| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard and Kierra Frazier | |  Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) speaks on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 21, 2024 in Chicago. | Andrew Harnik/Getty Images | Good morning and welcome to Thursday. Florida Democrats may have the worst seats in the house at the Democratic National Convention. But the party’s anti-Florida message is front and center. In a primetime speech last night, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz described Florida as a “cautionary tale” that was living the “reality” of Project 2025. Wasserman Schultz, a former DNC chair, was referring to the extensive list of policy proposals created by the conservative Heritage Foundation and former Trump administration officials. She pointed to Florida's anti-abortion laws, restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights and how the state had excised the mention of “climate change” from state law as examples of policies that matched up with the document. “Gov. Ron DeSantis turned Florida into a testing ground for the right’s most egregious, dangerous policies,” she said. Former President Donald Trump has disavowed the document as having nothing to do with him, but that hasn’t stopped Democrats from spilling out its contents to warn of what they see as the danger of a second Trump term — or of trotting out Florida as an example of “Project 2025 in practice,” as Wasserman Schultz put it. “We can’t let them do to America what they did to Florida,” she warned in calling for Vice President Kamala Harris to be elected. Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost, the first Gen Z member of Congress, made similar comments about Project 2025 during an interview at the CNN-POLITICO Grill earlier this week, raising book removals from Florida public school libraries. And Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell was on a panel yesterday about Project 2025 with the Center for American Progress. Other states are getting the message. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said Democrats must take down both DeSantis and Trump in the next election. “You guys are right there in the belly of the beast,” he said during his Wednesday speech before the Florida delegation breakfast. “Florida is in the crossroads … [DeSantis is] leading the MAGA assault on democracy, freedom and rational thinking in America.” From the main stage, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul apologized to Florida for Trump making the state his post-presidential home. Yet Florida’s presence at the DNC has been far less visible than it was at the Republican National Convention. In Milwaukee, numerous Floridians got a primetime speaking slot and the delegates got to sit front and center, closer to Trump than anyone else in the room. (Though it is, of course, tradition for the home state delegates to get that kind of VIP access.) Even in Chicago, the Trump campaign has had three Floridian GOP surrogates on the ground to do DNC counterprogramming, including Sen. Rick Scott and Reps. Mike Waltz and Byron Donalds. Florida-and-D.C.-based Carlos Trujillo, who was United States ambassador to the Organization of American States under Trump, is up this morning. But Florida Democrats insist they’re energized by the convention. Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried told reporters in a call yesterday that people kept dropping by their breakfasts to talk about the primary results. “We were able to really walk around the convention floor and into some of the media areas, and there was energy and opportunity to speak to some members of the [Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee] as well as EMILYs List last night — and they already knew before I even had to open my mouth about some of the victories that we had,” she said. They remain out-fundraised and out-registered by Florida Republicans. But as of Wednesday morning, the Harris campaign reached 33,000 volunteers in Florida. Tonight, the Harris campaign is holding watch parties in major Florida cities as the vice president delivers her acceptance speech. 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. PROGRAMMING NOTE: Playbook will not be publishing from Aug. 26 through Sept. 2. We’ll be back to our normal schedule on Tuesday, Sept. 3.
| | | | DON’T MISS OUR AI & TECH SUMMIT: Join POLITICO’s AI & Tech Summit for exclusive interviews and conversations with senior tech leaders, lawmakers, officials and stakeholders about where the rising energy around global competition — and the sense of potential around AI and restoring American tech knowhow — is driving tech policy and investment. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | AMENDMENT 4 — “Florida Supreme Court upholds revised statement for abortion initiative,” reports POLITICO’s Arek Sarkissian. “Financial impact statements rarely see much attention as a ballot initiative moves toward Election Day. But the stakes around Amendment 4 are higher than other measures: It seeks to abolish a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy that Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Florida Republicans approved last year. The revised statement warns voters that Amendment 4 would decrease the state's count of live births, and it would lead courts to order the state Medicaid program to cover abortion procedures with federal and state tax dollars.” APPROVED — “Florida Public Service Commission says yes to smaller Duke rate hike,” reports POLITICO’s Gary Fineout. “The Florida Public Service Commission on Wednesday approved a settlement agreement between Duke Energy Florida and the Office of Public Counsel that trims the utility's earlier three-year rate hike request. The unanimous vote by state regulators came after a long line of groups testified that they either supported the agreement or did not oppose it. Some of those who did not oppose the proposal included the Sierra Club and Florida Rising, a progressive organization.” CONFIRMED — “DeSantis admin wants to put golf courses, pickleball courts and more in Florida state parks,” reports Max Chesnes of the Tampa Bay Times. “Florida’s environmental agency unveiled major development proposals at nine state parks Wednesday in a sweeping initiative that could redefine Gov. Ron DeSantis’ conservation record and put sensitive, already imperiled habitat further at risk. The project ideas that may lead to the most severe habitat loss include a golf course at Jonathan Dickinson State Park on Florida’s Atlantic coast, which would require the removal of the iconic Hobe Mountain observation tower on protected scrub habitat and the homes of park staff members, among other park facilities, according to state documents.” POST HACK — “Health department now notifying Floridians whose information was stolen, leaked,” reports the Tampa Bay Times’ Lawrence Mower. “Floridians are being notified by mail if they were a victim of the cyberattack, and the state is offering them free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services, the department wrote in a public notice Wednesday.” FIRST AMENDMENT FIGHT — “Florida creates school chaplain model policy; Satanic Temple says it's unconstitutional,” reports USA Today Network — Florida’s Douglas Soule. “The announcement came a week after a Florida school board paused a plan for a chaplain program after receiving First Amendment concerns — and participation interest from The Satanic Temple… The Satanic Temple is an IRS-recognized religious group, but it does not actually worship Satan. It's known for its advocacy for the First Amendment and religious freedom and even warned Florida lawmakers that it planned to participate in any programs if they passed the chaplain legislation.”
| | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | | | 
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks to supporters during a pro-government rally, in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. | Cristian Hernandez/AP Photo | MADURO BENEFITS FROM TIME — “Latin American effort to mediate Venezuela standoff loses steam as Maduro consolidates rule,” reports The Associated Press’ Joshua Goodman. “It was a rare diplomatic gamble when the three leaders of Latin America’s largest democracies inserted themselves into the high-stakes standoff between Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and his opponents over who won the country’s presidential election. Dubbed the three amigos — all dyed-in-the-wool leftists who have been friendly with Maduro — the presidents of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico broke from decades of hands-off diplomacy toward Venezuela and their own reluctance to meddle in a neighbor’s sovereign affairs in a region where U.S. military interventions during the Cold War still generate resentment. But some experts say the peacemaking effort is losing steam before barely getting off the ground.”
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | — “Democrats’ future, abortion, legal pot: 5 questions for Florida’s general election,” by USA Today Network — Florida’s Gray Rohrer. GLITCHES — “Here’s why some Florida primary election websites were slow,” reports the Tampa Bay Times’ Lawrence Mower and the Miami Herald’s Raisa Habersham. “The websites of several county election supervisors were down or struggled to load as polls closed on Tuesday, but Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd said it wasn’t because of nefarious intent. A vendor, Tallahassee-based VR Systems, was having ‘issues’ with county supervisors’ public-facing websites, Byrd told reporters Tuesday night. He did not know the exact nature of the issues. Supervisors’ homepages in Pinellas, Leon, Broward and other counties struggled to load, but direct links to Tuesday’s primary results appeared to be unaffected.” AMENDMENT 3 — “Broward state attorney endorses recreational marijuana amendment, says criminalization of the drug has ruined lives,” reports Shira Moolten of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “The endorsement, released the same day as the Florida primaries for state attorney positions, makes [Harold] Pryor the first top prosecutor in the state to officially support the recreational marijuana amendment and places his views — at least for now — in conflict with the state law that still requires his office to prosecute minor marijuana offenses.” ‘SMOKED’ — “Republican Elections Supervisors across Florida crush election denier challengers,” reports Florida Politics’ Jacob Ogles. “In Charlotte, Collier, Lake, Lee and Pinellas counties, incumbents won their races overwhelmingly. The election deniers looking to run elections all fared poorly. ‘They were all smoked,’ said Lee County Supervisor of Elections Tommy Doyle. Despite personal scandal days before the election, Doyle cruised to victory in an open Republican Primary, winning more than 80% of the vote over Republican challenger Mick Peters.”
| | 
President Joe Biden is greeted by Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava upon arrival at Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, on January 30, 2024. | Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images | LOOKING AHEAD — “Miami-Dade’s Democratic mayor won big this week. Is a run for Florida governor next?” by Douglas Hanks of the Miami Herald. “After months of quiet chatter about a potential [Daniella] Levine Cava statewide campaign, her camp is now pointing to her bipartisan support in Miami-Dade as a potential launch pad for a 2026 governor run in a state that hasn’t gone Democratic since the 1990s.” RDS RESPONDS — “Ron DeSantis says Kamala Harris economic proposals would hit Florida ‘really hard,’” reports Florida Politics A.G. Gancarski. “Gov. Ron DeSantis is arguing that Kamala Harris’ economic proposals would drive America into a depression and that ‘Florida would be hit really hard’ by stacked federal taxes on home sales, blasting the ‘truly insane’ concept of ‘taxing unrealized gains’ as ‘a truly imbecilic and insane policy.’”
| | DATELINE D.C. | | BIPARTISAN BACKLASH — “U.S. Senators Susan Collins, Patty Murray condemn New College of Florida book disposal,” reports Sarasota Herald-Tribune's Steven Walker. “In their joint statement, Murray, a Democrat from Washington, and Collins, a Maine Republican, said they were ‘stunned’ when they heard their book was thrown out. ‘We stand against the senseless banning of books. Such actions go against our constitutional values and the idea that our universities should be places where the freedom of speech is allowed to flourish and perspectives of all kinds are heard,’ Murray and Collins wrote.” ‘VERY CONCERNING’ — “Feds bust migrant smuggling arrival in Florida Keys — then they declined to prosecute,” reports Florida Key News’ David Goodhue. “Despite the foiled smuggling operation, which included 13 people from Ecuador and seven from China, the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to file charges, according to Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay. ‘It’s way confusing, and it’s very concerning,’ Ramsay told the Miami Herald. This, however, doesn’t mean the men were set free. Agents told the sheriff’s office about the federal prosecutors’ decision. Shortly thereafter, Ramsay and Monroe State Attorney Dennis Ward decided to take the case and charge the men with state human smuggling.”
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, our newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | ON THE BIG SCREEN —“Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood is on borrowed time. A film is documenting it all,” reports NPR’s Greg Allen. “The film ‘Mountains’ tells the story of a family that’s experiencing the changes firsthand in Little Haiti. It’s shot with a Haitian American cast with dialogue in Haitian Creole and is being released nationwide this month. Little Haiti is a neighborhood known for the colorful storefronts of convenience stores, restaurants and botanicas lining Miami’s Second Avenue.” BIRTHDAYS: State Rep. Kristen Arrington … state Sen. Dennis Baxley … Former U.S ambassador and Florida native Mark Gilbert … former state Sen. Bill Montford … Kurt Browning, Pasco County schools superintendent and former Florida secretary of state … Mark Hinson, Florida journalist and writer. | | | | 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 | | | | |
