| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | | | |  "I voted" stickers are set out on a table for voters. | Michael Woods/AP | Good morning and welcome to Tuesday. It’s presidential primary Election Day in Florida, even though both Donald Trump and Joe Biden have secured all the delegates they need to lock in their November matchup. Trump’s dominance in the Republican primary meant the Florida Man faceoff never took place since Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race in January, after coming in 30 points behind Trump in Iowa. Trump, as the last person standing, is on track to get Florida’s 125 delegates. Still, the primary could offer a window into how strong Trump’s level of support is in Florida, a state where the former president lives but also where he’s been charged with hoarding classified documents and trying to obstruct the investigation into the matter. Even though Trump isn’t facing any real competition, GOP voters will be able to select him or one of the six other Republicans who ran in the primary — including DeSantis — because the ballots were printed before candidates like Nikki Haley dropped out. Florida’s GOP primary is open only to registered Republicans, giving anti-Trump Republican voters a way to voice their preference for another candidate. But Trump has a history of winning here. He trounced Floridian Sen. Marco Rubio in the 2016 GOP primary and edged out Hillary Clinton in the general election. By 2020, he won Florida over Biden by 3.3 points, even though he lost the election overall. Today, registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by roughly 800,000 voters — a shift of almost 1 million voters since Democrats held a roughly 364,350-voter registration advantage in 2020. Trump plans to vote at his precinct in Palm Beach County this afternoon, his campaign told Playbook. Yesterday morning he urged voters to show up for him, saying on Truth Social, “What the hell do you have to lose?” Many Floridians have already voted, state data show, though early numbers show it’s lower than in past years. As of yesterday afternoon, 510,317 Republican voters cast their ballots by mail and 220,390 picked their candidates at early-voting sites. Haley was still in the race when early voting started. The Florida Democratic Party opted to not even hold a primary, so Biden will get the 224 delegates up for grabs and Democratic Floridians won’t have a chance to issue protest votes through writing in another candidate. Voters in states like Michigan, Minnesota and Washington state, for instance, have used the ballot box to show they oppose Biden’s handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict. But Democrats’ votes can still matter in the roughly 60 local, nonpartisan elections that are in play. They include communities in Broward, Palm Beach and Orange and Pinellas counties to select mayors and commissioners. A total of 45,143 Democratic and 1,574 non-party affiliated voters have already cast ballots early or by mail. “While Republicans cast their votes in a GOP primary that has already been decided — where Ron’s name remains on the ballot after the worst-run presidential campaign in history — Democrats will vote for candidates in critical local elections,” said Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried. Florida will hold down ballot primary elections, including for the U.S. Congress and the state Legislature, on August 20. 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 the Florida Bankers Association: DON’T LET DURBIN-MARSHALL STEAL YOUR DATA: Senators Dick Durbin and Roger Marshall introduced legislation allowing corporate mega-stores, like Walmart and Target, to process credit card transactions based solely on what is cheapest for them, disregarding YOUR data security. The Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Bill would shift billions in consumer spending to higher-risk payment networks, weakening America’s payment system and jeopardizing the security of hardworking Floridians. Learn more: https://handsoffmyrewards.com/security/ | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | |
COVERAGE PUSH — “Pressure to expand Medicaid in Florida keeps slowly rising,” reports Florida Politics’ Christine Jordan Sexton. “Medicaid expansion, as it has been in the past, was a no-go in Florida this year. Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, who led the charge to push through a health care workforce overhaul this year, remained adamantly opposed to expansion, as did other legislative leaders and Gov. Ron DeSantis. That didn’t stop [GOP state Rep. Joel] Rudman from trying to build groundwork for another try. Rudman met with North Carolina state Sen. Kevin Corbin in Tallahassee this Session to discuss the steps that Florida could take toward expanding Medicaid, as well as North Carolina’s experience since passing and implementing a Medicaid expansion effective Dec. 1, 2023. Rudman also arranged to have Corbin meet about a dozen Republicans to talk about the issue.”
