| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | |  A sign warns of a storm surge before the possible arrival of Tropical Storm Debby, which is strengthening as it moves through the Gulf of Mexico on August 04, 2024. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | Good morning and welcome to Monday. Hurricane Debby is close to landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region, and heavy wind and rain are expected in Florida’s capital city. The hurricane is projected to make landfall later this morning as a Category 1 storm. On Sunday, rain and storm surge swept through Marco Island, Fort Myers and Tampa Bay. Gov. Ron DeSantis held two press conferences yesterday to update the public on the storm’s passage and to drive home the message that people should avoid walking or driving through flooded areas, given that life-threatening debris and power lines can be hidden beneath the surface. Extremely heavy rainfall is underway. DeSantis warned that many people would lose power in their homes (about 177,000 have already, per the Tallahassee Democrat), but responders are making it a priority to restore electricity as quickly as possible. State officials have identified 17,000 linemen ready to be deployed when it’s safe to do so, hoping to avoid the dayslong blackout some in Tallahassee faced in 2016 following Hurricane Hermine. “This is going to be a multiple-day event in terms of the amount of water that’s going to hit the state,” the governor said during a press conference yesterday afternoon. The hurricane is expected to travel east across the northern part of Florida. Many Tallahassee residents are still reeling from damages following tornadoes that hit the area in May. Should the storm go more to the east, it’ll follow a similar path as Hurricane Idalia, and those in that path are also still in a recovery stage from last year’s Cat 3 storm. President Joe Biden over the weekend approved a federal disaster declaration, which will help unlock government funds to deploy personnel and equipment. DeSantis approved an emergency declaration for nearly all Florida’s counties and activated the state’s National Guard — and state buildings are closed in many cities, including the capital. Florida is in the middle of what is projected to be one of the worst storm seasons on record. Dealing with hurricanes has long been a reality of living here, but climate change is projected to make these storms more intense, and Florida’s growing population increases the chance of catastrophic damage or loss of life, given that some areas of the state have become more dense than they used to be. These storms can be especially dangerous for people who aren’t used to preparing for hurricanes and might not know where to find instructions about evacuation orders or how to prepare their storm kits. That’s not even counting the long-term challenges posed by sky-high property insurance costs. How elected officials handle such humanitarian and economic crises gives Americans insight into their leaders. As Playbook has reported before, the public looks for leaders to project calm, to provide clear instructions about getting to safety and to mobilize a response that helps people get their lives back to normal as soon as possible. The optics of bipartisanship tend to be another closely watched aspect of storm response. When DeSantis was running for president last year, he opted not to meet with President Joe Biden to survey damage from Idalia, citing concerns about disrupting recovery efforts, and Sen. Rick Scott took the meeting instead. The decision stood in contrast to DeSantis’ approach following Hurricane Ian and the condo collapse in Surfside, Florida. 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.
| | | | During unprecedented times, POLITICO Pro Analysis gives you the insights you need to focus your policy strategy. Live briefings, policy trackers, and and people intelligence secures your seat at the table. Learn more. | | | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | |  Oranges hang on a tree at one of the Peace River Packing Company groves on February 01, 2022 in Fort Meade, Florida. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | SQUEEZED — “Can Florida’s Orange growers survive another hurricane season?” by Grist’s Ayurella Horn-Muller. “The state, which grows roughly 17 percent of the nation’s oranges, grapefruit, and other tangy fruit, produced just 18.1 million boxes during the 2022 to 2023 growing season, the smallest harvest in almost a century. That’s a 60 percent decrease from the season before, a decline driven largely by the compounding impacts of mysterious pathogens and hurricanes. This year, the USDA’s just-released final forecasts for the season reveal an 11.4 percent spike in production over last year, but that’s still not even half of what was produced during the 2021 to 2022 season … As climate change makes storms increasingly likely, diseases kill more trees, and water grows harder to come by, Florida’s nearly $7 billion citrus industry faces an existential threat.” AP BIBLIOGRAPHY — “Ron DeSantis’ memoir makes Tallahassee high school AP reading list,” reports Florida Politics’ A.G. Gancarski. “Administrators at one North Florida school had the courage to assign ‘The Courage to be Free.’ The Ron DeSantis tome, released ahead of his 2024 presidential campaign, is on the summer reading list for AP Language and Composition, as first spotted by Peter Schorsch. The course, per Lawton Chiles High in Leon County, is ‘designed to be the equivalent in rigor to a college course in rhetoric, literature studies, and composition.’” RULING — “Transgender health care ban discriminates against state employees, judge rules,” by the Associated Press. “A federal judge has ruled that Florida’s transgender health care ban discriminates against state employees and violates their civil rights. Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker ruled Thursday that the state’s ban violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects employees and job applicants from employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. The lawsuit was filed in 2020 by three current and former state employees against the Florida Department of Management Services.” END OF MEDICAID NOTICES — “Medicaid class action judge suggests state and patients discuss a settlement,” reports Jackie Llanos of the Florida Phoenix. “The federal judge handling the class action filed by clients kicked off Medicaid by Florida state agencies following the end of the COVID emergency warned both sides Friday that neither would be happy with her ruling and suggested they discuss a settlement … During testimony this week, Morales Howard asked state employees how the Florida Department of Children and Families figures out Medicaid eligibility and notifies people when their benefits end. On the last day of the trial, she didn’t appear convinced by an estimate from Deloitte, the contractor handling the system, that it would take 28,000 hours to update Medicaid termination notices to include case-specific information.” — “Florida's Medicaid enrollment decreases another 59,000 in June,” reports News Service of Florida.
| | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | DATELINE CARACAS — “Opposition leader joins rally calling to overturn Venezuela presidential election results,” reports The Associated Press. “Thousands of people rallied in the streets of Venezuela’s capital Saturday, waving the national flag and singing the national anthem in support of an opposition candidate they believe won the presidential election by a landslide. Authorities have declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner of last Sunday’s election but have yet to produce voting tallies to prove he won. Maduro also urged his backers to attend his own ‘mother of all marches’ later Saturday in Caracas.” — “‘Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!’ Thousands of Venezuelans gather in Miami to protest election,” reports Milena Malaver of the Miami Herald.
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | | | 
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis arrives for an interview at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis. after the first Republican presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle on Aug. 23, 2023. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | ‘28 POSITIONING — “Trump anointed Vance as MAGA crown prince — but DeSantis isn’t going away,” reports POLITICO’s Gary Fineout and Kimberly Leonard. “Ron DeSantis still wants to be president. And he won’t let JD Vance stand in his way. Even after the Florida governor’s presidential campaign crashed and burned, those close to the governor expect him to mount another bid for the White House. The Ohio senator’s elevation as former President Donald Trump’s running mate complicates DeSantis’ political future, should the GOP ticket win in November and Vance inherits the support of the Trump wing of the GOP.” A PLAY FOR NEVER TRUMPERS — “Harris campaign staffs up to compete for unhappy GOP, persuadable independent voters,” reports Antonio Fins of the Palm Beach Post. “The Harris for President campaign said Sunday it has named more co-chairs in its effort to compete for disenchanted Republican and persuadable independent voters in Florida. The three include Republicans Greg Wilson, who served in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, and commentator Rich Logis. The third is former state Sen. Paula Dockery, a Republican while in the state Legislature but who left the party and registered as a Democrat in 2016.” 1K CARTS FOR TRUMP — “Golf cart politics: Florida retirees flaunt loyalties to Trump and Harris,” reports The New York Times’ Patricia Mazzei. “The people of The Villages, a sprawling planned retirement community northwest of Orlando and a solidly Republican stronghold, know that they live in Trump Country. But a week earlier, supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, held a golf cart rally of their own, drawing widespread attention, to the chagrin of Trump-supporting Villagers.” BIG GET — “Billionaire Ken Griffin pledges millions to defeat Florida pot amendment,” reports POLITICO’s Gary Fineout. “Billionaire Ken Griffin is seeding $12 million to the recently-launched campaign to oppose an initiative that would make recreational marijuana legal for adults in Florida. Griffin, one of the nation’s most prominent Republican donors, announced his decision in an op-ed published Friday by The Miami Herald, and signaled that the political battle over Amendment 3 is destined to be an expensive and increasingly bitter contest. Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican Party of Florida have already lined up against the measure.” ELECTION RULES IMPACTS — “Voter registration groups scale back as Florida Republicans tighten rules,” reports Nina Moske of the Tampa Bay Times. “Backers say the bill promotes election integrity. But local groups say they feel limited and have registered far fewer voters this year compared with four years ago. They say the law discriminates against Black and Hispanic potential voters … The bill barred people with certain felony convictions from registering voters, shortened the window to submit completed applications, banned pre-filled applications, required that groups re-register with the state each election cycle and mandated that groups provide a receipt for each completed application, among other changes.” FAMILY FEUD — “No more Joe Saunders vs. Moe Saunders: Candidate’s aunt can run, but under new name,” reports the Miami Herald’s Aaron Leibowitz. “The estranged aunt of Florida House candidate Joe Saunders can stay on the ballot after she filed to run against him under the nickname ‘Moe Saunders,’ but she has agreed to go by a less similar name — Mo Saunders Scott — after a daylong court hearing Thursday.”
| | TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP | | IF TRUMP WINS — “Broward, Palm Beach sheriff’s offices won’t participate in Trump’s promised deportation roundups,” reports Anthony Man of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “The sheriff’s offices in Broward and Palm Beach counties won’t participate in roundups of undocumented immigrants envisioned by former President Donald Trump, who has promised “the largest deportation in the history of our country” if he’s again elected president. Sheriffs Gregory Tony of Broward and Ric Bradshaw of Palm Beach County said their departments, which are the largest local law enforcement agencies in their counties, wouldn’t deploy deputies to take part. And the candidates — Democrats and Republicans — who are hoping to replace them in this year’s elections said they, too, would not go along with such a program.” CHARGED — “Woman called in Mar-a-Lago bomb threat weeks before Donald Trump’s attempted assassination,” by Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics. “A Boca Raton woman is facing federal criminal charges after she was accused of making a bomb threat at Mar-a-Lago, a Trump hotel, and U.S Sen. Marco Rubio’s Office, according to court documents unsealed in July. Martha Schoenfeld is charged with threatening a former President and knowingly making a telephonic bomb threat, according to the filing in the U.S. District Court’s Southern District of Florida. If convicted, each charge carries a maximum prison term of 10 years and a maximum fine of $250,000. She pleaded not guilty Friday.”
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