| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard and Gary Fineout | |  Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson speaks at the Republican Party of Florida Freedom Summit, Saturday, November 4, 2023, in Kissimmee, Florida. | Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP | Good morning and welcome to Thursday. The latest round of state campaign finance reports just dropped and here’s something striking: When it comes to raising money, Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson is putting some distance between himself and two of potential rivals in the 2026 governor’s race. During the first three months of this year Simpson, a wealthy businessman, egg farmer and former Senate president, pulled in more than $1.77 million into three political committees that are controlled by the Republican. (A lot of that money poured in from committees linked to well-known Republican strategist Stafford Jones as well as $100,000 from D.C. based Republican State Leadership Committee.) Attorney General Ashley Moody pulled in $1.18 million to two political committees that are connected to her, while Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis took in nearly $300,000 to committees linked to him. But set aside just the first quarter numbers. If you add it all up Simpson is now sitting on more than $18.1 million more than two years ahead of the GOP primary for governor. Patronis has $7.3 million while Moody has $3.84 million. It’s exceptionally early to try to figure out who the frontrunner is right now in the shadow primary for a race that could wind up with five or six Republicans with some level of name recognition. But this is one early indication that Simpson — who has not had the closest relationship with current Gov. Ron DeSantis — will have the financial resources to make a serious run. Some other takeaways from the early campaign reports: On the same day that the Republican Party of Florida officially ousted Christian Ziegler as party chair, the party took in $1.82 million, including large donations from utilities, business associations and other companies with interest in the 2024 session. The session started on Jan. 9, or a day after the GOP dumped Ziegler amid an ongoing criminal investigation. Ziegler denied any wrongdoing and authorities wrapped up their probe without charging him. The party, along with leadership funds run by incoming Senate and House GOP leaders, took in nearly $4.77 million in the first quarter. That amount was expected to surpass significantly the final amount raised by the Democrats. There will be a more complete picture of party finances after the next round of federal reports are filed a few days from now, but the gap between the two is significant. Florida Democrats had nearly $438,000 in their federal account at the end of February while Florida Republicans had $4.5 million. — Gary Fineout Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com | | | | Access New York bill updates and Congressional activity in areas that matter to you, and use our exclusive insights to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more. | | | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | |
REDISTRICTING CHALLENGE — Lawsuit: 2 Florida state Senate districts were drawn illegally, reports POLITICO’s Gary Fineout. A new federal lawsuit contends that the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature illegally racially gerrymandered in the Tampa Bay area when it created new state Senate districts in 2022.
The legal challenge, filed on behalf of five Tampa Bay-area Black and Hispanic residents by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and another legal group, contends that legislators “packed” Black voters into the district now held by Democratic Sen. Darryl Rouson to lower the number of Black voters in an adjoining district held by Republican Sen. Nick DiCeglie. EV INVOLVEMENT — “Publix sought to block electric vehicle rules, records show,” reports Jason Garcia of Seeking Rents. “A lobbyist for Publix emailed a key lawmaker partway through this year’s session of the Florida Legislature with a proposal to stop cities and counties around the state from enforcing any local laws related to electric vehicle charging stations. The Publix lobbyist sent the proposed legislation to an aide to Rep. Bobby Payne (R-Palatka), who was sponsoring a sweeping energy bill that also made it easier for gas companies to build pipelines, prohibited the development of offshore wind energy, and erased most references to climate change in state law.” DISENROLLED — “After losing Medicaid, parents of Florida’s sickest kids are in limbo,” reports the Orlando Sentinel’s Caroline Catherman. “Over the last year, Florida has dropped over 1.3 million people, including 460,000 children, from its state Medicaid program