| | | | | |  | | By Gary Fineout | Presented by Masterworks | Good Wednesday morning. The daily rundown — Between Monday and Tuesday, the number of Florida coronavirus cases increased by 7,549 (0.8 percent), to 897,323; active hospitalizations went up by 126 (nearly 3.9 percent), to 3,369; deaths rose by 85 (nearly 0.5 percent), to 17,644. Rock bottom? — It wasn't just one bad cycle. For Democrats in Florida, Election Day 2020 was a tipping point in a long, painful buildup to irrelevancy. Schism — After suffering crushing losses from the top of the ballot down, the state party now is mired in a civil war — as explored in a new story for POLITICO's The Fifty — that could have profound consequences for future elections. Are the Democrats doomed? — High hopes for gains in the state Legislature have given way to recriminations and finger-pointing. Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo is almost certain to lose her job, but no one has stepped up to claim her mantle. Prospective 2022 gubernatorial candidates, including state Rep. Anna Eskamani and state Sen. Jason Pizzo, are slinging blame. And redistricting, which could deliver Democrats into another decade of insignificance, is around the corner. Landslide — Even as Joe Biden heads to the White House, state Democrats know that President Donald Trump did more than just win in Florida. He tripled his 2016 margin and all but stripped Florida of its once-vaunted status as a swing state. His win, a landslide by state presidential standards, was built on record turnout and a Democratic implosion in Miami-Dade County, one of the bluest parts of the state. Scorecard — "We have turnout problems, messaging problems, coalitions problems, it's up and down the board," said Democrat Sean Shaw, a former state representative who lost a bid for attorney general in 2018, told POLITICO. "It's not one thing that went wrong. Everything went wrong." — WHERE'S RON? — Nothing official announced for Gov. Ron DeSantis. THE FIFTY: Governors and mayors have never mattered more to the future of the nation, and The Fifty, a new series from POLITICO, takes you inside the role they're playing in the pandemic and more. IMPACT: The pandemic has taken a toll on mental health. Join POLITICO Live on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 9 a.m. ET for a #POLITICOHealth conversation on how states can emerge from this crisis. The event will include a one-on-one interview with Chad Poppell, Florida Secretary of Children and Families, and a panel featuring those working on this problem at the state and local level. Please register. | | | | A message from Masterworks: You don't have to take big risks to make big returns. Take it from us, day trading doesn't work—boost your portfolio stability with art, one of the oldest and largest uncorrelated assets. For the first time ever, Masterworks makes it possible for anyone to invest in iconic works of art by the likes of Banksy, Kaws, Basquiat (and more) at a starting point everyone can afford. Skip the waitlist here. | | |
|  | TRAIL MIX | | SQUEEZED — "I am not a f— socialist': Florida Democrats are having a postelection meltdown," by POLITCO's Matt Dixon and Gary Fineout: What happens next in Florida could be an early signal of how the Democratic Party's current progressive-centrist divide plays out in Washington and elsewhere. In interviews, more than 20 Democratic officials, organizers and party leaders throughout the state said the party schism has grown only deeper since Election Day. Would-be gubernatorial candidates have already begun trading fire as they begin to lay the ground to try and defeat Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis….This year, the party continued to make mistakes. As Trump made the state his official residence and his top political priority for four years, lavishing resources and attention on it, the Democrats again neglected to build an infrastructure for talking to voters outside of campaign season. The Biden campaign chose to forgo voter canvassing in the state because of the coronavirus pandemic. And outside money that the party apparatus couldn't control sometimes worked against its own candidates. Georgia, not Florida — Democrats also failed to counter GOP messaging that branded them as anti-cop and pro-socialism, an expected and effective — albeit misleading — message aimed largely at South Florida Hispanic voters. Those mistakes helped Trump cut into Biden's margins in Florida, most notably in Hispanic-heavy Miami-Dade County, where Biden won by only 7 points, less than a fourth of Hillary Clinton's margin just four years ago. "The state leadership of the Biden campaign failed us," said Daniela Ferrara, co-founder of Cubanos con Biden. "I'm still dumbfounded by the fact that Georgia was able to turn blue but we weren't." — "Why 'Socialism' killed Democrats in Florida," by New York magazine's Ben Jacobs | 
Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party. | AP Photo/John Raoux | BACKLASH — "Francis Rooney's call for Trump to concede raises Republican hackles," by Fort Myers News-Press' Amy Bennett Williams: "Tuesday, [U.S. Rep. Francis] Rooney told The News-Press, 'It bothers me that in the foreign policy area, the intel area and now with this COVID task force hand-off, (the administration) won't move expeditiously to bring the transition team into the loop.' Even before the legal challenges are resolved? 'Oh, sure. Sure. That ought to be done right now. Because they don't seem to have any evidence. So they're going through a process which doesn't have any substance to it. Now, maybe they'll find some substance and everything will turn around,' he said, (but) "there's nothing lost if they've already started a transition and something comes up that changes the entire outcome. You just stop it.'" FACT-CHECKING TIME — "Mail voting myth: Treasure Coast's 34k unsubmitted ballots aren't missing," by Treasure Coast Newspapers' Lindsey Leake: "[Ernest] Gonzalez is one of nearly 34,000 Treasure Coast electors who were provided general election mail ballots but didn't use them, a TCPalm analysis of state elections records found. Contrary to rumors on social media, such ballots are neither considered missing nor indicative of voter fraud. Some recipients, like Gonzalez, instead cast ballots early or on Election Day. Others didn't end up voting at all. Florida law advises these voters to surrender unwanted mail ballots to elections officials, so the ballots may be voided. Yet there's no penalty if voters don't. That means recipients are free to burn their ballots down to ash, crinkle-cut them in a shredder or stuff them in a desk drawer to be forgotten." HMM — "Mysterious candidate who likely swayed tight Florida Senate race under investigation," by Miami Herald's Samantha J. Gross and Ana Ceballos: "Alex Rodriguez's candidacy appeared to exist for only one reason: to suck votes away from incumbent José Javier Rodríguez, who shares the same surname. The incumbent lost by just 34 votes, and he is now calling for an investigation into Alex Rodriguez — and whoever may have put him up to run. The shadow candidate has drawn the attention of law enforcement. Sources with knowledge of the investigation tell the Miami Herald that Miami-Dade state prosecutors are now probing the mysterious candidacy, which has also led to a series of investigative reports from the Herald and other news outlets such as WPLG-10 and Univision, whose reporters found Rodriguez renting a home in Palm Beach County, not in Miami-Dade County where he filed to vote and run for state office." Mark this down — Senate President Wilton Simpson has repeatedly denied that Republicans — despite accusations from Democrats — had anything to do with mysterious outside candidates who ran in Senate races this year. "We had our candidates in the races and it's pretty clear which ones we were supporting," Simpson told reporters on Tuesday. Before the election, Simpson made a similar statement to Playbook as well, contending that no one affiliated with his Senate political committee was involved. | | | | HAPPENING THURSDAY - A CONVERSATION ON COVID-19, MENTAL HEALTH AND FLORIDA: The coronavirus pandemic—and the anxiety, isolation and disruption of routines and support that it has wrought—has exacerbated the mental health crisis in America. Join POLITICO for a forward-looking conversation on how we can emerge from this crisis with a strong approach to mental and behavioral health. Florida—one of the hardest-hit states in the nation—will be our case study. REGISTER HERE. | | | | |
| | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | GETTING READY — Coronavirus and culture wars on tap as lawmakers prep for session," by POLITICO's Matt Dixon : Florida lawmakers are teeing up a legislative session like no other as they grapple with the ruinous impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and Republicans signal a willingness to wade into the culture wars that have increasingly framed state politics. The coronavirus already was making itself felt as lawmakers arrived in Tallahassee on Monday for two days of organizational meetings to swear in presiding officers, 10 new senators and 41 new members of the House. The state Division of Emergency Management was set up outside the Capitol, access to the proceedings inside was limited, and, most notably, nine members — two in the Senate and seven in the House — skipping proceedings after testing positive for the virus or coming in close contact with someone else who had. CRISIS? WHAT CRISIS? — "Legislature's new leaders say pandemic will wait until next year," by Orlando Sentinel's Gray Rohrer: "There was plenty of talk Tuesday about the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic during the Legislature's organizational session to select leaders and swear-in members, but it was followed by those same leaders explaining why they have decided to wait until next year to tackle the crisis. 'I expect much of this session will be spent on dealing with the fallout of the virus and modernizing our laws and our plans to ensure that we are prepared for future pandemics,' said Chris Sprowls, a Palm Harbor Republican, shortly after he took the reins as House Speaker." — "Florida lawmakers convene and make it official: Containing COVID-19 not their problem," by Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau's Mary Ellen Klas, Ana Ceballos and Kirby Wilson — "Florida's new leaders see hope emerging from year of crisis," by Associated Press' Brendan Farrington — "Florida lawmakers convene in Tallahassee, clouded by virus and economy," by Sarasota Herald-Tribune's John Kennedy EXCUSED — "COVID-19 keeps Florida lawmakers from Capitol," by News Service of Florida's Christine Sexton: "Nine lawmakers were excused from attending the legislative organization session in Tallahassee on Tuesday because they tested positive for COVID-19 or were exposed to the coronavirus in recent days… Newly elected Rep. Michelle Salzman, R-Pensacola, was among the representatives on the list. Salzman said she traveled to Tallahassee to attend the session with her husband and 9-year-old son, who has been attending an Escambia County school. While Salzman tested negative for the virus, her son tested positive. Salzman said her son was tested three times to ensure that the positive test results were accurate, and she was tested three times to ensure that her negative test was accurate. 