| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | Presented by Duke Energy | | 
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to supporters about the implementation of Florida's abortion ban at an event Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Jacksonville, Florida. | John Raoux/AP | Good morning and welcome to Monday. Only 99 days remain until Election Day, and with Vice President Kamala Harris leading the ticket over President Joe Biden, Democrats are getting a jolt of engagement — even in Florida. In just the last week, almost 10,000 people have signed up in the state to volunteer, the Harris campaign said. Their “weekend of action” kicked off Friday with 30 stops across the state — and 1,200 volunteers — doing voter outreach and other events with state and local leaders, including making more than 16,000 phone calls. In an email, the Harris campaign described the mood here as one of “unprecedented enthusiasm.” They held events all over the state, from an ice cream social with Democratic state Sens. Lori Berman and Tina Polsky in Palm Beach County to a golf cart caravan in the Villages where more than 500 people showed up. Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried described members as “more fired up than ever” and said she was looking forward to proving “to critics and the trolls” that “Democrats are alive and well in Florida.” The party continues to stress that it’s trying to make inroads in Florida through working on breaking the supermajority in the Legislature, winning school board races and getting voters to pass a ballot measure enshrining abortion rights into the state Constitution. But signs of Democrats advancing in Florida will need to go beyond the clear relief that’s been on display since the party shed its panic over Biden’s prospects. New voter registration numbers won’t be out until next month, and that’ll be one crucial, objective data point to watch closely for any signs of change then and in the months to follow. Another will be spending. As POLITICO’s Gary Fineout and yours truly reported over the weekend, Biden, former President Donald Trump and their allies spent roughly $250 million on ads in Florida in the last presidential election. This cycle, there’s been less than $500,000 spent or booked on the presidential race in the state, according to an analysis done by AdImpact. The Harris campaign also keeps sending mixed signals. In memos out today they’ll highlight the “fundraising and volunteering blitz in key parties and using the buzz to help in down ballot races” in six battleground states, report POLITICO's Mia McCarthy and Lisa Kashinsky — but Florida isn’t one of them. Trump had his own campaign event in West Palm Beach over the weekend, where he was testing out criticisms of Harris at the Turning Point Action Believers’ Summit, per POLITICO’s Jessica Piper. The eyes of global leaders were also on Trump as he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago on Friday. Gov. Ron DeSantis hit the airwaves yesterday to rain on the idea that Harris, whom he called “incredibly liberal,” had any shot in Florida. “Florida is off the map,” DeSantis told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, adding that he expected Republicans to hit a more than 1 million voter registration advantage by Election Day. “Spend your money down here,” DeSantis told Democrats. “It’s the equivalent of lighting it on fire — but I welcome that. You are not going to win Florida. You are going to run into a big, red brick wall.” Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget in the campaign reporting that Playbook should look at? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com. WHERE’S RON? — Gov. DeSantis, Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis, Florida Department of Children and Families Secretary Shevaun Harris and Governor's Liaison for Faith and Community Erik Dellenback will hold a press conference in Tampa at 10 a.m. TOMORROW: Live Event — We are going to space! Join us on Tues., July 30, at 8:30 a.m. ET, for an exclusive conversation with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson about the space economy. What's that, you ask? Think of everything in your life that has anything to do with space — the global backbone for communications, media, data, science and defense. POLITICO also will sit with Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), from the space authorizations and appropriations subcommittees, as well as the FAA's commercial space lead Kelvin Coleman, NOAA's space commerce director Richard DalBello, Space Foundation's Meghan Allen and the Satellite Industry Association's President Tom Stroup. RSVP to attend here.
