| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard and Mia McCarthy | |  Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) shakes hands with former President Donald Trump during the Moms for Liberty Joyful Warriors national summit at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown on June 30, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. | Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images | Good morning and welcome to Thursday. There’s no shortage of news about the jockeying underway to be Donald Trump’s running mate. And now it looks like a second Apprentice-like contest is already on for the 2026 governor’s race. On Tuesday, Trump asked Rep. Byron Donalds at a high-dollar fundraising dinner at the Pierre in Manhattan whether he planned on running for governor. Donalds, who’d been with Trump at the courthouse earlier in the day and is also reportedly in consideration for the VP slot, confirmed the exchange to POLITICO’s Mia McCarthy in a brief interview at the Capitol. Donalds said he responded with, “That’s what I hear.” Trump shot back that he had a lot of friends who were likely to enter the race, per a person familiar with the comments, granted anonymity to freely discuss the exclusive event. As POLITICO previously reported, the list to be Florida’s next top executive is long, and other prospects considered loyal to Trump include Reps. Mike Waltz and Matt Gaetz. “The president likes me, I guess,” Donalds said of Trump singling him out, before acknowledging that a lot of people were interested in the role. He stressed that the gubernatorial race was far off and that the most important task for Republicans was to help Trump get elected in November. “The president has a lot of friends,” he said. “A lot of people like the president, for good reason.” Gov. Ron DeSantis is term-limited out in 2026, and the open seat will be a super attractive perch for hopeful pols. Others interested in running in two years include Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, who didn’t endorse in the GOP primary. Since DeSantis dropped out of the presidential race, however, Patronis has made several overtures to Trump. He tried to push a bill — quickly shot down by DeSantis — to create a $5 million pool to help pay Trump’s legal bills. More recently, he alerted Trump to money he, his family and businesses are owed from an unclaimed property fund he might be able to use instead. Other potential gubernatorial candidates are more in DeSantis’ camp, such as Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez and state Attorney General Ashley Moody, both of whom are considered to be among those in the governor’s most trusted, loyal circle. DeSantis and Trump have reached a public detente, but Trump’s latest comments are a reminder that by 2026 they might be in another power struggle to shape the direction of the state they both call home. Trump seems determined to make his mark. He already endorsed state Sen. Joe Gruters, a close ally, to be chief financial officer in 2026 after Patronis, and likes to remind people that he “made” DeSantis by endorsing him in 2018. Right now Trump is up in the polls in key swing states, but the weight he carries in Florida in a couple of years will depend a lot on whether he does in fact make it into the White House. “Nobody is going to be able to decide what they want to do until after November,” David Custin, a political adviser to Nuñez, said about looming decisions to run for governor. “Everybody is in the same boat. Is Trump sworn in or not? That’s the first question you have to ask. Is it truly a wide open primary, or is it going to be a primary that’s basically picked by the sitting president from Florida?” — Kimberly Leonard and Mia McCarthy Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com.
