SO ABOUT THAT — " Luke Bryan defends decision to bring out 'polarizing' Gov. Ron DeSantis at Florida show after backlash ," by USA Today's Pamela Avila: "Then Sunday, [Luke] Bryan shared a statement on Twitter defending his decision to give DeSantis a platform at his show. 'I typically don't respond to stuff when I'm getting run down on a social platform but here's the deal,' Bryan wrote. 'I understand Governor DeSantis is a very polarizing figure. But I grew up in a country where if a governor (asks) you if they can come and raise awareness to help victims of a natural disaster you help.'" TALE OF THE TAPE — " Florida mismatch: Numbers reveal big DeSantis advantage over Crist in governor's race ," by USA Today Network-Florida's Zac Anderson: "Florida's unusually lopsided governor's race is barreling into the final week with the scales heavily weighted in favor of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has some big advantages over Democrat Charlie Crist. When it comes to fundraising and other key ingredients of a successful campaign, the race may be the biggest mismatch of any contest for Florida governor in modern times. DeSantis dominates. Whether that carries over into a dominating performance on Election Day remains to be seen." COMING OUT — " As Election Day approaches, Trump-DeSantis 2024 rivalry seeps into the public ," by CNN's Gabby Orr, Steve Contorno and Kristen Holmes : "Months after [former President Donald] Trump told The Wall Street Journal he would support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' bid for reelection, the former President and his home-state governor appear increasingly likely to collide in a heated 2024 presidential primary. While neither has formally announced a presidential campaign, both have taken steps in the closing days of the 2022 cycle to cement themselves as team players and kingmakers — locking horns in those pursuits. 'We have a rift with Trump. Big shocker,' said a source close to the DeSantis campaign, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly. 'It's no secret that things are cool between [Trump and DeSantis] right now. They're not punching each other, but we're not helping them and they're not helping us.'" FLIP ALERT — " Democrats worry the GOP could win traditionally liberal Miami-Dade ," by Washington Post's Sabrina Rodriguez: "Mauricio Restrepo is frustrated that Democrats have failed to put up more of a fight against Republican gains in his home county of Miami-Dade, a liberal stronghold that could be captured by a GOP gubernatorial candidate for the first time in 20 years. 'There's no way around it. It used to be a toss-up state, but I would say it's not even close anymore,' said the 39-year old teacher, who is a registered Democrat and Colombian American. Restrepo predicts that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who is running for reelection this year, is going to win in Miami-Dade County. 'All the Republicans are going to win for sure.'" CAMPAIGN ROUNDUP — Crist will cast his ballot this morning in home town of St. Petersburg before launching the "Choose Freedom Bus Tour." The bus tour is part of a nine-day statewide tour where Crist and his running mate, Karla Hernández-Mats, will hit "critical counties" such as Broward, Duval, Palm Beach, Volusia, and Hillsborough. "Whether it's fighting to protect a woman's right to choose, fighting to protect our rights at the ballot box, or fighting for a better, more affordable Florida — our freedoms and the future of our state are on the line in 9 days," said Crist in a statement. … Sen. Marco Rubio will make campaign stops on Monday in Panama City, Pensacola and Winter Haven. Rubio is holding "Getting Things Done" rallies at all three locations … Rep. Val Demings and Rep. Jim Clyburn, the House majority whip, will hold a lunch and community conversation with local pastors in Orlando. … Speaking of Clyburn, the South Carolina Democrat is also helping out Maxwell Alejandro Frost, the Democratic nominee for Florida's 10th Congressional District. Clyburn attended a fundraiser for Frost on Sunday night and the two will hold a press conference near an early voting location on Monday. — " Charlie Crist's 'Votercade for Democracy' aims to drive Hispanic voters to polls ," by Florida Politics' Anne Geggis MESSAGE — "' They want to destroy us all': GOP canvasser beaten in Hialeah makes fiery speech ," by Miami Herald's Nicholas Nehamas and Sarah Blaskey: "Christopher Monzon, the GOP canvasser beaten a week ago in Hialeah in what he says was a politically motivated attack, had a message for his fellow Republicans. 