AG WORKERS — “Farmers say Florida bill could help bring in more foreign workers,” reports News Service of Florida’s Jim Turner. “Florida’s agriculture industry hopes that a newly passed bill designed to limit local regulations on farmworker housing will bolster efforts to bring in more non-immigrant foreign workers. The bill (SB 1082), which lawmakers unanimously passed, would prevent cities and counties from taking steps to ‘inhibit’ housing construction for farmworkers on agricultural land. The bill has not been sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who can sign, veto or allow the legislation to become law without his signature. The industry says some growers have cut back on planting this year, and might again next year, in part because of a labor shortage related to the state’s crackdown on undocumented migrants.”
| 
Young marijuana plants have state mandated identification tags in the indoor growing facility of Mockingbird Cannabis in Raymond, Miss., Friday, Jan. 20, 2023. | Rogelio V. Solis/AP | CANNABIS CERTIFIED — “More medical-marijuana licenses could go to Black Florida farmers,” reports Dara Kam of News Service of Florida. “Expansion of such licenses was included in a wide-ranging Department of Health bill (SB 1582) that also addresses such issues as septic-tank inspections and screening for newborns and pregnant women. A provision added to the bill in the last week of this year’s legislative session would help at least three Black farmers who had sought medical-pot licenses but were deemed ineligible to apply by state officials.” COST CUT — “Florida is not so cheap compared with New York these days,” reports Bloomberg’s Francesca Maglione and Paulina Cachero. “Those earning at least $100,000 a year can still see significant savings when relocating to states with no income tax. But as more people make the move — fueling higher rent and home prices — the arbitrage on moving to Miami, Austin and Dallas has eroded since 2019, according to data analyzed by SmartAsset, a financial information provider.” | | | | Easily connect with the right N.Y. State influencers and foster the right relationships to champion your policy priorities. POLITICO Pro. Inside New York. Learn more. | | | | | | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | |
CRISIS HITS HOME — “Haitian community leaders in South Florida renew calls to aid country. ‘A frustration that is boiling inside,’” reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Anthony Man. “State Rep. Marie Woodson, D-Hollywood, who was born in Haiti and has relatives there, said people are going hungry because the gang-fueled violence is so pervasive they can’t leave their homes to get food. Others have been thrown out of their homes by gangs, and forced to live on the street, she said. ‘The situation in Haiti really weighs on my heart. It’s also deeply frustrating,’ she said. ‘I feel helpless.’ The U.S. and the rest of the international community, she added, ‘cannot afford to turn a blind eye to Haiti anymore.’”
VIOLENCE EVERYWHERE — “Armed gangs attack Haiti’s wealthiest enclaves, leaving bodies on the streets,” reports the Miami Herald’s Jacqueline Charles and Johnny Fils-Aimé. “Residents in Pétion-Ville told a Miami Herald correspondent that there were at least 24 dead bodies on the streets, victims of gunshots. The videographer counted at least seven corpses with bullet holes along PanAmerican Avenue in Pétion-Ville, not far from a gas station. The attacks started around 11 p.m. on Sunday and continued through Monday morning.” — “1 dead, 3 hurt in 3 separate shootings in downtown Jacksonville Beach during busy St. Patrick’s Day,” reports News4Jax. — “‘We are hungry’: Cubans take to the streets in the second-largest city to protest,” reports the Miami Herald’s Nora Gámez Torres HOMETOWN PROJECTS — “Lawmakers stuff state budget with local projects. Here’s what’s earmarked for South Florida,” reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Anthony Man. “Millions of dollars for those projects in Broward and Palm Beach County — and hundreds of additional spending initiatives in South Florida and around the state — were added to the $117.5 billion Florida budget before lawmakers wrapped up the annual legislative session this month and left Tallahassee to tout their accomplishments and campaign for reelection. Some of the South Florida projects ultimately could save lives (large generators or facilities and training simulators for law enforcement and fire-rescue). Others could alleviate critical problems (mental health treatment and housing for 100 homeless people in Fort Lauderdale).” BLOCKING RECORDS — “Zieglers sue to stop release of rape investigation records,” reports Michael Barfield of the Florida Trident. “The once powerful Republican power couple sued the City of Sarasota and State Attorney’s Office specifically to prevent the release to the media text messages they sent to each other recovered by police during the now-closed investigation … Christian