| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | | | |  Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, right and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, pointing at each other during the CNN Republican presidential debate at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 10, 2024. | Andrew Harnik/AP | Good morning and welcome to Thursday. Republican presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley finally had a shot at a one-on-one debate last night — and neither of them held back. Haley called DeSantis “so desperate” and he called her “mealy mouthed” and accused her of looking “down on Middle America.” They repeatedly denigrated each other as liars. It didn’t take long for Haley to raise problems Florida is facing, especially on affordability. The US, she said, shouldn’t try to replicate the policies there. “Why does Florida have the highest property insurance in the country? Why is it that it is named the American hotspot for inflation? Why is it that his state is now known to have the highest cost of living increases? And why is it that they're saying senior citizens can no longer afford to live in Florida?” she asked. Frontrunner Donald Trump, too, often brings up property insurance costs in rallies and on social media when attracting DeSantis. Without saying Florida Rep. Randy Fine’s name directly, Haley also dug at DeSantis over Israel. She said that the “only Republican Jewish state legislator left his campaign because he wasn't dealing with the neo Nazi marches and wasn't dealing with anti-Semitism properly.” (She didn’t mention he left for Trump.) Answering a question about Disney, she argued that the company “has been woke for a long time” and that DeSantis only got “thin skin” when the company criticized him. “A government doesn’t bully our businesses,” she said. Yet after dumping on his record all night, when asked to cite something she admired about DeSantis, Haley said, “I think he’s been a good governor.” Three different time she went after DeSantis’ electability argument by citing his campaign troubles, accusing him of having “blown through” $150 million and having “nothing to show for it.” “He spent more money on private planes than he has on commercials trying to get Iowans to vote for him,” she said. “If you can't manage a campaign, how are you going to manage a country?” DeSantis, in turn, accused Haley of being beholden to corporate interests and liberal like Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California. He highlighted areas where he’d delivered where she hadn’t, on “universal school choice,” a bathroom bill, lifting taxes on needed baby items and banning China from buying land. He panned one of her criticisms as “cheap garbage" and mocked her for taking few questions from voters at campaign stops while simultaneously suffering a few gaffes in recent weeks as her campaign has gotten more attention. “She's got this problem with ballistic podiatry shooting herself in the foot,” he said. They excoriated each other as Trump was participating in a town hall and after another rival, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, dropped out of the race. In the spin room after the debate, the DeSantis campaign highlighted that Christie was caught on the hot mic yesterday saying Haley would get "smoked" in the nomination fight. Caucus Day is just four days away in Iowa, and the DeSantis campaign is hoping for an upset that shuts down the polls showing Trump is more than 30 points ahead. “A big night is defying expectations,” said campaign spokesperson Andrew Romeo. — WHERE'S RON? Gov. DeSantis will speak at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Summit in Altoona, Iowa at 9:45 a.m. EST. He then is attending several events as a guest of Never Back Down, the super PAC supporting him. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com | | A message from CVS Health: Learn how we’re delivering the future of health care. More here. | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | |
EDUCATION REFORMS — Florida senators dial back — and pass — school deregulation proposals, reports POLITICO's Andrew Atterbury. The Senate unanimously passed three bills Wednesday containing dozens of wide-ranging education deregulations aiming to scale back high-stakes testing, bolster transparency at the Florida Department of Education and give school districts more flexibility in reporting information to the state.
They ditched a contentious proposal that would have granted parents the authority to choose if their children should advance to fourth grade despite missing the state’s reading performance marks. MINORS WORKPLACE BILL — “Bill rolling back child labor laws advances in House,” reports Florida Politics’ Gray Rohrer. "High school sophomores and juniors would be able to work longer hours per day and per week and be given fewer mandatory break periods during work, under a bill that passed through the House Local Administration, Federal Affairs & Special Districts Subcommittee on Wednesday."