after the end of a pandemic-era policy that banned states from removing participants who became ineligible. In March, the state began redetermining eligibility for kids with chronic complex conditions, like Llarell. Reviews for these children were delayed until now. The state says cases where the family didn’t find out about termination until it was already happening are an anomaly. Yet advocates point out that during the past month, when the state’s sickest kids had eligibility reviews, some Florida families found out their kids lost coverage with just days of notice and struggled to get answers from the state about what to do next.” NEW PUBLIC SAFETY LAWS — “Florida Gov. DeSantis touts 'law and order,' signs Gabby Petito domestic violence bill,” reports Ana Goñi-Lessan of USA Today Network - Florida. “Gov. Ron DeSantis signed five bills Wednesday that strengthen penalties for crimes against children, increase oversight of sex offenders, and create a ‘domestic violence lethality’ assessment for first responders — a bill pushed by the southwest Florida family of the late Gabby Petito … DeSantis signed ‘Child Exploitation Offenses (HB 1545),’ ‘Online Sting Operations Grant Program (HB 1131),’ ‘Sexual Predators and Sexual Offenders (HB 1235),’ ‘Protection of Children and Victims of Crime (SB 1224),’ and ‘Offenses Involving Children’ (HB 305).” HIGH COSTS — “Feeling the pinch of inflation? Here’s where Florida ranks among worst states,” by USA Today Network - Florida’s C.A. Bridges. “Rent, car insurance and transportation costs continue to rise. And nowhere are they rising more than Florida. The Sunshine State has the nation's highest inflation rate, 3.91 percent, according to an analysis of index data by Moody’s Analytics based on a three-month moving average.” TARDY — “Florida Commission on Ethics set to cancel $1,500 fine for one of its own,” reports the Florida Bulldog’s Dan Christensen. “Lauderhill businessman Freddie Figgers was tagged with a $25-per-day fine for failing to file a required financial disclosure form for 2021 when he was on the board of directors of the state’s economic development organization, Enterprise Florida Inc. He served from June 2021 until it was dissolved on May 31, 2023. Figgers’s disclosure form was due July 1, 2022. He didn’t file it until July 28, 2023 – the day after DeSantis appointed him to a two-year term as an ethics commissioner. The total fine: $1,500, the maximum penalty — almost.” | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | |
TOSSED — “Judge throws out Miami’s ‘unconstitutional’ voting map over racial gerrymandering,” by the Miami Herald’s Joey Flechas. “A federal judge has thrown out the city of Miami’s voting map after ruling that commissioners in 2022 approved unconstitutional, racially gerrymandered district boundaries that sorted city residents by race and ethnicity. On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge K. Michael Moore issued a sharp ruling that invalidated the boundaries of each of the city’s five districts — rejecting a mindset that has defined how the city chose elected representatives for more than two decades.”
PREMIUMS SAVINGS — “Best flood score in Florida to save Pinellas residents on insurance costs,” reports the Tampa Bay Times’ Jack Evans. “Roughly 20,000 policyholders in unincorporated Pinellas County will save more money on flood insurance than residents anywhere else in the state this year, local and federal officials announced Tuesday, as the county earned a designation that ranks its work to protect residents from flooding among the best in the nation. The savings, projected to total about $10 million in premiums collectively, are a result of the county improving its score in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Community Rating System.” SCRAPPED — “Orange County abandons proposed transportation sales tax,” reports the Orlando Sentinel’s Stephen Hudak. “Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, who was leading the sales-tax campaign, made the motion to halt it and the board unanimously agreed … Demings said he was concerned the issue didn’t have ‘the buy-in we need…to not have failure at the ballot box.’” FIREARMS DATA — “Leon County Schools reports a dramatic decrease in guns on campus,” reports Alaijah Brown of the Tallahassee Democrat. “During the 2022-23 school year, the Leon County School District reported confiscating 10 firearms from school campuses. So far this school year, the district has only confiscated one firearm.” PLAN FOR HOUSING — “Jacksonville slated for $10M affordable housing boost in next Donna Deegan budget. Will City Council back it?” reports Florida Politics’ A.G. Gancarski. “The rent is too damn high in Jacksonville, like everywhere else. But Democratic Mayor Donna Deegan is offering an eight-figure expenditure in her upcoming budget proposal that could offer local relief, if it meets the muster of the supermajority Republican City Council.” | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | | | 