Ziegler was not charged with any criminal offense after the Sarasota Police Department and the State Attorney recently concluded no criminal charges would be filed for video voyeurism due to Christian Ziegler videotaping the sexual encounter allegedly without the woman’s knowledge.” PROSTITUTION PLATFORM — “‘This is human behavior’: Sheriff candidate wants to legalize prostitution in Miami-Dade,” reports Florida Politics’ Jesse Scheckner. “Former Miami Dade College Police Chief Jeff Giordano just unveiled a titillating policy proposal in his bid to become Miami-Dade County’s first Sheriff in decades: He wants to legalize prostitution. The world’s oldest profession isn’t going anywhere, he said, so it should be safe, legal and regulated to help eliminate “street-corner prostitution rackets” and increase testing for sexually transmitted diseases.” | | | | A message from the Florida Bankers Association:   | | | | | CAMPAIGN MODE | |
NEW MAGA LABEL? — “PBC Suspended chair's supporters blame ‘MAGA-left’ for disunity, deepening party divisions,” reports Stephany Matat of the Palm Beach Post. “State party leader Nikki Fried's decision to suspend Palm Beach County Democratic Party Chairwoman Mindy Koch has devolved into anger and accusations that the ‘MAGA left’ conspired against Koch with Trumpian tactics. In a letter to Fried on March 6, 15 local Democrats involved in different organizations ripped Koch's critics as a ‘MAGA-left’ faction that ‘borrowed a page’ from the Make America Great Again movement led by Trump. Their strategy, similar to MAGA they said, was refusing ‘to recognize a legitimate election; obstruct that leader’s efforts to unify at every turn; organize opposition to drive the elected leader out; and install their own leadership,’ according to the letter.”
| | DATELINE D.C. | | | | | | JOIN US ON 3/21 FOR A TALK ON FINANCIAL LITERACY: Americans from all communities should be able to save, build wealth, and escape generational poverty, but doing so requires financial literacy. How can government and industry ensure access to digital financial tools to help all Americans achieve this? Join POLITICO on March 21 as we explore how Congress, regulators, financial institutions and nonprofits are working to improve financial literacy education for all. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | AMPLIFIED VOICES — “Republican Congress members want Joe Biden to declare impending ‘mass migration’ from Haiti,” reports Florida Politics’ A.G. Gancarski. “U.S. Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Matt Gaetz, Anna Paulina Luna and Daniel Webster all signed on to a letter to the Joe Biden administration urging ‘maritime interdictions and interceptions of Haitians’ and asking the feds to ‘repatriate them, preferably to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as this limits the financial obligation of U.S. taxpayers.’” ... National Security Council spokesperson weighs in ... "We are clear-eyed that economic, political, and security instability are key drivers for migrants around the world. We are closely monitoring the situation and the routes frequently used by migrants to reach our borders, and would stress that at this time irregular migration flows through the Caribbean remain low. That said, we are always planning for contingencies. It would be irresponsible if we weren’t taking a look at what we might do to manage a potential increase and DHS adjusts their assets to meet the challenges that come with maritime migration." | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | |
ENGAGED – Christian Ebersol, co-founder and CEO of 99 Counties, proposed to Jessica Moore, senior director at ServiceTitan and a Netflix alum, in Biscayne Bay National Park on March 1st. The couple originally met in San Francisco in 2013, and dated briefly before reconnecting at a mutual friends’ wedding in 2022. Pic ... Another pic
BIRTHDAY: Allison North Jones, director of communications for Florida Justice Association | | | | A message from the Florida Bankers Association: CONGRESS: OPPOSE THE DURBIN-MARSHALL CREDIT CARD BILL:
Cyber-attacks are on the rise, with large retailers like Target falling victim to breaches that expose customer information to hackers and foreign countries. Now, mega-retailers like Walmart and Home Depot want to leave you even more vulnerable to credit card cyber-attacks so they can pocket billions of dollars in additional profits. After Senator Dick Durbin passed similar routing mandates for debit cards in 2010, the fraud rate for debit cards increased by NEARLY 60%. A similar outcome for credit cards would likely cost OVER $6 BILLION in additional fraud and likely require passing much of the bill onto consumers. Congress must protect consumers, preserve the integrity of the payment ecosystem, and reject this detrimental and unnecessary government intervention into the U.S. payment system. Learn more: https://handsoffmyrewards.com/security/ | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |
