| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | |  Members of the Florida delegation react on the convention floor during the third night of the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 17, 2024. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | Good morning and welcome to Thursday. The Republican National Convention has been all about Donald Trump. But Florida had an undeniable starring role. It’s not just that it’s Trump and his family’s adopted home state. Loads of main-stage, prime-time speakers have been from Florida. The rambunctious delegation’s assigned seating has been front and center on the convention floor. Last night, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna highlighted her military service while MAGA favorite Rep. Matt Gaetz promised to be Trump’s “strongest ally in Congress” to pass policies like term limits and bans on stock trading in Congress. Floridians including Reps. Brian Mast and Cory Mills were spotted sitting with Trump in his private box on Tuesday. Top Trump officials told the Florida GOP this week that they expected Trump to win the state by double digits. And of all the speeches to highlight over social media, Trump running mate J.D. Vance chose the one Sen. Marco Rubio delivered, saying he understood how to “rebuild American industry and vitality.” Rubio, of course, was a runner up to be Trump’s running mate and many Floridians predict he’ll be part of a Trump administration. Sen. Rick Scott, who spoke onstage Tuesday night, is running for GOP leader. “Florida — we are the tip of the spear,” Rep. Kat Cammack told the Republican Party of Florida on Monday. “And we are going to show the country and the world why they say, ‘Make America Florida.’” It all shows just how much the state has influenced the national GOP — not just because of Trump, but under the leadership of Gov. Ron DeSantis too, who took a victory lap during a couple of appearances in events on the sidelines of the convention yesterday over flipping several counties during his 2022 reelection bid. As the Miami Herald reported, many of the issues the GOP platform adopted this year were an outgrowth of policies from Florida. Floridians in Milwaukee, including DeSantis, made it clear they wanted to take their agenda national. The governor told Iowa Republicans over lunch yesterday that there was no reason other states couldn’t follow “starting in 2025.” “We dug in, we handled every issue that came across our plate, and we fought for people and we delivered for people on issue after issue,” he said. Where Florida is today is of course a big turnaround from where it was just a few years ago as the largest battleground in the U.S. At the convention, its red shade was treated as a fait accompli. The one outlier is that as of yet, Florida has still never sent someone to the White House — something that would change for Trump’s adopted state if he wins in November. “It is great to be at a Republican convention,” DeSantis told other Florida Republicans yesterday, “where our Florida delegation doesn’t need to be on pins and needles about the outcome, where we don't have to worry about turning blue, where we can say proudly that Florida is a Republican state and the premier Republican state.” THIS WEEK: Playbook is on the ground at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Send tips to kleonard@politico.com about Florida-focused get togethers, speaking slots and anything else of interest to our readers.
| | | | CHECK OUT WHAT YOU MISSED IN MILWAUKEE! Watch the full event from the CNN-POLITICO Grill at the RNC HERE.