'They want to destroy us all,' Monzon said in a defiant speech Sunday about those he sees as violently opposed to Republicans, including the political left, members of the media and his assailants. 'They're not hiding it anymore.'" — " Was Hialeah beating of GOP canvasser a case of political violence? A timeline of events ," by Miami Herald's Ana Claudia Chacin and Nicholas Nehamas VOTERS ARE VOTING — More than 2.66 million people have voted ahead of the Nov. 8 election, according to the latest information on the state Division of Elections website. Nearly 1.9 million people have voted by mail so far. Of those, 809,561 have come from Democrats and 704,962 have come from registered Republicans. Overall, there are more than 2.41 million mail ballots that have been requested but not yet returned. Of those, more than 1.06 million are held by Democrats and nearly 722,000 are with Republicans. More than 776,000 have also voted early this week. That includes 417,918 Republicans and 227,272 Democrats. The totals numbers show that roughly 86,000 more Republicans have voted than Democrats. IMPACT — "' Chaos and confusion': The campaign to stamp out ballot drop boxes ," by The Center for Public Integrity's Aaron Mendelson and Pratheek Rebala : "University of Florida political scientist Daniel A. Smith reviewed information from counties and estimated that one-fourth of Florida's ballot drop boxes would be eliminated or limited due to the law. Boxes at early voting sites can be used only during early voting hours, for instance. 'It's like having an ATM outside of a bank that is only open during banking hours. What's the point? Except … to restrict the ability of people to use them,' Smith said. Smith reviewed data from Florida's Manatee County in 2020 and found that Black voters, Hispanic voters and voters with disabilities were more likely than white voters to drop off their ballots at the 24/7 locations after hours." BY THE NUMBERS — The latest campaign finance filings show that DeSantis raised more than $8.94 million between Oct. 15 to Oct. 29, while Crist raised nearly $2.7 million. The totals include money raised for campaign accounts and for political committees controlled by the candidates. Following the money — The weekly total for DeSantis includes nearly $202,000 in taxpayer money as well as $500,000 from Judicial Crisis Network , a conservative legal group that has spent millions of dollars pushing for the confirmation of Supreme Court justices such as Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh and whose president is a former law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He also received $250,000 from engineering and construction company MasTec and $250,000 from Floridians for Economic Advancement. The weekly total for Crist includes nearly $274,000 in public matching money and $50,000 from Victoria Cummock, $100,000 from Gloria Page and $100,000 from Jacqueline Asplundh. In the bank — DeSantis has more than $94 million unspent, while Crist has more than $4 million, according to state reports (which don't reflect any future planned expenditures). LEFT BEHIND — " These Democrats could thwart DeSantis, but they have little support, " by Tampa Bay Times' Lawrence Mower: "And despite [Gov. Ron] DeSantis' national profile, the three Democrats have received little support from the state party or national donors — the latest sign of Florida's slide from a swing state to a GOP stronghold. 'The Cabinet is always going to be fighting for oxygen,' said Nikki Fried, the outgoing Democratic agriculture commissioner. … 'There has been a conscious decision ... not to put the resources in the Cabinet races,' Fried said. 'It's really hard out here, and if you're not getting the support from your party leadership, it's really lonely.'" — " Barack Obama call hopes to boost Florida Dems in final stretch of midterms ," by Florida Politics' Kelly Hayes — " Misery wrought by Hurricane Ian focuses attention on gubernatorial candidates' climate records ," by WUSF's Amy Green — " Gruters intervene in Hillsborough Republican party leadership dispute ," by Tampa Bay Times' William March — " Rick Scott says it's Ron DeSantis 'choice' not to rally with Donald Trump ," by Florida Politics A.G. Gancarski — " Ted Cruz stumps in Seminole to boost conservatives, predicts 'red tsunami' on Election Day ," by Orlando Sentinel's Skyler Swisher — " Edgewater mayoral candidate, former police chief charged in theft of opponent's signs ," by The Daytona Beach News-Journal's Frank Fernandez — " Republicans hit Tampa Sen. Janet Cruz with sketchy Hurricane Ian charity claim ," by Tampa Bay Times' William March
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