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Ron DeSantis signed three bills into law on Wednesday, including an energy bill that bans nearshore windmills and upends existing climate policy despite concerns from environmental groups. “The legislation I signed today ... will keep windmills off our beaches, gas in our tanks, and China out of our state,” DeSantis wrote in a social media post. “We’re restoring sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots.” DeSantis added: “We’re going to ensure foreign adversaries like China have no foothold in our state.” The energy bill, HB 1645, bans windmills along the coast and loosens regulations for natural gas pipelines. It also removes incentives meant to push state and local governments to buy electric vehicles, which drew concern from environmental groups that asked him to veto the bill. “Another feckless decision from Governor DeSantis. Eliminating the few genuine, clean, renewable energy grant programs in the state and giving handouts to the gas industry is a slap in the face of hard-working Floridians,” Sierra Club Florida political director Luigi Guadarrama wrote in a statement. “Ron DeSantis is choosing to raise our bills and taxes to benefit large, out of state oil and gas corporations.” The bill was backed by House Speaker Paul Renner, who said during the legislative session that the measure was needed to support utilities that are facing increased pressure and “unrealistic” climate change goals from the Biden Administration. DeSantis also signed HB 7071, which directs the Florida Board of Administration to launch an inquiry into state investments that may have ties to the Chinese government. He also approved HB 1331, which bars state and local governments from contracting with companies that used forced labor. — Arek Sarkissian NEW ON THE SCENE — “Florida Democrat launches group to fight conservative takeover of school boards,” reports POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury. “A Florida Democrat who unseated a Moms for Liberty co-founder in a contentious school board race is now leading an organization aiming to combat the influence conservatives have wielded on local education policies. The PAC, ‘Educated. We Stand,’ is set to launch Thursday with the goal of ‘protecting, recruiting and electing’ school board members that will help ‘limit the influence of far-right extremists’ across the country. Plans for the organization were shared first with POLITICO.” STOPPED — A federal judge has permanently blocked enforcement of a Florida election law that placed restrictions on whether non-citizens could help register voters in the state. The ruling is not a surprise since U.S. Chief District Judge Mark Walker had previously granted a temporary injunction against the law last July. That decision is currently on appeal. The Republican-controlled Florida Legislature in 2023 passed a measure that included restrictions on who could handle voter registration applications — blocking, for example, non-citizens even if they were legally allowed to work in the U.S. The new measure subjected the groups to steep fines and barred organizations from retaining information about the new registrants. It also requires them to give a receipt when someone fills out a voter registration application. Republicans and state officials argued the new restrictions were designed to crack down on groups that routinely turn in applications late and were needed to ensure non-citizens weren’t voting. But several organizations, including the League of Women Voters of Florida, Hispanic Federation and the Florida chapter of the NAACP, sued and contended the restrictions were unconstitutional and discriminatory. The dispute went to trial this spring and members of the organization testified about how they stopped registering voters due to the law. Walker’s ruling on Wednesday states that state election officials and Attorney General Ashley Moody are barred from enforcing the law, including levying a $50,000 fine against voter registration groups each time a non-citizen collects or handles a voter registration application. “This favorable decision ensures that every person, regardless of citizenship status, can assist the League and other voting organizations in registering all citizens, some of whom may need to communicate more clearly in a language other than English,” said Cecile Scoon, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Florida. “This ruling will enable all citizens to participate more fully in our democracy." Walker has yet to rule on other parts of the lawsuit. — Gary Fineout MAKING A LIST — Florida TaxWatch, a business-backed group that bills itself as an independent government watchdog, on Wednesday rolled out its annual list of items it deems questionable in the state budget that it calls “turkeys.” The list — which in the past has omitted projects pushed by powerful Republicans — this year totaled $854.6 million. The group also called on Gov. Ron DeSantis to give “close scrutiny” to another $912 million in projects. This year the organization offered up some stinging criticism to GOP legislative leaders over the rise of earmarks that legislators are able to set aside for local projects. They also took aim at what’s known in Tallahassee parlance as the “sprinkle list.” That’s a long list of supplemental funding that is never discussed ahead of time publicly and instead is handed out right before the budget is finalized. — Gary Fineout MOVING FORWARD — “Federal judges give go-ahead to lawsuit challenging Senate districts,” by POLITICO’s Gary Fineout. “A panel of federal judges is letting a lawsuit contending that two Tampa Bay state Senate districts are an illegal race-based gerrymander move forward. The three judge panel — in a short six-page order — rejected a motion made by lawyers representing Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo to dismiss the lawsuit that was first filed back in April.” CALL TO REMOVE LICENSE — “Does Florida law ban the state from taking action against a dentist for antisemitic remarks?” by Christine Jordan Sexton of Florida Politics. “Florida legislators are calling for regulators to suspend the license of a dentist who has made antisemitic statements, but the question is whether a new law championed by Republicans in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic will make that goal more difficult.”
| | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | |  FAMU officials accept a novelty check from the Issac Batterson 7th Family Trust and CEO Gregory Gerami during a university commencement event on May 4, 2024. | Florida A&M University | ‘FULL RESPONSIBILITY’ — “Top FAMU official resigns amid $237M donation calamity,” reports POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury. “A senior official at Florida A&M University stepped down Wednesday over her role in accepting what was initially billed as a transformative gift for the school that abruptly collapsed amid questions about its actual value. The resignation of Shawnta Friday-Stroud, a vice president at the historically Black university in northern Florida, was announced at an emergency board meeting, as school trustees launched an investigation into how the dubious gift from a Texas hemp farming executive was accepted without their knowledge.” HELP ON THE WAY — “Leon County Commission OKs $1 million emergency grant program for storm recovery,” by Arianna Otero of the Tallahassee Democrat. “Residents and business owners in the unincorporated parts of Leon County will soon be able to apply for up to $10,000 in emergency storm relief grant money.” — “Do you want to assist in Tallahassee's tornado recovery? Here's how,” by Ana Goñi-Lessan of the Tallahassee Democrat. — “'She loved serving': Family mourns mom killed during Tallahassee tornado outbreak,” by Jeff Burlew of the Tallahasse Democrat. FARMWORKER DEATHS — “Driver said he smoked pot oil, took medication before Florida crash that killed 8 Mexican workers,” reports The Associated Press’ Mike Schneider and Terry Spencer. “Bryan Maclean Howard, 41, pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence-manslaughter and remained jailed without bond for Tuesday’s crash.” PARKLAND FALLOUT — “Parkland massacre deputy, found not guilty of criminal wrongdoing, demands [Broward Sheriff’s Office] pay his legal fees,” by the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Rafael Olmeda. “Former Broward Sheriff’s Deputy Scot Peterson, the school resource officer on duty during the massacre of 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School … vowed to prove that his conduct on Feb. 14, 2018, when gunman Nikolas Cruz shot his way through the Parkland school’s freshman building, was consistent with Sheriff’s Office policy based on what he knew at the time the shooting was taking place.” READY TO SPEND — “With big spending on horizon, Pinellas lands record tourist-tax haul,” reports the Tampa Bay Times’ Jack Evans. “After accruing tourist tax reserves totaling more than $200 million in recent years, the county could soon start to spend that money on costly projects, including beach renourishment efforts and a new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark in downtown St. Petersburg.” ‘INVISIBLE MONSTERS’ — “Pinellas school board member objects to ‘pornographic’ library book,” reports the Tampa Bay Times’ Jeffrey S. Solochek. “The story is about a teen model who struggles with her looks and identity after being disfigured by a gunshot to the face. It includes explicit discussions about sex acts, drug use and illegal activity. Reviews have called the book dark, shocking and appalling.”
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Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., turns to answer a reporters as he walks down the steps at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP | FLORIDENTOURAGE — Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) will be joining former President Donald Trump at the courthouse today, one of his aides confirmed to POLITICO. Gaetz has been a close ally to Trump who's often at Mar-a-Lago and appeared as one of the ex-presidents surrogates during the New Hampshire primary. He's also widely viewed as someone who might run for governor in 2026, particularly after he led the charge to oust ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Gaetz follows other GOP members of Congress from Florida to make the trek to Manhattan, including Sen. Rick Scott, Rep. Byron Donalds and Rep. Cory Mills. Thursday will see at least two other members of the GOP delegation from Florida, their offices and sources familiar told Playbook: Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Mike Waltz, who's also interested in a 2026 gubernatorial run. CUBA POLICY BACKLASH — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) called it “absurd” for the Biden administration to remove Cuba from its annual list of countries “not cooperating fully” with anti-terrorist efforts. “The criminal and illegitimate regime in Havana supports foreign terrorist organizations in Colombia, and Harbors ETA terrorists as well as fugitives wanted by American Courts,” he said in a statement. — “House Ethics panel subpoenas DOJ for Gaetz records,” reports POLITICO’s Jordain Carney.
| | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | — “Here’s how to avoid getting ill and exhausted in record heat,” per the South Florida Sun Sentinel. — “A summer thrill: Register now to see sea turtles laying their eggs on our beaches,” per the South Florida Sun Sentinel. BIRTHDAYS: Rep. Lois Frankel … State Sen. Tom Wright … State Rep. Bobby Payne … Tucker Carlson … Matthew Ubben, president of the Florida Alliance for Simplified Funding Strategies … Cindi Lane, public information director with Florida Department of Transportation. | | | | 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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