| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard and Kierra Frazier | | Presented by |  | | | |  Former President Donald Trump arrives for a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. | Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP | Good morning and welcome to Wednesday. Florida politicians have spent the last two years bringing their cases to voters. Now they have just days to close the deal. In Florida, 2.6 million Republicans have voted already while 1.9 million Democrats have, according to Fresh Take Florida. Non-party affiliated voters have comprised about 22 percent of ballots cast, reaching 1.2 million voters so far. During a call with reporters Tuesday, Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said people might be “quick to count us out” because of the initial results of mail-in voting and early in-person voting, but she insisted that a good deal of Republicans and non-party affiliated voters were breaking for them. Democrats on the call said their main goal was to break the GOP supermajority in the Legislature. They’ve identified 17 seats to try to flip — and to be successful they’ll need to have two seats turn in their direction in the state Senate (though they've targeted one) and six in the state House. They said they were trying to reach a broad coalition of voters, while casting Republicans in the Legislature as “extremist” for pushing laws against abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. They continued to highlight how comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” during a rally for former President Donald Trump in Madison Square Garden in New York over the weekend, casting the offensive words as similar to false claims Trump made about Haitians eating pets. Florida Democrats’ voter protection director has reported that calls to the Spanish voter hotline have spiked since then, including from Puerto Rican voters. Republican Party of Florida Chair Evan Power told Playbook that he was confident the GOP would be able to win more than half of the legislative races on Democrats’ list if not “a lot more.” Their voter files show low-propensity GOP voters are turning out, he said, so “it’s only going to get worse from here for them.” The closing argument for the RPOF: “People know the disaster that is the Biden-Harris administration and the success they had under Trump,” Power said. Florida Democrats made their arguments just ahead of Harris delivering her closing message in D.C. They pointed to her promises to build more homes, help business startups and to preserve democracy. Harris cast herself as a candidate who wanted to unify people across the political spectrum, while describing Trump as “obsessed with revenge.” (Meanwhile, President Joe Biden drew backlash from Republicans over appearing to insult Trump supporters, as the White House disputed the interpretation.) Trump had his own event at Mar-a-Lago Tuesday, marking at least the fourth campaign event he has done in Florida in October alone. It was clear Trump was using the grand ballroom at Mar-a-Lago as the backdrop to reiterate, through his "weave" method, his closing argument about fixing the economy and strengthening border security. Trump’s stops in Florida are circumstantial: He lives here and has properties that can double as campaign venues. But they also underscore just how much the state has turned into the central nervous system of the MAGA movement. Plus, Trump will be holding his election night watch party in Florida, at the Palm Beach Convention Center. 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.
| | | | A message from Uber: Thank You, Florida Uber Drivers For stepping up during Hurricanes Milton and Helene by helping thousands of Floridians get to shelters and support centers. Your efforts helped keep our communities safe. Learn how Uber drivers stepped up. | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | |  Dr. Christina Pena speaks during a news conference with Florida Physicians Against Amendment 4 as Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, looks on in Coral Gables, Florida, on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. | Lynne Sladky/AP | ALL ENCOMPASSING — “Gov. Ron DeSantis is using every lever at his disposal to defeat two November ballot measures that would legalize cannabis and restore access to abortions in Florida," reports POLITICO’s Gary Fineout and Arek Sarkissian. "The all-encompassing effort has drawn in state agencies ranging from the one that oversees elections to the one that builds roads. The Republican governor and his administration have openly campaigned against the amendments during events organized by his official office. And they’ve spent taxpayer money on ads warning voters about the dangers of marijuana and pushing back on the abortion amendment , which would overturn the state’s six-week ban. The flurry of actions has generated litigation, a rebuke from a federal judge and assertions that state officials may be breaking laws designed to prevent the use of state resources to influence an election. DeSantis himself signed a law two years ago that blocks local governments from sending out any kind of communications on local referendums.” FOR YOUR RADAR — The governor has made no secret of his staunch opposition to the abortion access initiative on the Nov. 5 ballot. But during a campaign-styled event to urge a no vote, DeSantis suggested that there may be a need to alter Florida’s medical malpractice laws in the near future. DeSantis was taking issue with physicians who have lined up to support the amendment. Those doctors have warned that Florida’s existing six-week ban on abortion is limiting their ability to treat patients who are having complications with their pregnancies and that some must wait until “they are on the brink of death” to get care. But DeSantis contended that doctors are either doing that for political reasons or they’re incompetent and don’t understand Florida law and what exceptions are allowed. “You should not only get sued, but you should have to pay a massive damage,” DeSantis said during the Clearwater event. He added he would be willing to green light such changes if legislators enacted them. Florida currently has limits on medical malpractice lawsuits, including a cap on damages and limits on who is allowed to pursue medical malpractice claims. — Gary Fineout RESTRAINING ORDER EXTENDED — “DeSantis administration threatens charges stemming from TV ad supporting abortion initiative,” reports POLITICO’s Arek Sarkissian . “[Attorney Brian] Barnes said he did not immediately foresee DOH pursuing charges in the short term, but he did not rule out doing so in the next year the state has to bring them. … [Judge Mark] Walker said he will extend the restraining order he handed down last week that would prevent the state from continuing to send the letters, and that would give him more time to write his order on the preliminary injunction.” FLIP-FLOPPING POSITIONS — “When a Florida farmer-legislator turned against immigration, the consequences were severe. But not for him,” reports ProPublica’s Seth Freed Wessler . “[GOP state Rep. Rick] Roth knew that the legislation might hurt many farmers — not to mention landscapers and contractors and hotels and a slew of other employers in Florida. But it was good politics. … In Roth’s case, the transformation from a decades-long advocate for expanding legal immigration to a Trump-style hardliner was so swift and so complete that he barely tries to explain it, other than to repeat what sound like Republican talking points about how the border has become a crisis.” — “Florida kicks off a mental health hotline for first responders,” reports WUSF’s Tristan Wood.
