| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | | Presented by |  | | | |  Then-U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Fla.) speaks during a news conference with members of the Democratic Women's Caucus prior to State of the Union at the U.S. Capitol on February 4, 2020 in Washington, DC. | Alex Edelman/Getty Images | Good morning and welcome to Tuesday. Fundraising in the Senate race in Florida is lagging this cycle compared to 2022. Disclosures submitted last night to the Federal Election Commission show that former Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell raised more than $3.5 million during the first three months of this year, as she tries to win her party’s nomination in the race to unseat Republican incumbent Sen. Rick Scott. Scott’s campaign raised less than hers did, bringing in $2.2 million. His aides said affiliated fundraising committees tacked on a few more hundred thousand dollars — although the former governor’s fundraising matters a lot less than most other candidates, considering the wealthy former health care executive can cut himself a massive check at any moment. But the money raised by both sides at this point is far lower than in 2022, when then-Democratic Rep. Val Demings challenged GOP Sen. Marco Rubio. During the first quarter of 2022, Demings raised $10 million while Rubio — who’d go on to win by 16.4 points — raised $5.8 million. At this point in the race, Mucarsel-Powell has a bit under $2.8 million cash on hand, while Scott has $3.8 million. Demings and Rubio both had about $13 million in the bank at the same time two years ago. Since then, Republicans have continued to out-register Democrats in Florida. There are several pieces of information that help paint a fuller picture of the contest … First, the tallies don’t reflect any reaction to the state Supreme Court’s April 1 abortion rulings, but the Mucarsel-Powell campaign said it had seen 5,300 new donors since then. That information won’t be independently verifiable until second quarter fundraising is in, in mid-July. Another factor not yet showing up in the latest filings is that Scott’s campaign said it’ll spend millions in the coming weeks advertising to Florida Latinos, one of the most important and influential voting constituencies in the state. The Mucarsel-Powell campaign hasn’t announced similar advertising spending, but it’s still early in the race and her primary contest won’t be until August. This quarter, Scott contributed just over $182,000 to his own campaign, which reflected in-kind contributions for things like flights, food, drinks and rental space. To put that number in perspective: Scott contributed $3 million of his own money toward his campaign at the end of last year. Scott, a former governor, is the wealthiest member of the Senate and has leaned on his own cash to fund several of his campaigns — and he can do it again. Six years ago, Scott put more than $64 million toward narrowly winning his 2018 Senate race. A final factor to consider in the cash dash: The super PAC Project Rescue America, which supports Scott, has raised $5 million toward his reelection, including $1.4 million in the first quarter of the year. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com
| | A message from Alibaba: Every day, American businesses generate big global sales on Alibaba's online marketplace – to the tune of $66B in one year alone. These sales are having a bigger impact on communities back home. Florida companies like Timberwolf Pet Foods and DS Laboratories sell to over one billion consumers in China through Alibaba, supporting 15,800 local jobs and contributing $1.9B to Florida's GDP. Learn more about how Alibaba positively impacts Florida's economy. | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | |
RULING — “Phone calls with law enforcement can be recorded without their consent, court rules,” reports Vivienne Serret of Fresh Take Florida. “A Florida appeals court has effectively opened a loophole in the state's long-standing law against recording telephone conversations without the permission of both sides of the call, ruling that law enforcement officers performing their official duties can be secretly recorded because they have no expectation of privacy.”
