| | | | |  | | By Gary Fineout | Welcome to Monday. Big vote cometh — The Senate approved its massive reconciliation bill that deals with climate change, health care and taxes on Sunday, and — as expected — Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott voted no. On the home front — There's the broader political question of whether the bill will help Democrats and President Joe Biden in November. But how will it play in Florida? Both sides tried hard over the weekend to make the votes on the legislation — which heads to the House next — as well as individual amendments into political cudgels. Dumping on the bill — Scott went on CBS on Sunday where he contended that elements of the legislation, including provisions dealing with gas taxes and the Internal Revenue Service, "is not going to be popular." Rubio, on the Senate floor, said "there isn't a single thing in this bill that helps working people lower the price of groceries, or the price of gasoline, or the price of housing, or the price of clothes." Dems applaud measure — Rep. Val Demings, who is running against Rubio this year, came out in strong support of the bill, highlighting parts of the measure like those dealing with Affordable Care Act subsidies and prescription drug costs. She said it will "save Florida households thousands of dollars." The ACA subsidies are a big deal in Florida since it has an estimated 2.7 million people enrolled in the federal health exchange. On the offense — Democrats plan to come after Rubio due to his no vote, scheduling a conference call later on Monday to bash the senator and suggest that he bowed to pressure from pharmaceutical companies. Expect more of this to come in the days and weeks to come. — WHERE'S RON? — Nothing official announced for Gov. DeSantis. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch: gfineout@politico.com
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today . | | | | | |  | CAMPAIGN MODE | | EARLY VOTING KICKS OFF — Early voting for the Aug. 23 primary is starting today in more than 20 counties, including Duval, Miami-Dade, Orange, and Palm Beach. While a handful of counties will start early voting later this week, most counties will start this Saturday. STILL ON TOP — Trump's grip on GOP activist class on display at Texas conclave , by POLITICO's Natalie Allison: And while [former President Donald] Trump's dominant standing in the GOP has never been under greater threat from a rising crop of ambitious Republicans, the event highlighted his continued pull with the party's activists. A straw poll survey of CPAC Texas attendees' 2024 preferences showed Trump leading with 69 percent support, 10 percentage points higher than his showing at the February gathering in Florida. [Gov. Ron] DeSantis came in second place with 23 percent. | 
From left, Mercedes Schlapp, Cassy Garcia, David Harris, and Yesli Vega participate in a panel discussion at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, Aug. 5, 2022. | LM Otero/AP Photo | A DIFFERENT P.O.V. — " The super-high stakes 2022 race no one is talking about ," by New York magazine's Gabriel Debenedetti: "Sitting in a booth with me a few minutes later, [Charlie Crist] insisted the press was simply missing the story by assuming these midterm elections would be anything like the usual ones, wherein the president's party loses widely. 'No. 1: Roe v. Wade. Bombshell. Bombshell! You think we have some motivated women voters in Florida now?' he asked rhetorically. 'It's like, Oh my God, he signed a bill that limits your ability to make a choice about your own body, and there's no exception for rape or incest! He's out of his freaking mind. Who would do that? Vladimir Putin.' Between DeSantis's hard line on abortion and the rising salience of gun control as a midterm issue, Crist said, 'we're in rare air historically in our country politically right now. Rare.'" HMM — " Political committee connected to GOP consultant behind mailers attacking Crist on abortion ," by Orlando Sentinel's Jeffrey Schweers: "A political committee with ties to a prominent Republican political consultant who's used "dark money" committees to run campaigns across the state is mailing out flyers attacking U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist in the Democratic gubernatorial primary for his past stance on abortion. Crist is running against Nikki Fried, the state agriculture commissioner, who has been relentless in her criticism of his past pro-life position and his appointment of an anti-abortion jurist to the Florida Supreme Court when he was a Republican governor." VOTERS ARE VOTING — So far, 776,335 vote-by-mail ballots have been cast for the Aug. 23 primary, according to the latest information on the state Division of Elections website. Of those, 347,846 have come from Democrats and 300,518 have come from registered Republicans. Overall, there are more than 3.29 million mail ballots that have been requested but not yet returned. Of those, more than 1.46 million are held by Democrats and more than 1 million are with Republicans. PRIMARY COLORS — After regularly siding with GOP, Democrat James Bush faces heat from his own party , by POLITICO's Matt Dixon: Many of the state's prominent Democrats are lining up against state Rep. James