Staff Reports
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Florida Democrats are thumping their chests after notching lopsided wins in Tuesday’s Special Elections.
LaVon Bracy Davis grabbed nearly 73% of the vote in Senate District 15 while RaShon Young swept House District 40 with 75%.
Party operatives wasted no time casting the results as proof that voters are souring on Republicans — pointing to “overperformance” of 22 and 15 points beyond 2024 margins and drawing a straight line to congressional battlegrounds held by incumbent Republican U.S. Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, Cory Mills and María Elvira Salazar.
The DCCC said the results are putting the GOP trio on notice, arguing the numbers show Democrats are poised to break through in 2026.
“Luna, Mills, and Salazar ignore the writing on the wall at their own peril. At every turn, Democrats have significantly overperformed and this election is simply the latest indication that Floridians are tired of Republicans’ lies, allegations, and false promises. Voters want results – not the lip-service, headline chasing, and scandals that Florida’s Republican delegation delivers. In 2026, Floridians are going to finally show Luna, Mills, and Salazar the door,” DCCC spokesperson Madison Andrus said in a news release.
The celebratory release echoes Democrats’ narrative following closer-than-expected — but by no means close — losses in Special Congressional Elections earlier this year. The key difference: these were safe Democratic seats that everyone expected Democrats to win.
Special Elections, especially in off-year contexts, tend to magnify partisan bases rather than mirror November electorates. And while Mills may have heard Bracy Davis’ and Young’s warning shots in his Central Florida district, it’s questionable whether Salazar or Luna would have heard anything within their South Florida and Pinellas-based districts, respectively.
That doesn’t mean the numbers are meaningless — Democrats have struggled to show life statewide, and any narrative of momentum is a commodity they’ll happily bank. Still, the jump from a pair of home-field blowouts to a statewide comeback story carries about as much water as the average “takeaways” rundown on the Gators’ opener vs. LIU.
Evening Reads
—”Jeffrey Epstein accusers join lawmakers to push for full release of documents” via Amy B. Wang, Mariana Alfaro, Beth Reinhard, Marianna Sotomayor and Kadia Goba of The Washington Post
—”How Donald Trump lost the podcast bros” via Christian Paz of Vox
—”How the Democrats keep copying the MAGA influencer playbook (and failing)” via Tina Nguyen of The Verge
—“The wrong way to win back the working class” via Jonathan Chait of The Atlantic
—”Ron DeSantis administration pushes to eliminate all vaccine mandates in Florida” via Christine Sexton of the Florida Phoenix
—”States go their own (and contradictory) ways on vaccine policy” via Emily Baumgaertner Nunn of The New York Times
—”Paul Renner, former Florida House speaker, announces run for Governor” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
—“‘Ill-advised decision’: DeSantis says Renner shouldn’t have run for Governor” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
—”DeSantis says crosswalk art is a ‘safety hazard.’ Studies say otherwise.” via Nakylah Carter of the Tampa Bay Times
—”Why I decided to go to the doctor” via Chris Cillizza of So What
Quote of the Day
“Governor of what?”
— Gov. Ron DeSantis, on former House Speaker Paul Renner’s entry into the 2026 fray.
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.
Today, he’s celebrating a campaign launch, but the magic eight ball (and the Governor) are ready to serve Paul Renner an On Second Thought.
Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo is going all in on a push to end all vaccine mandates. From our end of the bar, it looks like all he wants is an Attention or two.
State-level economic indicators may be positive, but a new UF survey indicates consumers see a Fiscal Cliff on the horizon.
Bill Day’s Latest
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
Rays try to keep winning streak, playoff hopes alive
The Tampa Bay Rays continue to chase a wild-card spot as they conclude a series against another wild-card contender, the Seattle Mariners, tonight (7:35 p.m. ET, FanDuel Sports Net Sun).
After 138 games, the Rays are back where they started, at the .500 mark and still working to earn a postseason spot. Tampa Bay is 3.5 games out of the final wild card spot, currently held by Seattle. The Rays have won five straight games, including the first two games of the series against Seattle.
Last night, Tampa’s 22-year-old star, Junior Caminero, reached a pair of milestones, hitting his 40th home run of the season and collecting his 100th run batted in.
After concluding the series against the Mariners, the Rays will host another wild-card hopeful, the Cleveland Guardians, for four games before heading to Chicago to face the White Sox and Cubs for three games each.
The Rays will send veteran Adrian Houser to the mound tonight. Houser joined the Rays at the trade deadline from the White Sox. Tampa Bay has won each of the last three games in which he has started, but Houser has earned only one victory as a member of his new team.
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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.