'We had no idea. Obviously, we never would have traveled to Tallahassee,' Salzman said in a phone interview. 'If my son would have infected all those people, I don't know how I would have slept on my pillow at night,' Salzman said." — "State senator Ray Rodrigues admitted to hospital after COVID-19 diagnosis," by WINK | | | | A message from Masterworks:   | | |
| | CORONAVIRUS UPDATES | | 'MUCH EASIER TO GO UP QUICKLY' — "As COVID-19 surges, Florida sticks to no statewide restrictions," by Wall Street Journal's Arian Campo-Flores: "As new coronavirus cases soar to record highs around the U.S., many states are reimposing restrictions on daily life. Not Florida. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is sticking to one of the most permissive approaches to the pandemic — allowing bars, restaurants, theaters and theme parks to operate at full capacity. He has vowed the state would never again implement lockdowns. Local governments' ability to enforce mask mandates and other restrictions is constrained under an executive order he issued in September. And he has spotlighted researchers who advocate pursuing herd immunity by allowing younger and less-vulnerable people to move about normally and expose themselves to infection." MAYOR GELLER — "Secret COVID-19 meetings will be opened up for review, new Broward mayor says," by Sun Sentinel's Lisa J. Huriash: "Broward's mayors no longer will be meeting privately to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic, the newly appointed county mayor said Tuesday, vowing to open the talks up for public review. Steve Geller, who was sworn in as county mayor Tuesday, pledged to open up meetings in which hospital executives and health officials often discuss the state of the pandemic with dozens of mayors across the county. 'I see absolutely no reason why they shouldn't be open to the media,' Geller said Tuesday." BUT MEANWHILE — "Florida lawmakers question DeSantis lack of COVID-19 transparency," by Spectrum News' Samantha-Jo Roth: "A White House Coronavirus Task Force report warned that expanding community spread should be addressed immediately in Florida by expanding mitigation policies in counties with increasing cases and daily hospitalizations. That report, indicating Florida was again in the COVID-19 red zone, was issued on October 25 but only recently became public, causing some members of the state's congressional delegation to ask what took so long. 'I don't understand,' said Republican U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney. 'I think transparency and openness are a good way to keep the fears down, to make sure people understand the nature of the problem.'" — "Indian River face-mask mandate extended into 2021 as residents plead both sides of the issue," by Treasure Coast Newspapers Colleen Wixon | | TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP | | EVERY VOTE COUNTS — "Senate refuses to advance Fed nominee Shelton, in setback for Trump," by POLITICO's Victoria Guida: The Senate on Tuesday voted to reject a move to advance President Donald Trump's nomination of Judy Shelton to the Federal Reserve Board, thanks to the absence of key GOP lawmakers and opposition from others. Shelton's year-and-a-half-long candidacy faced skepticism from both sides of the aisle over her support for tying the value of the dollar to gold and remarks downplaying the importance of the Fed's political independence, a cornerstone principle of the central bank since its founding… The balance of votes tilted toward Democrats after Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) announced Tuesday morning that he would quarantine after coming in contact with someone who had tested positive for Covid-19. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is also in quarantine. | | | | TRACK THE TRANSITION, SUBSCRIBE TO TRANSITION PLAYBOOK: As states certify their election results, President-elect Biden is building an administration. The staffing decisions made in the coming days, weeks, and months will send clear-cut signals about his administration's agenda and priorities. Transition Playbook is the definitive guide to what could be one of the most consequential transfers of power in American history. Written for political insiders, it tracks the appointments, people, and the emerging power centers of the new administration. Stay in the know, subscribe today. | | | | | | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | UNSOCIAL MEDIA — "Critics attack Palm Beach County commissioner over daughter's anti-DeSantis posting," by Palm Beach Post's Hannah Morse: "For a mother facing an attack over the actions of her teen-age daughter and a Black county executive upset over derogatory comments about George Floyd, Tuesday's upbeat Palm Beach County Commission meeting swiftly turned ugly and emotional. Commissioner Melissa McKinlay found herself once again addressing the social media account of her 19-year-old daughter, who tweeted on a post critical of Gov. Ron DeSantis: 'Someone assassinate him already.' It provoked several McKinlay's critics to lash out at her during public comment, calling her a 'horrible parent.' McKinlay responded from the dais. 