| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard and Kierra Frazier | | Presented by |  | | | |  A home is boarded up in preparation for Hurricane Milton on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Port Richey, Florida. | Mike Carlson/AP | Good morning — our thoughts are with everyone facing the hurricane over the next 48 hours. Hurricane Milton poses an “extremely dangerous” threat to west-central Florida, according to the most recent forecast from the National Hurricane Center. The threat from the storm has led officials to order a massive evacuation and mobilized a federal response, with FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell traveling to Tampa on Monday. Milton’s expected devastation raises questions about how the state will recover from the lingering effects of yet another storm, as well as what the collaboration and rhetoric around it will look like. Here are three key questions as preparations are underway. Will Milton drive Congress to return to Washington early to pass a supplemental spending bill? More than two dozen lawmakers already called for Congress to do so in the wake of Hurricane Helene's devastation, reported POLITICO’s Andres Picon, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said last week that FEMA had enough funding to support “immediate needs” but not for the entirety of hurricane season, which runs through the end of November. The short-term spending bill Congress passed kept FEMA’s disaster relief fund at its previous levels, $20 billion, but Milton appears poised to do significant damage to Florida’s Gulf Coast and FEMA had asked for an increase for 2025. Politics could factor in, given that some lawmakers in unaffected areas will want to remain in their districts to campaign, and others may push for unrelated provisions to be tacked onto a spending measure. Keith Turi, FEMA acting associate administrator for response and recovery, told reporters Monday that he was confident the federal government had enough money to cover Helene and Milton but warned the fund was nonetheless running thin, reported POLITICO’s Zack Colman. What about state lawmakers heading to Tallahassee? Gov. Ron DeSantis at the end of September raised the possibility of state lawmakers meeting this year to help fix some forthcoming regulations on condo laws, warning that putting it off until the regular session in March was too long to wait. The devastation from Milton may put more items on the agenda for a potential special session as lawmakers look to respond to their constituents, many of whom will have lost their homes and everything they own. Concerns about property insurance would likely be very high on the to do list. When asked about the topic Monday by POLITICO’s Gary Fineout, who pointed out that a high proportion of Tampa Bay residents were enrolled in state-run Citizens Insurance, DeSantis said it was too soon to know what the effect would be. With eyes on the forthcoming election, Florida Democrats put out a memo Monday saying that they expected voters’ top concern in the state to be about whether they could afford property insurance. Though the GOP-controlled Legislature did make changes to insurance laws, they also asked for time for the market to settle and prices have not immediately come down. If there’s a huge insurance payout for lost property after Milton, it’ll result in even higher premiums ahead, harming the state’s housing affordability even more. What posture will DeSantis take with the Biden administration after Milton hits? As governor of Florida, DeSantis has a major soapbox to pressure both Congress and the Legislature to act. But his posture toward the White House is becoming its own storyline. After deciding not to meet with President Joe Biden last week over what he brushed off as a scheduling conflict, DeSantis denied reporting from NBC News’ Matt Dixon that said he’d refused to take Vice President Kamala Harris’ call when she tried to reach out. An unnamed DeSantis aide said the governor “was dodging the Democratic presidential nominee’s calls because they ‘seemed political,’” the story said. When asked about it on Monday, DeSantis said he didn’t know Harris had called. He also didn’t directly address whether he’d spoken with Biden, saying only that the president had approved what the state had asked for and “we are thankful for that,” adding that he “will not hesitate” to call Biden if he needs any resources for Florida. During Monday’s afternoon press conference, DeSantis had become irritated after getting several questions about politics, saying publications like POLITICO “are trying to create some type of political angle where there is none there.” (POLITICO did not ask the governor on Monday about either Biden or Harris, and by Monday night, the White House announced Biden and DeSantis had talked.) As for Harris, she called DeSantis ignoring her calls “utterly irresponsible and selfish and is about political gamesmanship,” according to POLITICO’s Kierra Frazier. DeSantis hit back on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity,” saying Harris had never reached out during previous storms and accused her of “trying to politicize the storm.” WHERE'S RON? Gov. DeSantis is holding a press conference about Hurricane Milton at 7:45 a.m., at the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee. 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: How does Uber expand transit access in Florida?