Bush, a Miami Democrat who is seen by many in his party as a Democrat-in-name-only because he votes with Republicans on a range of high profile issues, including recently being the only Democrat to cross party lines during the 2022 legislative session to vote for a 15-week abortion ban. "There are so many bad votes, but the straw that broke the camel's back to me was the abortion ban vote," said Ashley Gantt, an attorney challenging Bush in a Democratic primary for Miami's House District 109. "I could not sit back and do nothing." KNOCKED OUT — Florida judge disqualifies Rebekah Jones from race against Gaetz , by POLITICO's Gary Fineout: A Florida judge ruled Friday that Rebekah Jones, the fired health department worker who earned national media attention over unsubstantiated allegations that Florida was manipulating Covid-19 death data, is ineligible to run for Congress. Jones is running as a Democrat for the sprawling Panhandle district now held by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), the combative, fervent ally of former President Donald Trump. Lawsuit from opponent — Jones' eligibility was challenged by Peggy Schiller, a rival Democrat running for the seat, as well as a local voter. The lawsuit contended that Jones did not meet a Florida qualification that requires a candidate running in a party primary to sign an oath that states that they have been a member of that party for a full year before they make the ballot. 'No credible evidence' — Jones testified during a Zoom hearing that she did not change her party registration, suggesting that someone did it without her consent or knowledge. She insisted she intended to run as an independent but planned to keep her actual voter registration as a Democrat. Circuit Court Judge John Cooper, however, did not accept her explanation. "There's no credible evidence of any other person doing this," Cooper said. BY THE NUMBERS — Here's the breakdown for the weekly fundraising totals in the governor's race: Gov. Ron DeSantis raised more than $6.56 million during the period from July 23 to July 29, while Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried raised more than $893,000 and Rep. Charlie Crist raised more than $612,000. The totals include money raised for campaign accounts and for political committees controlled by the candidates. Following the money — There remain caveats with the latest numbers, however. DeSantis' totals include his first round of public matching money — $3.35 million — while Crist included his smaller second payment of $387,900 in this week's numbers. Fried included both the first and second round of public matching money, which comes to nearly $763,000 and represents about 85 percent of what she reported this past week. DeSantis also received another $2 million from the Republican Governors Association and $100,000 from John Kirtley, the investment fund manager and chairman of Step Up for Students, the state's largest organization handing out private school vouchers. In the bank — DeSantis has nearly $134 million unspent, according to state reports (which don't reflect any future planned expenditures) while Crist has more than $6.1 million and Fried has more than $3.1 million. DEEPER DIVE INTO 2018 RACE — "' Nightmare scenario': How FPL secretly manipulated a Florida state Senate election ," by Miami Herald's Mary Ellen Klas, Nicholas Nehamas and Ana Claudia Chacin: "Florida Power & Light had a problem. A strong Democratic challenger was threatening to unseat a friendly Republican incumbent in a Gainesville-area state Senate race in 2018. FPL, one of the country's largest utilities, needed to make sure the GOP held onto the seat. So FPL used a shadowy nonprofit group to secretly bankroll a spoiler candidate, a longtime Democrat named Charles Goston, according to new documents obtained by the Miami Herald. Running as a no-party candidate in the general election, Goston helped split the liberal vote, siphoning off enough votes from the Democratic challenger to swing the race to the GOP incumbent." — " YouTube playlist leads to charge of racism in Tampa Bay-based House race, " by Tampa Bay Times William March — " In partisan time, 4 seek nonpartisan seats on Duval County School Board; DeSantis picks favs ," by Florida Times-Union's Steve Patterson
| | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | NO RETREAT — " Florida prosecutor vows to fight Gov. DeSantis suspension ," by The Associated Press' Curt Anderson: "A Florida prosecutor vowed Sunday to fight his suspension from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis over his promise not to enforce the state's 15-week abortion ban and support for gender transition treatments for minors. Andrew Warren, a Democrat suspended last week from his twice-elected post as state attorney in Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, said in a Facebook video message and news release Sunday he plans a 'vigorous defense' by his legal team but did not give specifics. 