| | | | Pro Briefing: Kamala Harris and the World. What we expect on foreign policy and trade. Join POLITICO Pro for a deep-dive conversation with our specialist reporters about the vice president’s approach to foreign policy. Register Now. | | | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | TODAY — State back-to-school sales tax holiday runs for two weeks. FIRST AMENDMENT CASE — “Federal courts spike piece of DeSantis ‘Stop Woke’ law,” by POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury. “A federal judge permanently shut down a significant piece of Florida’s so-called Stop Woke Act on Friday, delivering a devastating blow to a signature law pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to restrict workplace trainings about race. Passed by the GOP-dominated Legislature in 2022, it expanded state anti-discrimination laws to target lessons over subjects like ‘white privilege’ by creating new protections for workers. But Florida has never been able to enforce the ‘anti-woke’ law for businesses, since it was quickly sued and ultimately determined by two courts to violate free speech rights protected by the Constitution.” COVERAGE INTERRUPTED — “‘It’s been devastating’: Teen with complex medical needs one of more than 500,000 children in Florida dropped from Medicaid,” by 7News’ Heather Walker and Daniel Cohen. “More than a half million of Florida’s most vulnerable children have lost their Medicaid coverage in the past year, and for one Coral Springs teen, the stakes are literally life or death.” DATAPOINT — “Florida has highest number of heat-related illnesses in the nation, new report finds,” by the Miami Herald’s Ashley Miznazi. “The Sunshine State leads the country in the number of emergency room and hospital visits from heat illness and has more than six million at-risk residents and outdoor workers, according to a report released this week by the Florida Policy Institute.” HOUSING RISKS — “Despite extreme heat, Florida does not require landlords to provide AC,” reports the Tampa Bay Times’ Lauren Peace and Michaela Mulligan. “For most Floridians, home is a reprieve from temperatures that climb higher every summer. But for people living without air conditioning, home life becomes punishing as the heat saps sleep, concentration, energy and health.” — “Victor Crist, former Florida legislator, in the hospital after car crash,” by the Tampa Bay Times’ Olivia George.
| | | | A message from Duke Energy: Duke Energy is improving the grid to meet the growing need for reliable electricity in Florida. Strengthening the grid helps reduce outages for homes and businesses across the state. Strategic investments in equipment upgrades and grid technology are helping reroute power to avoid outages and keep the lights on for Florida’s growing communities. Learn more about how Duke Energy is improving the grid for Florida. | | | | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | ELDER ABUSE PROBE — “Regina Hill spent $30,000 on ‘caregivers’ for elderly woman. They kept visitors away,” reports the Orlando Sentinel’s Annie Martin. “After she seized control of an elderly woman’s finances, investigators say suspended Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hill hired a rotating cast of caregivers, including one with a criminal background but none affiliated with home health care agencies, to tend to the woman — and shoo away visitors. Those hires also included a homeless woman who met Hill at a shelter and one who tried to prevent Hill’s now 96-year-old constituent from speaking with her pastor and church members who came to her home, records from the agency show.” — “Tatiana Pino’s life as a target: poisoned at home, followed from church, cars set ablaze,” by the Miami Herald’s Douglas Hanks, Catherine Odom, Joey Flechas and Tess Riski.
| | | | The space economy is already woven into our lives in ways we don't always appreciate, creating a global backbone for communications, media, data, science and defense. It's also becoming an increasingly competitive zone among nations - and a venue for complex and important public-private partnerships. Join POLITICO on July 30 for a conversation about what Washington needs to understand is at stake – which sectors of the global economy see their growth arc in space, and what the role of government leaders is in both growing and regulating the explosion of orbital ideas. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | ...HURRICANE HOLE... | | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY? — “More of Florida a potential target of developing tropical system, hurricane center says,” by Richard Tribou of the Orlando Sentinel. “The National Hurricane Center continues to track a system with a medium chance of developing into the season’s next tropical depression or storm, and now puts most of Florida within the potential path. As of the NHC’s 8 p.m. tropical outlook Sunday, the area of disturbed weather was located over the central tropical Atlantic, but is expected to interact with an approaching tropical wave in the next few days.” MORE COVERAGE CHAOS — “Some Florida condo owners facing deadline as Castle Key drops insurance policies,” by Anne Geggis of the Palm Beach Post. “Some 33,000 Floridians will be getting notified through next year that Allstate’s Florida subsidiaries are dropping their insurance policies, and some are getting the news during a particularly nerve-wracking time to start looking for coverage: hurricane season. That reduction decreases Castle Key Insurance and Castle Key Indemnity’s policyholders by about 12 percent in the state, but last month it 100 percent wiped out Diane Kline’s more than 12-year history with the company she knows as Castle Key, and it had her rattled, she said.” — “New insurer offered Citizens customers steep premium hikes. Then the state stepped in,” by the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Ron Hurtibise.
