| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | IN MEMORIAM — Today marks the eighth anniversary since 49 people were killed and 53 more were injured at the Pulse Nightclub mass shooting in Orlando. Gov. Ron DeSantis directed flags to be flown at half-staff at state buildings and grounds in remembrance. In a statement released by his office, he called the mass shooting a “horrific act of terrorism against the LGBTQ and Hispanic communities.” Several local events are planned honoring the victims of the tragedy.
|  ORLANDO, FL - NOVEMBER 07: Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis speaks before introducing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during a rally for Florida Republicans at the Cheyenne Saloon on November 7, 2022 in Orlando, Florida. DeSantis faces former Democratic Gov. Charlie Crist in tomorrow's general election. (Photo by Octavio Jones/Getty Images) | Getty Images | Good morning and welcome to Wednesday. New state campaign finance reports offer a look ahead into what Florida’s 2026 Republican primary for governor could be. Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis and Attorney General Ashley Moody are all considered possible contenders for the two-year-out race. Simpson appears to be leading the fundraising game, just like he was when POLITICO’s Gary Fineout reported the figures for Playbook after the first quarter. The latest filings, which encompass April 1 to May 31, show three different political committees for Simpson raised $2.1 million combined. In all, he’s got about $20 million cash on hand. In comparison, Moody’s total for the two-month period was just shy of $690,000, with $6.1 million cash on hand, while Patronis’ total was almost $390,000, with $7.7 million cash on hand. But breaking down the numbers also provides a fuller picture of the type of support each official is getting. Simpson-linked accounts got a large chunk of the cash from obscure political committees run by GOP operatives, including $480,000 from First Coast Leadership, $500,000 from Vote Differently and $100,000 each from Florida Forward and Building Florida’s Future. He also netted $100,000 from the Seminole Tribe of Florida and $275,000 from NextEra Energy, which was distributed to the three different committees. Moody-linked political committee Protect Florida received $50,000 apiece from Delaware-based developer Deer Creek, Tampa billionaire Robert Rothman and retired attorney and investor David Flory. Friends of Ashley Moody received a $25,000 contribution from the political committee a Stronger Florida and a $25,000 contribution from tobacco giant Altria. This year Moody — who is among Gov. Ron DeSantis’ most trusted supporters — helped push for more regulation on e-cigarettes that DeSantis signed into law, and also sued vaping company Juul, alleging it targeted minors. Among the largest donors for Treasure Florida, a political committee linked to Patronis, were $30,000 from One Call Care Management, a health care network management company, and $25,000 from Tampa-based insurer Baldwin Risk Partners. Insurance regulation and consumer services are both a big part of the job of Florida CFO. Several $25,000 contributions went to another political committee linked to Patronis, called Keep Florida Free. Among those contributors were insurers American Integrity and Security First Insurance, as well as the political committee Building a Better Florida. At least half a dozen Republicans are considering a run for governor. While none have officially declared — as there’s still 2024 to contend with and a lot undoubtedly depends on whether Florida resident Donald Trump becomes president — Simpson is the only one of the three state officials whose team hasn’t explicitly said whether he’s considering it. 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.
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A placard supporting transgender rights is shown at the Stonewall Pride Parade and Street Festival on June 17, 2023, in Wilton Manors, Florida. | Lynne Sladky/AP | ‘NOT A LEGITIMATE STATE INTEREST’ — “Federal judge strikes Florida ban on gender-affirming care for children,” reports POLITICO’s Arek Sarkissian. “A federal judge has ruled that Florida’s new restrictions on gender-affirming treatment for children are unconstitutional, and that Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican lawmakers who supported them were not acting in the interest of public health. By refusing to allow children to access treatments, Tallahassee-based district court Judge Robert L. Hinkle wrote in a ruling handed down Tuesday that DeSantis and Republicans who voted for the measure responded in a way that was similar to racism and misogyny … In response to Hinkle’s ruling, Jeremy Redfern, a spokesperson for DeSantis, said the court was wrong to override the wishes of the people, which were conveyed through their elected representatives, and the state of Florida will appeal.” 