RULES OF THE ROAD — “Florida's new chase policy lets troopers speed, drive the wrong way,” reports Axios’ Kathryn Varn. “The Florida Highway Patrol has loosened its pursuit policy, granting state troopers more discretion to start a car chase and allowing them to speed or even drive the wrong way, according to a new report from Stateline … The policy change contradicts guidance from leading industry experts and data that suggests fewer restrictions on chases make roads more dangerous.” INVESTIGATION — “Steep cost of long-term preemie care takes heavy toll on overburdened families,” reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Cindy Krischer Goodman. “Premature births in Florida — those earlier than 37 weeks gestation — rose 4 percent over the last decade, even as the state’s overall birth rate declined nearly 10 percent in the same time period, according to Florida Health Charts. Florida doctors see a health crisis unfolding: Infant mortality rates in the state persist at levels higher than the national average, but equally as concerning is the rising number of premature births. More advanced technology allows doctors to perform life-saving measures on newborns the size of a shoe; premature babies tend to die within 28 days, leaving families grieving; fragile children are sent home from hospitals with breathing machines, feeding tubes and other medical devices to keep them alive.” DROP — “COVID pandemic put hurt on Florida sports programs,” reports News Service of Florida’s Jim Turner. “Fewer fans during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a drop in economic returns on state programs that provide sports-related grants and incentives, according to a newly released state analysis. The Florida Sports Foundation claimed a small positive return for each $1 spent on grants to professional and amateur events, the analysis by the Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research found. But with many games held without fans or with limited crowds because of pandemic restrictions, larger incentives tied to publicly funded stadiums and arenas posted negative returns.” NO DEAL — “School run by Amesty’s family loses pitch to make home tax exempt,” reports the Orlando Sentinel’s Leslie Postal and Annie Martin. “The small university run by Rep. Carolina Amesty’s family lost its bid Monday to make the $1.6 million home where she lived during her first campaign exempt from property taxes. The school had sought an educational exemption on the five-bedroom pool home near Windermere where Amesty, an Orlando-area Republican, lived with her parents until last year. Central Christian University filed for the exemption in 2023 while it was delinquent on its prior year’s taxes. At the time, Amesty was the university’s vice president.” — “Republican lawmaker to file legislation allowing Florida to deport illegal immigrants,” reports the Floridian’s Liv Caputo. — “3 Florida property insurance companies announce reduction in rates, desire to give homeowners some relief,” reports News4Jax’s Tarik Minor.
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The Florida Historic Capitol sits near the 22-story New Capitol building; together, they are part of the Capitol Complex on July 25, 2023 in Tallahassee, Florida. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images |
PICKED — “Florida Poly selects state college leader as president,” reports POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury. “Florida Polytechnic University trustees on Monday narrowly chose G. Devin Stephenson, president of Northwest Florida State College, to become the school’s next leader. Stephenson is set to take over as Florida Poly’s second president, replacing its first leader Randy Avent, who is retiring in July after serving the campus for a decade since its inception.”
COVERT AGENT — “Convicted ex-U.S. diplomat says ‘radical politics’ at Yale turned him into Cuban spy,” reports the Miami Herald’s Jay Weaver. UP TODAY — “Suspended Orlando Commissioner Regina Hill pleads not guilty ahead of arraignment,” reports Christie Zizo of Click Orlando. “An arraignment hearing for the suspended Orlando city commissioner accused of elderly exploitation is set for Tuesday in circuit court, but Commissioner Regina Hill likely won’t be there. Hill’s attorney entered a not-guilty plea to the charges of elderly exploitation ahead of Tuesday’s hearing and waived her appearance.” — “Sarasota judge denies motion to release ex-Florida GOP chair [Christian Ziegler's] seized criminal records,” reports Melissa Pérez-Carrillo of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