| | | | A message from Duke Energy:   | | | | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | |  President Nicolas Maduro addresses supporters outside Miraflores presidential palace after electoral authorities declared him the winner of the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. | Fernando Vergara/AP Photo | CALLED INTO QUESTION — “Venezuela’s autocrat is declared winner in tainted election,” by The New York Times’ Anatoly Kurmanaev, Frances Robles and Julie Turkewitz. “Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, was declared the winner of the country’s tumultuous presidential election early Monday, despite enormous momentum from an opposition movement that had been convinced this was the year it would oust Mr. Maduro’s socialist-inspired party. The vote was riddled with irregularities, and citizens were angrily protesting the government’s actions at voting centers even as the results were announced. With 80 percent of voting stations counted, the country’s election authority claimed that Mr. Maduro had received 51.2 percent of the vote, while the main opposition candidate, Edmundo González, had received 44.2 percent.” GENERATIONAL GAP — “Youths attending Trump speech at conservative summit more worried about economy, abortion,” by the Palm Beach Post’s John Pacenti. “The Democrats flipped the script on former President Donald Trump when President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. No longer is Biden the oldest candidate ever to run for president — that distinction now belongs to Trump. Yet, most of the young, conservative and largely Christian voters at the Believers’ Summit at the Palm Beach Convention Center Friday night said they stand firmly behind Trump even if his age, 78, gives them some misgivings.” BALLOT QUERY — “Democrats want answers on how RFK Jr. will make Florida’s ballot,” by Lawrence Mower of the Tampa Bay Times. “An attorney for the Democratic National Committee sent the Division of Elections a request for records in May relating to the Reform Party’s registration and its correspondence with the office. The state hasn’t turned over the records or responded to the committee’s lawyer, according to the party.” KEEPING AN OPEN MIND — “Latino leaders set aside their rocky past with Kamala Harris on immigration,” reports The New York Times’ Jazmine Ulloa. “In one of the most striking moments in Ms. Harris’s tenure as vice president, she drew swift criticism from Latino elected officials and immigrant-rights leaders for her admonishment to the growing ranks of migrants in the summer of 2021. ‘Do not come,’ she told them, in a news conference in Guatemala, where she was on a diplomatic tour. Robert Rivas, a California state lawmaker, helped the Latino Legislative Caucus draft a fierce statement in opposition to those remarks, urging her and the administration not to discourage asylum seekers ‘from doing what they need to do to survive.’ But three years later, Mr. Rivas, now the speaker of the California Assembly, endorsed Ms. Harris within minutes of President Biden’s exit from the race on Sunday. He is one of many of those same leaders who are quickly setting aside their disputes with the White House, saying Ms. Harris is far preferable to former President Donald J. Trump.” PRIMARY RIVALS — “Realtor says GOP candidate who lost previous HD35 race in Orange-Osceola can’t win,” by the Orlando Sentinel’s Silas Morgan. “The GOP candidate who narrowly lost January’s special election for Florida House District 35 is seeking a rematch with winning Democrat Tom Keen in November, but first must defeat an opponent who claims to be the better candidate for the key swing district. Erika Booth, a former teacher and Osceola school board member, lost to Keen by a margin of 48.7 percent to 51.3 percent despite outspending him by more than double. She is facing Laura Gomez McAdams, a realtor and political newcomer, in the Aug. 20 GOP primary.” ELECTIONS SUPERVISOR — “Racism, nepotism charges fuel a rare GOP primary in Seminole County,” by Martin E. Comas of the Orlando Sentinel. “A former deputy sheriff and Army veteran, Chris Anderson was widely viewed as a solid pick in 2019 when Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed him as Seminole’s Supervisor of Elections, making Anderson the county’s first Black constitutional officer. But Anderson — elected to his current term in 2020 — now faces broad opposition and a rare challenge in a local Republican primary, as School Board member Amy Pennock seeks his job.”
| | | | A message from Duke Energy: There is a growing need for reliable energy in Florida. Duke Energy employees start each day with one thing on their minds – improving the grid to meet the needs of Florida’s communities. To all of us, it’s about more than keeping the lights on. It’s about doing things smarter, making improvements that make a real difference and always looking toward the future. Working at Duke Energy is more than a job. It’s a commitment to building a smarter, more reliable energy future for Florida.
Get more info about how Duke Energy is working hard to improve the electric grid in Florida. | | | | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | — Gov. Ron DeSantis is helping pups find new homes. BIRTHDAY: Former Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn. | | | | 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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