'It's not a reflection of the parent. It's a reflection of the parent if the parent doesn't respond to it,' McKinlay said, calling her daughter's tweets a 'very unfortunate situation' that she and her ex-husband are dealing with privately." TWO-YEAR PROBE — "Operation Stolen Innocence: 170 people charged in Tallahassee child sex trafficking network," by Tallahassee Democrat's Jeff Burlew: "A two-year investigation by the Tallahassee Police Department into the horrific sexual exploitation of a young teenage girl netted a staggering amount of arrests — with more than 170 people charged over recent months. On Tuesday, TPD Chief Lawrence Revell and state and federal officials announced results of Operation Stolen Innocence, a highly secretive investigation into the commercial sex trafficking of the girl, who was 13 and 14 when the alleged offenses occurred. The investigation, which police officials declined to even acknowledge for months, was likely the biggest of its kind in Tallahassee history, Revell said." TO COURT — "UCF accused 'Dr. Coach' of plagiarism and vowed to revoke is PhD. Now he's fighting back," by Orlando Sentinel's Leslie Postal and Annie Martin: "UCF announced in late January that it planned to fire three of the institute's professors, including its director, and, in a rare move, revoke a former student's PhD, charging it had been fraudulently awarded in exchange for funding for the institute. Hudson — the unnamed PhD student in the UCF investigative report — has been fighting back ever since, pursuing a racial discrimination complaint against UCF and then filing a lawsuit against the university last month, seeking to stop it from revoking his PhD. 'I worked my tail off to get my dissertation,' said Hudson, who is Black. UCF's investigation was a 'startling thing,' he said. 'I put a lot into this.'" KEEP AN EYE ON THIS — "New school board member sworn in, foes want her to resign," by Palm Beach Post's Sonja Isger: "Even as Alexandria Ayala was sworn in Tuesday as the newest member of the Palm Beach County School Board, her seat could be in the governor's crosshairs after she bought a home outside her district and attested in mortgage documents that she would be living there. Board members must by law live in the district they represent. Moving out forfeits the seat and such vacancies must then be filled by the governor's appointment. Ayala contends she co-owns the house with her boyfriend but doesn't live there." | | THE GUNSHINE STATE | | DENIED — "Fired FAU professor James Tracy loses appeal over dismissal; called Sandy Hook mass shooting a hoax," by Palm Beach Post's Hannah Winston: "The fired Florida Atlantic University professor who claimed the mass shooting that left 26 dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a hoax has lost his latest legal battle. On Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued an opinion affirming previous rulings that James Tracy, once a tenured communications professor at the Boca Raton-based university, was not fired in 2016 in retaliation for using his First Amendment rights." — "Double shooting leads to woman's death, 160th homicide in Jacksonville this year," by Florida Times-Union's Dan Scanlan | | | | A message from Masterworks: History shows adding blue-chip art can boost portfolio stability. Data from Citi's Global Art Market Report 2019 finds art to be one of the least volatile asset classes, sharing a correlation factor of just 0.13 to public equities. Beyond that, contemporary art has outperformed the S&P by over 180% from 2000–2018, according to industry benchmarks. Although investing in art has been around for centuries (Sotheby's was once the oldest company listed on the NYSE) only the ultra-wealthy have been able to participate. 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| | ODDS, ENDS, AND FLORIDA MEN | | — "Rapper Lil Wayne charged with federal gun offense in Florida," by Associated Press' Curt Anderson: "Rapper Lil Wayne was charged Tuesday in Florida with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, a federal offense that carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Documents filed in Miami federal court say the rapper, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., had a gun and ammunition on Dec. 23 of last year despite knowing he had the previous felony on his record." — "Police: Florida man who questioned government powers slain," by Associated Press' Curt Anderson: "A Florida man who questioned government authority over individuals living in the U.S. through an online forum was fatally shot, allegedly by a woman who has espoused similar 'sovereign citizen' views, police said Tuesday. The Marion County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that Neely Petrie-Blanchard was arrested in Georgia one day after the killing of Christopher Hallett in his Ocala-area home. Witnesses to the shooting said Petrie-Blanchard accused Hallett of working with the government to deny her custody of her children." BIRTHDAYS: State Rep. Geraldine Thompson
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