'OBSOLETE' — Lawyers representing the Legislature on Tuesday told the Florida Supreme Court it should pass on reviewing a legal challenge to conservation land spending in a nine-year old state budget. The Florida Wildlife Federation and other environmental groups in April asked the court to take up the case challenging spending under a 2014 ballot measure after they appeared to have won in a 2018 court ruling. The 1st District Court of Appeal in February rejected their appeal after Circuit Judge Layne Smith in 2022 dismissed the case as moot. Lawyers for the Legislature called the case "obsolete" in their reply brief on Tuesday. "This Court should decline review and bring much-needed finality to this wasteful and unfruitful litigation," they wrote. — Bruce Ritchie OPPOSITION — “Groups challenge Duke Energy's $880M rate hike request,” reports Politico’s Bruce Ritchie. “Customer and business advocacy groups on Tuesday filed testimony with state regulators arguing that Duke Energy Florida's request for a three-year, $830 million electricity rate hike is excessive. Steve W. Chriss, testifying on behalf of the Florida Retail Federation, said the commission should question the utility's request to increase rates and increase its return on equity, given the reduced financial risk provided by the state's regulatory framework.” FOLLOWING THE NUMBERS — “DeSantis spends millions on Florida Keys base preparing for migrant surge that hasn’t come,” reports the Miami Herald’s Ana Ceballos and Michael Wilner. “For more than a year, pilots and boat captains have come and gone from a small grid of air-conditioned trailers in the Florida Keys, running missions on the water and in the sky in search of Cubans and Haitian migrants desperate enough to cross the Straits of Florida. At a cost of about $20 million and counting, the makeshift base camp … has become one of the more expensive initiatives in the governor’s campaign to keep undocumented immigrants out of the state … But a closer look at federal data and the state’s own records raise questions about whether the site — run by a politically connected disaster-management contractor — was established to address a problem that dissipated almost as soon as the generators began to run.” SINCE MAY 1 — “Florida abortion fund faces increased demand amid sinking financial support,” reports Jackie Llanos of Florida Phoenix. “More than a month has passed since the state’s six-week abortion ban went into effect, and the Florida Access Network, a nonprofit dedicated to reproductive justice, has helped 150 people secure abortions since then, including out of state, the group’s executive director said Monday.” PAWS — “Conservationists amp up the intensity in calling on DeSantis to veto bear-shooting bill,” reports Florida Phoenix’s Mitch Perry. “Among the bills that Gov. Ron DeSantis will soon have to act on is a measure that would allow people to kill bears in self-defense, and conservation and environmental groups in Florida are urging their members to ask the governor to veto it. The bill (HB 87), dubbed the ‘Self Defense Act,’ says that an individual would not be subject to any administrative, civil, or criminal penalty for killing a bear if that person ‘reasonably believed’ it was necessary to avoid an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to themselves or another person, their pets, or their ‘dwelling.’”
| | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | TODAY — Board members for the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District will meet at 7:30 p.m. to decide on final approval for a multibillion dollar expansion of Walt Disney World. (Tune in.) PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION — “Federal judge blocks state’s financial disclosure law for elected municipal officials,” reports Jim Saunders of News Service of Florida. “A federal judge has blocked a 2023 Florida law that required municipal elected officials to disclose detailed information about their personal finances, ruling that the law likely violated First Amendment rights … The decision came three weeks before a July 1 deadline for filing the information.” EPONYMOUS — “'Challenges our authority': School board in Florida bans book about book bans,” by Douglas Soule of USA Today Network — Florida. “The Indian River County School Board voted to remove ‘Ban This Book’ by Alan Gratz from its shelves in a meeting last month, overruling its own district book-review committee's decision to keep it. The children's novel follows a fictional fourth grader who creates a secret banned books locker library after her school board pulled a multitude of titles off the shelves.” — “Homeless men sue Seminole for criminalizing panhandling,” reports the Orlando Sentinel’s Martin E. Comas. — “Florida shark attack victims are recovering from life-altering injuries,” reports The Associated Press’ Stephany Matat.
| | ...HURRICANE HOLE... | | POSSIBLE TROPICAL CYCLONE — “National Hurricane Center highlights area in Gulf of Mexico for potential tropical development,” reports Kimberly Miller of the Palm Beach Post. “A messy area of showers and thunderstorms in the eastern Gulf of Mexico is adding to the soggy fracas over Florida and was given a meager shot Tuesday of becoming the season’s first named tropical system.”