Every week, Uber helps over 3,000 people get to and from Brightline stations across Florida. On average, riders travel nearly 6 miles to connect to Brightline, extending their reach far beyond the tracks. Learn more about how Uber is working with transit agencies in Florida and across the country. | | | |  | ...HURRICANE HOLE... | | |  Contractors with the City of New Port Richey help clean debris left by Hurricane Helene in preparation for Hurricane Milton on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in New Port Richey, Fla. | Mike Carlson/AP Photo | MAKING PREPARATIONS — “Department of Health prepares special needs shelters, encourages preregistration ahead of Milton,” reports Florida Poiltics’ Jacob Ogles. “Accommodations will be made for those evacuated who have disabilities or special medical needs, but who do not require hospitalization. DOH has established a Florida Special Needs Shelter Registry for individuals to input specific information once they set up an account with the state. That will allow local emergency management officials in every impacted county to provide assistance more efficiently in the event of an emergency.” ‘IMMEDIATE RELIEF — “October premiums waived for Florida KidCare enrollees in Helene’s path,” reports Florida Phoenix’s Christine Sexton. “This is not the first time the premiums have been waived, but the decision follows a controversial one by then-Gov. Rick Scott in 2017 not to waive the payment requirements after Hurricane Irma crashed into the state. Instead of waiving the premiums as Gov. Jeb Bush had done following devastating hurricanes, Scott gave families an additional month to make the payment. As a result, thousands of children were disenrolled from the health insurance program.”
| | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | HOT OFF THE PRESS — Florida Politics just published its latest edition of Influence Magazine, featuring “Great Communicators.” MEATING IN COURT — “Lawyers battle over Florida's ‘fake’ meat ban in federal court,” reports POLITICO’s Bruce Ritchie. “Lawyers representing the state and a California company that sells lab-grown meat fought in court Monday over whether the state's ban on the product violates federal law. Lawyers representing UPSIDE Foods told U.S. District Judge Mark Walker that federal law regulating poultry preempts states from banning what some Florida officials are calling ‘fake’ meat.” NO FREE CALLS — “Free prison call program rewarded good behavior, cost taxpayers zero. DeSantis killed it,” reports the Miami Herald’s Camellia Burris. “DeSantis has not publicly commented on why he ended the call program and his office did not respond to a request for comment from the Miami Herald. But he did provide a veto letter explaining his reasoning for cutting other additional criminal justice reform measures that also had bipartisan support and similarly focused on improving the success of reentry programs. One bill would have allowed the incarcerated to keep their status as in-state residents for tuition purposes. ‘We should not reward criminal activity by providing inmates with the same benefits as law-abiding citizens,’ the letter read.” ‘DANGEROUS’ AD — “Department of Health sends cease and desist letter to TV station over abortion ad,” reports Florida Politics’ Gabrielle Russon. “Abortion rights advocates say the move is the state’s latest abuse of power to try to defeat the upcoming ballot initiative. The advertisement in question: A woman with brain cancer is shown in a 30-second ad describing how she found out she had a brain tumor while pregnant with her second child. …’The advertisement is not only false; it is dangerous. Women faced with pregnancy complications posing a serious risk of death or substantial and irreversible physical impairment may and should seek medical treatment in Florida,’ DOH General Counsel John Wilson wrote in a letter last week.” NO LONGER AFFORDABLE — “The great Florida migration is coming undone,” reports The Wall Street Journal’s Deborah Acosta. “Across much of Florida and especially along the western coast, a surplus of inventory and dwindling buyer interest are slowing sales and keeping homes on the market longer. That is cooling off what had been one of America’s biggest housing booms this decade. Tropical storms and hurricanes, increasingly hitting the state’s western coast, are making matters worse.”
| | | | A message from Uber:   | | | | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | STILL SEARCHING — “FAU extends interim president’s contract with $100,000 bonus, 5 percent raise. Search goes on,” reports Palm Beach Post’s Andrew Marra. “Nearly two years later, Stacy Volnick not only is still at the university’s helm — her contract has just been extended for a second time, as the school’s politically contentious search for a permanent president drags on. FAU’s board of trustees agreed Monday, Sept. 30, to extend Volnick’s presidential appointment until either the end of 2025 or whenever a permanent president is appointed, whichever comes first.”
