthening inflation poses challenge for Trump, Fed” via Harriet Torry and Nick Timiraos of The Wall Street Journal
—”Ruling by a conservative Supreme Court could help blue states resist Trump policies” via Tim Henderson of Stateline
—“Tech innovation critical to U.S. strategic interests” via Asheesh Agarwal of The James Madison Institute
—”Don’t mistake Democratic partisan orthodoxy for a ‘coherent’ philosophy” via Nate Silver of the Silver Bulletin
—“2024 Review: A few misses, but the polls got the big stories right” via Nate Cohn of The Tilt
—”Severe pain shaped UnitedHealth CEO murder suspect’s view of health system” via Daniel Gilbert of The Washington Post
—“Objectifying the accused” via Vanessa Friedman of The New York Times
—“Judge blocks The Onion’s bid to take over Alex Jones’ Infowars” via Miles Klee of Rolling Stone
Quote of the Day
“Florida can’t be beat.”
— Gov. Ron DeSantis, announcing a new record in tourism spending.
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.
Order some Big Spenders for the Florida tourists who plunked down a whopping $131 billion in 2023.
Rick Wilson gets two Winners — one for the initial ruling in the defamation case filed by Michael Flynn and a second now that an appeals court upheld it.
Serve FBI Director Christopher Wray an Adieu as he bids the Bureau farewell ahead of Trump’s second inauguration.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
Gators, Seminoles, Hurricanes seeing losses in transfer portal
For the second time this week, no Florida professional or college teams are playing. But college football coaches in the state are dealing with the departures of players into the transfer portal.
At Florida, Billy Napier may be facing the loss of one of his more productive defensive players as linebacker Jack Pyburn has announced that he is entering the transfer portal. Pyburn, a Jacksonville native, had 60 tackles with a sack, a forced fumble and an interception in the regular season. The interception came against Georgia’s Carson Beck. His lone sack came in the regular season finale against Florida State and Pyburn is reportedly after an opportunity to rush the passer more than he did during the season with the Gators.
Florida State quarterback Luke Kromenhoek is also reportedly heading to the transfer portal. The former 5-Star prospect spent just one season in Tallahassee, playing in six games, including starts in the final two games of the regular season. Kromenhoek threw three touchdowns against Charleston Southern and tossed two interceptions against North Carolina.
Miami is expected to lose backup quarterback Reese Poffenbager, offensive lineman Antonio Tripp, and running backs Chris Johnson Jr. and Ayay Allen Jr.
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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.