The program featured Bayer’s Jessica Christiansen, senior vice president and head of crop science and sustainability communications, as well as a conversation with Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), Rep. G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) and POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill for discussions about agriculture, food policy and how these issues will impact the November election. | | | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | | BY THE NUMBERS — Florida’s use of mail-in ballots appears likely to drop significantly, according to the latest numbers available ahead of the Aug. 20 primary — and those affected the most are Democrats. POLITICO reported earlier this year that changes to Florida law had led to a sharp decline in the number of people receiving mail-in ballots, but that supervisors and officials with both parties were trying to make voters aware of the changes. The latest data available from Florida’s election supervisors show that the number of voters in line to receive a mail-in ballot is down nearly 46 percent since the 2022 midterms. More than 2.23 million voters have asked for mail-in ballots for this year’s elections, compared to 4.11 million ahead of the 2022 primary. The drop off in the number of requests has been highest for Democrats as the numbers show there are 868,000 fewer Democrats expected to receive a mail-in ballot this year than in 2022. That’s a bigger drop than for Republicans or those who do not belong to a major party. The numbers show a drop of more than 506,000 requests for GOP voters and more than 500,000 requests for independents or those registered with minor parties. Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried said in a statement that Republicans “stack the deck in their favor” and called the change in the law “voter suppression.” “What did you think was going to happen when Republicans canceled all ballot requests? So many voters are expecting [vote-by-mail] ballots that aren’t coming,” Fried said. Republicans who backed the change contend that the cancellation of requests was needed to help combat voter fraud. — Gary Fineout
|  Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody speaks at the Republican Party of Florida Freedom Summit, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Kissimmee, Fla. | Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP | FIRST DOWN — Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and the Atlantic Coast Conference have reached an agreement in a legal battle over whether the conference must produce its media deal with ESPN and other documents. The media rights contracts have been at the heart of litigation between Florida State University and the conference. Moody first sued to get the documents back in April. She announced Wednesday that the conference will turn over documents to Florida by Aug. 1. Information that is exempt and confidential under Florida law — which include trade secrets — will be redacted. “The conference refused to provide media contracts that detail the impact to FSU if it departs the conference, but now they are rightfully handing over these public records,” Moody said in a statement. “We will continue to fight for transparency.” The ACC, in a statement given to the Tampa Bay Times, said while it does not concur that public records laws apply to the conference, both sides “have reached a solution which will include the voluntary production of certain redacted documents by the ACC, and the Attorney General then dismissing its lawsuit. The ACC will not be providing any portions of documents containing trade secrets which has been its consistent position.” — Gary Fineout RENEWABLE ENERGY GOALS SQUASHED — “Simpson's ag department set to repeal renewable energy goals,” by POLITICO’s Bruce Ritchie. “Department spokesperson Aaron Keller on Wednesday confirmed that the rule, requiring utilities to produce 100 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2050, is being repealed effective July 28. Samantha Kaddis, Tallahassee regional lead with the left-leaning CLEO Institute, told POLITICO on Wednesday the group is exploring options for a legal challenge.” OUT OF FUNDS —“Officials no longer accepting My Safe Florida home hardening applications,” by News Service of Florida. “The Department of Financial Services said online that funding has been ‘exhausted’ for initial inspections in the My Safe Florida Home program. The program offers inspections and grants up to $10,000 to help residents upgrade homes and qualify for property-insurance discounts for residences valued up to $700,000.” SAVINGS ON THE HORIZON? — “Here's what to know about Florida insurance a year out from major lawsuit reform,” by Palm Beach Post’s Anne Geggis. “The July 1 report, based on the first quarter of 2024, comes in addition to the news this year that Florida insurers turned their first overall profit in seven years last year because of market investment gains. Those two pieces of good news have industry-watchers and politicians saying legislation passed in 2022 and 2023 reforming state tort laws are having the desired effect.” SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS IN SHORT SUPPLY — “It’s not just teachers and bus drivers, Florida doesn’t have enough subs,” by Central Florida Public Media’s Danielle Prieur. “[Stetson University’s Rajni] Shankar-Brown said a smaller pool of subs are being asked to fill thousands of open teaching positions in Florida. And recruiting substitute teachers is complicated by low pay. In Florida, subs are paid $14.81 an hour or $30,800 per year on average. The minimum salary for teachers in the state is $48,000 a year.” CHARGES RETURN — “DeSantis’ voter fraud suspects can be charged after all, judges say,” by the Tampa Bay Times’ Lawerence Mower. “The arrests were portrayed as DeSantis getting tough on voter fraud, a popular Republican bogeyman in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claim that the 2020 election was stolen. But the cases also highlighted embarrassing lapses in DeSantis’ Division of Elections and drew widespread condemnation by voting rights groups and former Republican state Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg.” ‘TUG OF WAR’ — “Pro-abortion rights group asks appellate court to step aside on abortion financial statement — for now,” by Florida Politics’ Christine Jordan Sexton. “If granted, the motion would allow Circuit Court Judge John C. Cooper to rule immediately on the legality of a newly revised Financial Impact Statement that was published earlier this week. In a 3-1 vote, a panel of state officials — including some brought in specifically for the initiative — signed off on the revised language.”
| | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | FRIENDS TO COWORKERS — “Gilzean inks no-bid deal with close friend to represent Orange elections office,” reports the Orlando Sentinel’s Ryan Gillespie. “[Attorney Michael] Sasso previously was a governor’s appointee to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board, and was a member of the board when it hired [Orange County Supervisor of Elections Glen] Gilzean. Prior to Sasso’s appointment, he listed Gilzean as a reference in a questionnaire he sent to the Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office. He also was the best man in Gilzean’s wedding.” ‘I’M SHARPER THAN THAT’ — “Palm Beach County Sheriff Bradshaw questions Biden’s mental ability,” reports South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Anthony Man. “Given the recent questions surrounding Biden, who is 81, [Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric] Bradshaw was asked if people should have any concerns about his fitness to serve another four years. If reelected, the sheriff would turn 80 during the final year of his next term. ‘No,’ he said. ‘People who know me know that I’m a young 76. My mental acuity is nowhere near the president’s.’” CLEAN UP ON AISLE 27 — “Exclusive: Miami Republican walks back ‘kill them’ remark about migrant gangs,” by Axios’ Martin Vassolo and Sommer Brugal. “[Miami Republican Rep. María] Salazar's press secretary denied that the congresswoman completed the phrase ‘kill them,’ but stopped short of saying she misspoke. ‘If you go back and listen, she did not finish the word 'them' and complete the sentence, but instead immediately transitioned into the following line about kicking them out,’ he wrote in an email.”
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | TODAY — Rep. Byron Donalds will address the Republican Party of Florida breakfast at the RNC in Milwaukee. DESANTIS’ FUTURE IN LIMBO — “Florida Gov. DeSantis draws cheers at GOP convention but now faces hazy political future,” by USA Today Network — Florida’s John Kennedy. “[Ohio Sen. J.D.] Vance is widely seen as poised to inherit Trump’s Make America Great Again voting base, troubling any DeSantis hopes for a rebound and another White House run in 2028. DeSantis will finish his second term as Florida governor following the 2026 elections. And Vance looms large over any down-the-road path DeSantis may take.” ‘A CLOWN SHOW’ — “Florida Democratic Party calls Tuesday’s FL GOP speeches at RNC a ‘circus,’” by Florida Phoneix’s Jay Waagmeester. “[Democratic chair Nikki Fried] criticized [Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio], too, highlighting that Scott was absent from recent votes taken in the Senate and that Rubio ‘limped’ on stage following the announcement that he would not be Trump’s vice-presidential candidate.”
| | TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP | | NEXT UP — “Special counsel appeals judge's dismissal of Trump documents case,” reports NPR. “Special Counsel Jack Smith on Wednesday appealed the dismissal of the federal criminal case against former President Donald Trump over his handling of classified documents. On Monday, U.S. district judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case, concluding in her 93-page ruling that Smith's appointment violated the U.S. Constitution. She said only Congress or the president have the power to appoint a special counsel — not a U.S. attorney general.”
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Peter Navarro, a former aide to former President Donald Trump, speaks during the third night of the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 17, 2024. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | FROM A PRISON CELL TO MILWAUKEE — “Ex-Trump adviser Peter Navarro released from federal prison, [speaks] at RNC,” by Axios’ April Rubin. “Navarro was the first high-ranking Trump official to serve prison time over actions related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.”
| | | | Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more. | | | | | | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | DON’T MIND IF I DO — “Florida man has hours-long junk food feast inside closed Walgreens, police say,” by WFLA’s Kaycee Sloan. “After being in the restroom for nearly five hours, police said [Christopher] Morgan began roaming around the store ‘treating himself’ to various items, such as Tostitos spinach dip, chips, Reese’s chocolate, Ghirardelli chocolate bars, Dr. Pepper, and Newport cigarettes.” BIRTHDAYS: State Rep. Allison Tant … former State Rep. Jackie Toledo. | | | | 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 | | | | |