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | JUST OUT — Former President Donald Trump leads Vice President Kamala Harris in Florida by “a staggering 13 points," according to the latest New York Times/Siena College poll. NEXT WEEK — POLITICO’s Gary Fineout will moderate a debate on October 15 at the Capital Tiger Bay Club between Republican state Sen. Corey Simon and Democrat Daryl Parks, who are running for District 3. DEADLINE OVER — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday brushed aside calls that the state extend the voter registration period past the Monday deadline. A coalition of voting rights and civil rights groups last Friday called on the governor to push the deadline past Oct. 7 because of the displacement and destruction of Hurricane Helene. Now Florida is prepping for a second potentially devastating storm later this week. DeSantis, however, said there was no need to push the deadline back, adding nothing was stopping people from registering on the final day. “This storm has not hit yet,” said DeSantis, who added that “there’s no reason to open that up.” Florida did extend the voter registration deadline back in 2020 for several hours after the online portal crashed due to an “unprecedented” surge in volume and traffic. In 2016, a federal judge ordered that the deadline be extended in the wake of large evacuations being ordered due to Hurricane Matthew. Amy Keith — executive director of Common Cause of Florida, which was one of the groups that requested an extension — said DeSantis’ decision was “dereliction of duty.” “It is utterly unreasonable for the governor to expect communities, who are still recovering from Hurricane Helene and desperately trying to prepare for Hurricane Milton and protect their families, to meet this purely administrative deadline,” Keith said. Evan Power, the chair of the Republican Party of Florida, pushed back on Keith and others asking for the extension. Power said in a social media post that it was a “story as old as time. Every election cycle these liberal interest groups want the deadline extended. We have online voter registration, and what stopped them the last 1 years and 11 months.” — Gary Fineout
| 
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at Trump National Doral Miami, on July 9, 2024, in Doral, Florida. | Rebecca Blackwell/AP | CANCELED — In light of Hurricane Milton, former President Donald Trump’s campaign has postponed the Latino roundtable that was supposed to take place at Trump National Doral today. — “Peter Deutsch, former Democratic congressman from Florida, endorses Trump,” reports Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel. FLIPPING FROM BLUE TO RED? — “A high-stakes battle for House District 9: GOP backs Spencer Brass to unseat Allison Tant,” reports USA Today Network — Florida’s James Call. “Republican Spencer Brass' challenge to House District 9 incumbent Allison Tant, D-Tallahassee, comes in an election when Democrats hope to flip five seats to break the GOP supermajority in the House. (A supermajority enables the GOP to set the House agenda with virtually no input from Democrats.) Brass is backed by the incoming House leadership and has engaged Tant in an expensive battle to divert Democratic resources away from districts that lean Democratic and are held by Republicans.” 40 YEARS — “Nov. 5 electoral contest will be the last for Keys election chief,” reports WLRN’s Jimena Romero. “The Monroe County Supervisor Elections, who is retiring this year after more than four decades working in the office, joined the South Florida Roundup on Friday to talk about the challenges elections officials in Florida face in keeping up with the state's new voting laws. ‘I don't understand. This is a Republican state. I live in a Republican county and the Republican legislature is making it harder for people to vote,’ Joyce Griffin said Friday. ‘That doesn't make sense to me.’”
| | | | A message from Uber: Expanding transit access in Florida
Did you know that every week, Uber helps over 3,000 people get to and from Brightline stations across Florida?
Key stat: On average, riders travel nearly 6 miles to reach these stations—extending Brightline’s reach far beyond the tracks.
From MiamiCentral to Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and Orlando, Uber is making it easier for Floridians to access public transit.
Learn more about how Uber partners with transit agencies to improve access to public transportation. | | | | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | BIRTHDAYS: Former state Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen … Vivian Myrtetus, partner at Converge Public Strategies ... Curtis Richardson, Tallahassee mayor pro tem and former state representative … Larry Calhoun of Rep. Kat Cammack’s (R-Fla.) office. | | | | 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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