| | | DATELINE D.C. | | | NEW BILL COMING — Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who’s up for reelection in November, announced a resolution in support of in vitro fertilization on the chamber’s floor yesterday and said he was working on a bill to help more families access health savings accounts, which are tax-free funds that help people pay for health care. The bill would allow people to put more money into the savings accounts, he said, and to have them even if they don’t have high-deductible plans. MORE FOREIGN INFLUENCE SCRUTINY — The House Republican fight against foreign influence that’s largely been reserved for higher education is coming to K-12 schools. Rep. Aaron Bean (R-Fla.) introduced the Transparency in Reporting of Adversarial Contributions to Education Act, targeting foreign influence in federally funded schools. The bill would establish “the right to know” of any donations or written agreements, such as contracts, with a foreign country or entity of concern, requiring schools to inform parents of such rights or risk their federal funds. Bean’s bill, the TRACE Act, is in the same vein as two bills approved by the House Education and the Workforce Committee. The DETERRENT Act, which was cleared by the full House, enhanced foreign gifts and contracts reporting for colleges and universities, which have largely faced the brunt of GOP scrutiny of foreign influence. Additionally, Bean is pitching the bill as legislation to build on the Parents Bill of Rights Act, which passed the House last year. That bill doesn’t include provisions regarding foreign influence. “We cannot allow our students — the future of our great nation — to be corrupted by foreign adversaries who are systematically and aggressively attempting to influence our nation’s K-12 schools,” Bean said in a statement. — Mackenzie Wilkes
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | | |  Former Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.). | Steve Cannon, File/AP Photo | SWITCHEROO — “Former US Rep. Alan Grayson drops US Senate bid, eyes state Senate seat,” reports News Service of Florida. “Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson has filed paperwork to run for a state Senate seat after dropping a bid for the U.S. Senate, according to the Florida Division of Elections website. Grayson opened a campaign account to run for an open seat in state Senate District 25, which is made up of Osceola County and part of Orange County.” — “Political ads going after Tom Leek have been running nonstop. He says vengeful trial lawyers are behind the attacks,” reports News4Jax’s Scott Johnson. WALTZ CHALLENGER — “Bishop James David Stockton III announces candidacy for U.S. District House 6 seat,” by Austin L. Miller of the Ocala Star-Banner. “Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz has a challenger for the District 6 seat: Bishop James David Stockton III. A Democrat, Stockton made his campaign announcement Friday afternoon at the Silver Springs Shores Community Center … [He is] a former NAACP president and first time politician.” MOST POPULOUS COUNTY — “Are Democrats still strong enough in Miami-Dade for Levine Cava to win in August?” by the Miami Herald’s Douglas Hanks. “No Democrat signed up to challenge [Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella] Levine Cava before Tuesday’s noon filing deadline, leaving her to face a mostly Republican field of opponents who have raised only a fraction of the nearly $4.9 million secured by the incumbent mayor from donors through March 31.” — “With zero ballots cast, three Miami-Dade commissioners get four more years in office,” reports the Miami Herald’s Douglas Hanks. PRIMARY RACE — “Before returning to Senate, Tracie Davis must dispatch a Primary challenger,” by Florida Politics’ A.G. Gancarski. “Sen. Tracie Davis will be on the campaign trail this summer now that a Primary opponent has qualified to run against her. Her opponent, 40-year-old Francky Jeanty, is a graduate of Edward Waters University. Jeanty is a published author of a motivational book, a self-described ‘educational consultant,’ a former student recruiter for Keiser College, a former admissions counselor for EWU, and a former manager at a car rental dealership.”
| | TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP | | MAR-A-LAGO CLASSIFIED DOCS CASE — “Judge strikes one element from Trump indictment in documents case,” by The New York Times’ Alan Feuer. “A federal judge on Monday slightly narrowed the classified documents case against former President Donald J. Trump, saying prosecutors cannot charge him based on an episode in which he is said to have shown a highly sensitive military map to a political adviser months after leaving office.”
| | | | JOIN US ON 6/13 FOR A TALK ON THE FUTURE OF HEALTH CARE: As Congress and the White House work to strengthen health care affordability and access, innovative technologies and treatments are increasingly important for patient health and lower costs. What barriers are appearing as new tech emerges? Is the Medicare payment process keeping up with new technologies and procedures? Join us on June 13 as POLITICO convenes a panel of lawmakers, officials and experts to discuss what policy solutions could expand access to innovative therapies and tech. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | TRANSITION TIME | | — Roberto Lugones has joined Rep. Carlos Gimenez’s (R-FL) communications team as press secretary. He previously served in the executive office of Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.
| | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | | — “Loose buoy arrives in France after breaking free in Dry Tortugas,” by 7News. BIRTHDAYS: Sally Bradshaw, Tallahassee bookstore owner and former chief of staff and campaign adviser to Jeb Bush ... State Rep. Kim Daniels ... Alex Castellanos of Purple Strategies ... former State Rep. Neil Combee ... Esteban “Steve” Bovo, Hialeah mayor and former state legislator. | | | | 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 | | | | |