'I'm not going down without a fight,' Warren said on the video." WELCOME BACK AGAIN — DeSantis appoints Federalist Society member to Florida Supreme Court , by POLITICO's Matt Dixon: Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday appointed Renatha Francis to a vacant seat on Florida Supreme Court, a move that comes two years after her initial appointment to the high court fell through because she did not meet minimum constitutional requirements. DeSantis tapped Francis to replace Justice Alan Lawson, who is retiring at the end of the month 14 years ahead of Florida's mandatory retirement age for judges, which is 75. Frances was among six applicants sent to DeSantis by an advisory panel who interviewed potential Lawson replacements. She was long viewed as the heavy favorite to secure the appointment because DeSantis had tried to appoint her just two years earlier. THE DESANTIS DOCTRINE — " From Disney to Andrew Warren, DeSantis shows taste for power — and a fight ," by Tampa Bay Times' Emily L. Mahoney and Lawrence Mower: "The governor, who often emphasizes his philosophy of a strong executive, has continually expanded his reach in the state of Florida. He's taken unprecedented steps toward that goal, such as going around GOP legislative leadership by drawing Florida's new congressional maps and influencing Republican primaries. 'There's little doubt that he's attempted to, and pretty much accomplished, his goal of expanding executive power,' said former University of South Florida political science professor Darryl Paulson. TIMING — " It was supposed to be a triumphant day for Andrew Warren. Then he got taken out ," by Tampa Bay Times' Dan Sullivan and Chris Tisch: "Thursday was poised to be an exceptional day in the career of Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren. He was set to announce a major break in a high-profile investigation: Based on DNA evidence that had been uncovered by Warren's office, two men were being indicted in the unsolved cases of two women who had been raped and murdered in 1983. The story had another layer of intrigue: Warren's predecessor, Mark Ober, had personally prosecuted an innocent man in one of the murders. That man, Robert Duboise, was wrongfully convicted and served 37 years in prison before Warren's office exonerated him in 2020. Warren, a reform-minded Democrat, in 2016 had shocked the local legal community when he defeated Ober, a Republican."
| | | | INTRODUCING POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY . | | | | | | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | MOVING AHEAD — " Florida medical board moves to block gender affirming treatments for minors ," by POLITICO's Arek Sarkissian: Florida's medical board on Friday voted to begin the process of banning gender-affirming medical treatment for youths, a move that comes as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has become increasingly vocal in his opposition to such therapies. After a public hearing that lasted more than three and a half hours in Fort Lauderdale, the 15-member Board of Medicine voted to start a process that could prohibit minors from receiving hormone therapy and undergoing surgical procedures as a treatment for gender dysphoria, which refers to the feelings of discomfort or distress some transgender people experience when their bodies don't align with their gender. 'A BITTER SWEET DREAM'— " The end of the race: With no clients left, a Florida shelter for retired greyhounds closes ," by South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Lisa J. Huriash: "With all of the Fidos in forever homes, Hollydogs Greyhound Adoption, the nonprofit organization created in 1995 to save South Florida's retired racers, has closed its doors. The Bonita Springs shelter made the announcement on its Facebook page. "Back in the early 90′s, we made a promise to all those greyhounds that had no place to go," the statement read. 'We promised that we will make it our mission to rescue and find homes for as many dogs as we could... till there were none left. And so we did, today after 27 years of greyhound rescue. ... It seems like a dream, but it is a bitter sweet dream.'" — " Tampa Bay schools ready to reopen, but will they have enough teachers? " by Tampa Bay Times' Marlene Sokol — " Ticket sales for NASA's first Artemis moon launch crash website; some still available ," by Florida Today's Emre Kelly — " For some in St. Petersburg's Black communities, Uhuru raid 'doesn't smell good ,'" by Tampa Bay Times' Jack Evans
| | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | — " 98-year-old Congressional Gold Medal recipient from West Palm Beach honored for his service as Ghost Army soldier in World War II ," by South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Angie DiMichele: "The 10 living members of an often-unsung unit in the U.S. Army have been awarded with Congress' highest recognition for their role on Europe's battlefields during World War II, roles that relied on deception to save lives. About 50 people gathered at Morselife Home Care in West Palm Beach Saturday to recognize one of them — veteran Manny Frockt, 98, who was a member of the sonic deception unit of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, known as the Ghost Army." BIRTHDAYS: Former State Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez … Slater Bayliss, partner with The Advocacy Group at Cardenas Partners | | | | 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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