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives at the Atlanta Airport on April 10, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. | Megan Varner/Getty Images | EX-PREZ TAKE —“Trump: Florida voters ‘probably going to change’ abortion laws with constitutional amendment,” by the Palm Beach Post’s Antonio Fins. “Donald Trump said Florida's ‘probably going to change,’ indicating he believes a constitutional amendment to protect abortions in the state will pass in the fall … Last week, however, Gov. Ron DeSantis said he believes the item, Amendment 4, will be rejected by the Sunshine State's electorate.” LAUNCHED — Florida Democrats kicked off a new campaign yesterday to register voters, re-enroll Democrats to be eligible for vote by mail and push to elect Democrats across roles from school board to the top of the ticket in 2024. They’ve hired Lisa Peth, who was a regional director during the 2018 elections, to lead the effort as their new coordinated campaign director. They’ve got their work cut out for them: Republicans have almost 900,000 more registered active voters than Democrats, per latest state data. Republican Party of Florida Chair Evan Power told Playbook that the GOP expected to surpass a 1 million vote advantage before the November elections. “Every few weeks the Democrats talk about taking back Florida, but all they do is lose more and more ground,” he said. — “Don Gaetz crosses $1M raised for SD 1 campaign,” reports Florida Politics’ Drew Wilson | | DATELINE D.C. | |
UNDER CONSIDERATION — “Appeals court reviewing whether Florida can challenge Biden administration immigration policies,” reports Jim Saunders of News Service of Florida. “A federal appeals court is looking at whether Florida could legally challenge Biden administration immigration policies, after a district judge sided with the state in a fight spearheaded by Attorney General Ashley Moody and Gov. Ron DeSantis. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week ordered the state and the Biden administration to file briefs about whether Florida has legal standing to challenge what are known as ‘parole’ policies related to undocumented immigrants being released from detention after crossing the country’s southwest border.”
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Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) | Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/AP | DELEGATION DRAMA — Four Florida Republicans helped tank a procedural vote on a federal surveillance bill yesterday, as the delegation divides over renewing government spy powers. Reps. Matt Gaetz, Anna Paulina Luna, Cory Mills and Greg Steube were four of 19 Republicans who tanked a procedural vote for the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act over concerns on the government’s ability to spy on Americans. The vote also came after former President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social urging members to “Kill FISA.” But the striking down of the procedural vote, known as a rule vote, is causing frustration from other Florida Republicans — especially as since the rule vote allows debate over the bill. “You support a process where people don't have debate — regardless of whether you like the final bill or the amendments that are made in order. If you don't have the rule, you can't even debate,” Rep. Mario Diaz Balart said. Meanwhile, many other Florida Republicans who say they are against the bill voted for the procedural vote. Reps. Aaron Bean and Byron Donalds told Playbook they have concerns with FISA and are opposed to it currently. “You don't want to vote against a rule. I was taught that early on,” Bean said. “It's a bummer.” — Mia McCarthy | | TRANSITION TIME | |
— POLITICO’s Zach Montellaro will be the new deputy editor for Florida and national politics. His predecessor for POLITICO’s Florida coverage, David Kihara, will move to the role of national editor. Montellaro will kick off his new role by editing Monday’s Playbook. You can follow Montellaro at @ZachMontellaro.
| | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | |
SPOTTED IN DC — An Orlando-based band was spotted on Capitol Hill on Wednesday — specifically holding a tiny desk style concert in Rep. Maxwell Frost’s office. The band, Venture Motel, was playing at a press conference/concert to launch a new bill that creates federal funding grants for artists, reports POLITICO’s Mia McCarthy.
— “Taylor Swift is now a class at a Florida university. What will students learn?” by the Miami Herald’s Howard Cohen BIRTHDAY: State Rep. Paula Stark | | | | 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 | | | | |