| | | | A message from Uber:   | | | | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | |
INVESTIGATION — “Miami-Dade halted weed prosecutions, but thousands were jailed anyway. Most were Black,” reports the Miami Herald’s Aaron Leibowitz and Madeline Everett . “Police departments across the county continued to make arrests anyway, locking up more than 4,200 people on misdemeanor marijuana charges over the past five years. Nearly 60 percent of those cases were brought against Black defendants … despite Black people making up just 18 percent of Miami-Dade’s population. In at least 97 percent of the cases, prosecutors ultimately dropped the charges, according to a Miami Herald analysis of data from the Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts.”
— “Florida medical device maker Exactech declares bankruptcy,” reports KFF Health News.
| | ...HURRICANE HOLE... | |
POST STORM — “Florida delegation asks USDA to back reforms to deliver Milton aid,” reports POLITICO’s Bruce Ritchie . “Florida's congressional delegation on Tuesday asked federal officials to back reforms meant to speed up payments to state farmers who are suffering from recent hurricanes. Florida's two senators and 28 House members signed a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to back disaster assistance reforms. They include legislation granting block grant authority the delegation said is needed to expedite relief payments to agricultural producers.”
PERMISSION TO CHARGE — “FPL asks to charge customers $1.2B for 3 hurricanes this year,” reports POLITICO’s Bruce Ritchie . “FPL wants to charge its 5.9 million customers for restoring power to more than 3 million homes and businesses after hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton hit the state. Florida Power & Light also wants to replenish $150 million to restore its storm reserve fund, which was depleted last year by Hurricane Idalia and then wiped out by Debby, according to the petition filed with the Public Service Commission.” — “Hurricanes might mean Floridians get swamped again: With a car insurance increase,” reports The Palm Beach Post’s Anne Geggis. — “AccuWeather predicting 1-3 tropical storms in November. Florida residents should be prepared,” reports USA Today Network-Florida’s Cheryl McCloud.
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | | | 
Former President Donald Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) are seen during a campaign rally at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 29, 2024. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | CAMPAIGN ROUNDUP — Democratic Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is campaigning in Jacksonville with Sen. John Ossoff (D-Ga.) … Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is campaigning in West Palm Beach with Hispanic leaders … Sen. Marco Rubio campaigned with former President Donald Trump in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Tuesday … Smart & Safe Florida, which supports the marijuana legalization amendment, has a new ad highlighting Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris’ support. MILES AWAY — “Democrats running for every seat in Florida Legislature; some live far from districts they want to represent,” reports Fresh Take Florida’s Lee Ann Anderson and Kai Johnsen . “In at least eight House races and two Senate races statewide those Democratic candidates don’t live in the legislative districts where they are running, according to recent voter registrations, candidate filings and other government records.” OBTAINING 60 PERCENT — “FAU poll finds Florida abortion, marijuana amendments on verge of enough for passage,” reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Anthony Man . “Amendment 4, which would enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution, has support of 58 percent of Florida voters, with 32 percent opposed and 11 percent saying they don’t know. … FAU’s poll found 60 percent of voters favoring the marijuana amendment, with 34 percent opposed and 6 percent undecided.”
| | | | A message from Uber: Thank You, Florida Uber Drivers
In the face of Hurricanes Milton and Helene, Uber drivers gave Floridians rides to shelters and support centers. We thank the thousands of Uber drivers who went above and beyond, ensuring that during a time of crisis, no one was left behind. Your dedication made a difference when it mattered most. Learn how Uber drivers stepped up. | | | | | TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP | | NO BIAS HERE — “Judge Aileen Cannon says Trump’s praise doesn’t warrant her recusal in Trump-related cases,” reports POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein . “‘I have never spoken to or met former President Trump except in connection with his required presence at an official judicial proceeding, through counsel,” Cannon wrote. ‘I have no ‘relationship to the alleged victim’ in any reasonable sense of the phrase.’”
| | TRANSITION TIME | | RETIREMENT — “Julie Anderson, editor of Sun Sentinel and Orlando Sentinel, retiring after 34 years with Tribune Publishing,” reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s David Lyons . “Her departure, which is scheduled for December, will mark the end of a career with Tribune Publishing that spanned more than three decades. … ‘I’ve had a long, fulfilling career, and as I told my newsrooms today, this last job as editor-in-chief for the Orlando Sentinel and Sun Sentinel has been the most rewarding,’ she said.”
| | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | ENGAGED — Anthony LaBruna, executive director of the American Principles Project and a Trump Commerce Department alum, proposed to Julia McLaughlin, an event manager at Hewell Events Group, on Thursday at Mar-a-Lago. They met while working together at the APP Christmas ball in 2022. Pic … Another pic BIRTHDAYS: Ivanka Trump … Chief Inspector General Melinda Miguel … former state Rep. Ron Saunders. | | | | 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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