| | | | A message from Alibaba:   | | | | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | A LOOK AT HOUSE RACES … First, there’s the seat Republicans are targeting to try to flip — Democratic Rep. Darren Soto’s FL-09. Records show he raised $179,000, with the bulk of that coming from PACs including those for America’s Health Insurance Plans and health insurers Humana, Molina, Centene and CVS Health, which owns Aetna. The donations come as former President Donald Trump has vowed to take another swing at undoing the Affordable Care Act. The lower-end fundraising amount suggests Soto’s campaign sees the seat as safe. Not all the GOP challengers’ totals were in by Playbook’s deadline, but as a point of comparison: One of the contenders, former state Rep. John Quiñones, who was the first Puerto Rican Republican member of the Florida House and chairman of the Osceola County Commission, reported just $33,000 raised during the same period. Though Florida is becoming more and more Republican, Democrats are still trying to flip two House seats: Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar’s FL-27 and Ana Paulina Luna’s FL-13. The filings show Luna raised $176,000. It was less than the $218,000 raised by Democratic challenger Whitney Fox, a former public transit executive, and more than the $126,000 raised by Democratic challenger Sabrina Bousbar, a Gen Z candidate who worked for the Biden administration. Luna has more cash on hand than the two Democrats combined, however, at $636,000. Salazar raised $575,000. Democratic candidate Lucia Báez-Geller, a school board member in Miami-Dade County, raised almost $139,000, while former Key Biscayne Mayor Michael Davey raised $314,000. Another House seat worth keeping an eye on is GOP Rep. Laurel Lee’s FL-15. Trump recently called for a Republican challenger to Lee, who backed Gov. Ron DeSantis during the GOP presidential primary. But because Trump didn’t make the push until the end of March, it’s too early to see whether it had any effect on fundraising. Lee’s campaign raised $412,00 this quarter.
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Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) speaks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 5, 2024. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | NEW POSITION — “Rick Scott supports 15-week Florida abortion ban over 6-week limit,” reports Alexander Bolton of The Hill. “Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) says he would support replacing Florida’s six-week state abortion ban with a 15-week statewide ban that he believes would reflect broader consensus within the Sunshine State over how to protect unborn life. Scott says any 15-week statewide abortion ban should include the standard exceptions for cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother.” — “Federal agents stop migrant smuggling boat off Florida Keys,” reports David Goodhue of Florida Keys News. | | TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP | |
TIMING CONFLICT — “Prosecutors fight Trump effort to use New York trial to delay Florida one,” reports POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney. “The opening of Donald Trump’s New York trial is already wreaking havoc on another of his criminal cases: the one charging him with hoarding classified documents at his Florida estate. Over the weekend, Trump’s lawyers urged Judge Aileen Cannon to put off a May 9 deadline she recently set in the case for a few key filings. In a Saturday submission, they argued that they – and Trump – are too busy with the hush-money trial to focus on the written filings she demanded by May 9 regarding expert witnesses and classified evidence Trump’s defense wants to offer. One central issue: Trump’s lead lawyer in Florida, Todd Blanche, is also his lead lawyer in the New York case.”
| | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | | | A message from Alibaba: Timberwolf Pet Food, a family-owned company based in Windermere, Florida, achieved an impressive 7-figure growth after launching on Alibaba's online marketplace, which reaches over one billion consumers in China. Partnering with Alibaba helped the 25-year-old company double its sales projections, allowing Timberwolf to expand its product lines, production, and staffing to meet the increasing demand.
Florida businesses generated enough global sales on Alibaba’s online marketplace to add $1.9 billion to Florida’s economy, supporting 15,800 local jobs and $1.1 billion in wages in one year.
"I knew from experience that Alibaba, with over one billion online consumers, was essential to launch our brand in China successfully," said Timberwolf CEO Kam Martin.
Learn more about how Alibaba positively impacts Florida's economy. | | |
— “Thousands of horseshoe crabs crowd Titusville beach in major spawning event,” per Malcolm Denemark of Florida Today.
— “What is sargassum and will blobs be on Florida beaches in 2024?” by Samantha Neely of USA Today Network — Florida. — “Trump complains he may miss son Barron's graduation because of New York trial,” reports the Palm Beach Post’s Antonio Fins. “In August of 2021, Barron enrolled at Oxbridge Academy, a fairly new school (founded in 2011) located off Military Trail just west of West Palm Beach, about eight miles from Mar-a-Lago. He is expected to graduate this May.” BIRTHDAYS: Former Senate President Bill Galvano … former Rep. Cliff Stearns. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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