| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | |  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a news conference in Perry, Fla., on Aug. 30, 2023, in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia. | John Raoux/AP Photo | Good morning and welcome back to Playbook. Gov. Ron DeSantis is getting ready for a post-Labor Day return to the presidential campaign trail after Hurricane Idalia kept him focused on his day job for over a week. And after the busy weekend — which saw a judge strike down parts of his congressional maps, a rough WSJ poll and an awkward visit from President Joe Biden — it probably couldn’t come soon enough. Looking ahead: The governor’s campaign says he’ll soon be returning to the presidential nomination contest. His political operation sent a fundraising text to supporters Monday previewing a donor-exclusive tele-town hall, and campaign manager James Uthmeier said on Fox News over the weekend that the team was looking forward to “getting back into Iowa and the early states.” Rough poll for DeSantis: The governor got significant media exposure while he was tending to his state, as well as glowing reviews from GOP operatives. But as he prepares to try to turn the GOP primary race around, he continues to face the harsh reality that he remains a distant second behind former President Donald Trump. A Wall Street Journal poll released over the weekend found that Trump had increased his odds of winning the nomination while DeSantis’ odds had dropped. Map rebuke: DeSantis also faced a devastating blow to his agenda in Florida after Judge J. Lee Marsh ruled over the weekend that parts of his congressional map was unconstitutional and ordered the GOP-led Legislature to redraw the maps. The DeSantis administration has already appealed, but it’s a setback given that some Republicans credited the map with helping the GOP win a slim majority in the U.S. House during the 2022 midterms. Biden snub: Finally, the governor passed on a public show of unity with Biden this weekend, ceding the spotlight to Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), his predecessor in the governor’s mansion with whom he’s had several tense disagreements over the years. The weekend side-by-side appearance allowed Biden and Scott — who otherwise have been fierce critics of each other — to heap praise on one another, and for Scott to emphasize his push for Congress to replenish emergency funding. Biden generally doesn’t shy away from criticizing DeSantis but didn’t call him out for skipping their planned meeting in Florida. In recent months, Vice President Kamala Harris has also taken a more public role in attacking the governor, particularly when it comes to abortion rights and Florida school curriculum on African American history. With DeSantis back on the trail soon, it’ll once again be open season for political attacks that otherwise get put on hold during times of tragedy. Through a statement from his office, DeSantis said he’d turned down the bipartisan overtures from the White House because he was worried about hampering recovery efforts. The White House, however, said that Biden informed DeSantis of the trip on Thursday and the governor didn’t give any indication that he’d skip the meeting. But DeSantis held a separate recovery event the same day, and will almost surely face additional questions about his opt-out decision from voters and reporters, given that he twice held bipartisan events with the president following Hurricane Ian and the Surfside condo collapse. — WHERE'S RON? Nothing official yet announced for Gov. DeSantis. The governor was expected before the hurricane to attend three fundraisers in Pennsylvania, said the Philadelphia Inquirer, but the campaign didn’t respond to questions about whether the events would still take place. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com | | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO APP: Stay in the know with the POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS – DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | |  | ...HURRICANE HOLE... | |
STORM WATCH — “Hurricane center says tropical system will form on way to Caribbean,” by the Orlando Sentinel’s Richard Tribou: “A tropical wave in the Atlantic now has 100% chance to become the season’s next tropical depression or storm this week as it heads toward the Caribbean, according to the National Hurricane Center. … Its projected path has it approaching the northern Leeward Islands before the weekend, but potentially curling to the north.”
DeSantis' take: The governor said during a press conference Monday evening that the storm appeared to be heading north and could miss Florida. He assured residents that his team would be closely following any developments and future storms that may still form given that hurricane peak season is still ongoing. MEANWHILE — “Home insurers cut natural disasters from policies as climate risks grow,” by the Washington Post’s Jacob Bogage: “At least five large U.S. property insurers — including Allstate, American Family, Nationwide, Erie Insurance Group and Berkshire Hathaway — have told regulators that extreme weather patterns caused by climate change have led them to stop writing coverages in some regions, exclude protections from various weather events and raise monthly premiums and deductibles.” PUSH FOR FIX — “Rick Scott says failure to fix insurance market is ‘bankrupting the state,’” by FloridaPolitics’ A.G. Gancarski: “During a Monday call with Florida Republicans, the senator warned that failure to do what he did as governor was just ‘bankrupting the state.’ … Scott said ‘fixing the fraud’ in the market was key to the changes he made, which also included moves to ‘dramatically downsize’ Citizens Property Insurance, the state’s insurer of last resort.” — “How hurricanes like Idalia can impact home insurance rates even if you're not impacted,” by Pensacola News Journal’s Brandon Girod LIGHTS ON — DeSantis announced Monday afternoon that 96 percent of people who lost power during the storm had gained it back. Roughly 23,000 households or businesses still have to be restored, the governor’s office said. | | | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | | | 
Florida's high court will hear arguments on the challenge to Florida's 15-week abortion law. | Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images | DRIVING THE WEEK — The Florida Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this Friday in a case challenging the constitutionality of a state law that makes it illegal to have an abortion after 15 weeks into a pregnancy. The case has prevented DeSantis’ more restrictive, six-week abortion ban from taking effect for now. SURPLUS — Florida lawmakers are expected to have a more than $7 billion surplus in 2024, shows a draft from budget staff and the Office of Economic and Demographic Research. The surplus isn’t nearly as large as it has been in recent years, when Florida, like other states, was flush with pandemic-relief cash from the federal government. Still, it could allow DeSantis to advance his priorities during the next session and in the heat of the presidential primary, if the nomination hasn’t been determined at that point. DISNEY LATEST — “Disney asks to narrow lawsuit against DeSantis to free speech claim, by The Associated Press’ Mike Schneider: The company asked a federal judge whether it could amend its complaint to focus on just the First Amendment claims and leave the question about is special tax district to the lawsuit that's in state court. But the U.S. District Judge who ruled on the case, Allen Winsor, said Disney’s attorneys first had to discuss the move with DeSantis’ attorneys, and then re-file the request. — “‘At a standstill’: Worries grow at FAU 2 months after the search for a new president was halted,” by Palm Beach Post’s Andrew Mara — “Senator angrily confronts domestic violence worker after shelter leadership resignations,” by Daytona Beach News-Journal’s Mark Harper | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | |
OPEN BOOK — “A peek at Florida’s new training for school librarians on deciding which books to pull,” by the Palm Beach Post’s Katherine Kokal: “On the heels of legislation that went into effect July 1, Florida's Department of Education released a 50-minute online training video required for media specialists to help them decide which books to pull and which to keep on the shelves. But the guidance is vague at some turns and subjective at others — leading to more confusion for media specialists trying to do their jobs.”
— “Neo-Nazi groups spew hate outside Disney World and near Orlando, officials say,” by NBC News’ Julianne McShane: “Groups of neo-Nazis and white supremacists spread antisemitic, white supremacist and anti-LGBTQ messages outside Disney World and in the nearby Orlando, Florida, area Saturday in the latest examples of rising antisemitism in the U.S., officials said. About 15 people wearing clothing and bearing flags emblazoned with Nazi insignia demonstrated outside the entrance to the Disney Springs shopping center, said the Orange County Sheriff's Office, which said deputies were dispatched around 10:40 a.m.” — “Gov. DeSantis plans to seek aid for the Big Bend's fishing industry,” by News Service of Florida | | CAMPAIGN MODE | |
POLLING DEFICIT — “Why DeSantis can’t count on top Iowa and New Hampshire endorsements to push past Trump,” by The Messenger’s Marc Caputo: “If either of the early state governors decided to back DeSantis, it would only shift the race a net 4 percentage points in his favor – not nearly enough to change the dynamics in a contest where Trump currently leads him 44-18% in Iowa and 48-11% in New Hampshire, according to the survey from pollster Tony Fabrizio.”
LEAKED AUDIO — DeSantis’ super PAC head honcho privately admits he’s spreading dirt on Ramaswamy, by Politico’s Alex Isenstadt: “Everything you read about him is from us,” Jeff Roe, the leader of the DeSantis-aligned Never Back Down told a gathering of donors. “Every misstatement, every 360 he’s conducting or 180 that he is going through in life, is from our scrutiny and pressure. And so, he’s not going to go through that very well, and that will get worse for him.” | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | |
— “India seeds sold out of Florida via Amazon, Walmart and eBay could be deadly, FDA says,” by Miami Herald’s David Neal
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