|  Florida House Speaker Paul Renner is seen during an event at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla., Jan. 10, 2024. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images) | AP | OVERWHELMED — Bill allowing bear killings clears Senate committee, reports POLITICO’s Bruce Ritchie. The legislation allows someone to kill a bear if they feel threatened on their private property. But they can't keep the bear carcass and must report the killing to state wildlife officials within 24 hours. SECURITY BOOST — Jewish day schools across New York, New Jersey and Florida plan to increase school security spending, according to new survey data from Teach Coalition, the state government advocacy organization arm of Orthodox Union. — Before the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, the average respondent said they spent $215,560 annually, or $598 per pupil, on security. Following the attack, the average respondent said they’ll increase spending by $100,383, or $256 per pupil. — In the states: Florida schools said they would increase spending by $115,383, New Jersey schools by $45,646 and New York schools by $110,227. — Methodology: 150 member schools that Teach Coalition represents were surveyed between Oct. 25 and Dec. 18 and the findings represent 75 responses the coalition. — Mackenzie Wilkes INSURANCE OVERHAUL — “Citizens Insurance for all? Florida lawmaker says yes but insurance insiders say idea is too risky,” reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Ron Hurtibise. GOP state Rep. Sheldon Roach “has filed a bill for the upcoming Legislative session that would significantly change Citizens’ mission from the insurer of last resort to the state’s hurricane backstop.” PULSE CHECK — “Florida is once again leading the nation in the number of people relying on Obamacare for health insurance as more than 4 million residents have signed up, according to the latest numbers released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services,” per Christine Jordan Sexton of Florida Politics. DROPPING IN — “Facing charges at home, ex-Colombian president visits Republican leaders in Tallahassee,” reports the Miami Herald’s Ana Ceballos. “Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe met with House Speaker Paul Renner and other Republican lawmakers in Tallahassee on Wednesday to discuss the importance of advancing democratic principles and maintaining a relationship between the United States and Colombia.” — “Florida says its colleges can be a haven to all religions, not just Jewish students,” reports Tampa Bay Times’ Divya Kumar. “A day after DeSantis announced Florida universities would make it easier for Jewish students fearing antisemitism on campuses across the country to transfer, state university system chancellor Ray Rodrigues said the state’s emergency order applies to all fearing religious prosecution.” | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | |
WARREN's WIN — Appeals court rules against DeSantis, sends Warren case back to lower court, reports POLITICO's Bruce Ritchie: A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled against Gov. Ron DeSantis in the long-running legal saga surrounding his suspension of Democratic state prosecutor Andrew Warren — but stopped short of reinstating him. A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Warren, who was twice elected state attorney from Hillsborough County, was removed from office in 2022 because of political activities that a district court judge should have determined were protected free speech.
MOVING AHEAD — “Federal lawsuit against Florida school district that banned books can move forward, judge rules,” reports The Associated Press. “U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II, based in Pensacola, ruled that the writers’ group PEN America, publisher Penguin Random House, banned authors and parents have standing to pursue their claims under the First Amendment's free speech protections, while denying a claim under the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.” BREAKING UP — “Manatee County cuts ties with the American Library Association over concern of woke agenda,” reports Jesse Mendoza of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. “Library Services Manager Tammy Parrott said membership with the association gives Manatee County access to discounts, professional publications, and professional development opportunities. Although the local library system will have access to similar material from the Florida Library Association, the resources are on a smaller scale, she said.” | | | | A message from CVS Health:   | | |
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | STRAW POLL PILE ON — Two more county-level GOP groups in Florida held a straw poll this week to determine their favorite picks for the GOP presidential nomination, and Trump came out on top both times. In Volusia County, where DeSantis began his political career and served three terms in Congress, an emailed poll for 172 members showed Trump had 143 votes, or roughly 83 percent. DeSantis had 32 votes. The results for St. Lucie County, where 100 people attended an event on Wednesday, went 81 percent Trump and 18 percent DeSantis, per chairman Kenny Nail. The polls in these cases don't result in formal endorsements, but they do take the temperature of the GOP grassroots.
|  Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, and, Rep. Chip Roy, right, look to Bob Vander Plaats, an influential Iowa evangelical leader, as he speaks to media following a Fox News Town Hall in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan 9, 2024. | Carolyn Kaster/AP |
DAMAGE CONTROL? — Iowa Evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats defends DeSantis endorsement as ‘a good way to be a friend to Donald Trump,’ reports POLITICO’s Olivia Alafriz. Vander Plaats, president and CEO of the Family Leader, in an op-ed published Tuesday in the Des Moines Register, said that Trump may very well win the Republican primary, though the sheer number of “Trump haters will never allow him to win the presidency.”
He added, though, that he will “remain a friend” to the former president even after endorsing the Florida governor, who is struggling to gain traction in the 2024 contest and consistently trails Trump in most polls. MICHIGAN, NEVADA, FLORIDA — ‘We just hit rock bottom on chaos’: Battleground state GOPs besieged with leadership fights, reports POLITICO’s Madison Fernandez and Zach Montellaro. Leadership crises are engulfing battleground state Republican parties right as the presidential election kicks into high gear. The challenges are a distraction that draws unwanted headlines when the party should instead be preparing for tough 2024 elections. And at worst, some Republicans worry, it could threaten some core electioneering functions — like the ability to attract and maintain donors to fund field programs or have an effective in-state messaging shop — that would make candidates’ lives harder even if it probably wouldn’t be a nail in the coffin of their electoral hopes. | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | |
NEW ‘SWEET FLORIDA’? — Country music star releases song endorsing 'America's Governor' DeSantis: 'Never Back Down,' per Andrew Mark Miller of Fox News
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