| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | |  Jaime Harrison, chair of the Democratic National Committee, waves during the Democratic National Convention Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. | Erin Hooley/AP Photo | Good morning and welcome to Thursday. Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison says there’s a fresh energy in Florida that he hasn’t seen in years. Harrison was here this week to speak at the “Reproductive Freedom” bus tour for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign. He said he was “very excited” about Florida, largely because the state party has gotten more organized. He pointed to a 41,000-person volunteer surge, Democratic candidates running in every legislative race, and the energy around the abortion and cannabis ballot referendums. He also brought up Gov. Ron DeSantis’ losses in school board races and Democratic Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s reelection in Miami-Dade. “I keep saying to folks, they're going to be surprised on election night about what happens in the state, that you can't give up on Florida,” he said in a phone interview. Harrison didn’t go so far as to predict that Harris would win Florida, instead saying that “she has a shot.” Yet important factors remain unchanged. Florida Republicans have the upper hand on fundraising and voter registration. Harris hasn’t visited Florida since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. There’s no serious ad spending here from either party — especially notable for Democrats, who haven’t carried the state since 2012. And Republicans aren’t sitting back, either. Republican Party of Florida Chair Evan Power said in a newsletter yesterday that the GOP had “all the momentum, candidates and resources” but “there are no sure things in politics” and “we are taking nothing for granted.” Harrison spoke to Playbook while traveling to Jacksonville. Below are other highlights from the conversation: Harrison is helping Florida Democrats with fundraising. Harrison said he’s been talking about fundraising strategy with the Democratic Party of Florida and has plans to do the same with Democratic Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. “When you have the infrastructure, when you have the resources to communicate to folks, when you have the turnout mechanism to get the voters out, you're going to always have a close election in Florida,” he predicted. But it’s still not clear what resources Florida will be getting from national Democratic entities. Harrison pointed to an announcement this week from the Harris campaign and the DNC announcing $25 million in spending in down-ballot elections, but said it would be up to groups like the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to divvy up the cash. (Neither the Senate race nor the handful of competitive House races are considered among the core battlegrounds.) “The folks here in Florida understand that these last few years have not been the greatest for Democrats in the state,” he said. “So when people are making discernments about where to put dollars and investments, people are using history to kind of judge what you do.” He added that he thought the state was worth investing in. Harrison crafted a response to Republicans accusing Democrats of backing socialism. It happened again yesterday, when former President Donald Trump posted a video on Truth Social warning his followers that Harris “is a communist, has always been a communist and will always be a communist.” His campaign also has pointed to past comments where Harris has taken positions that were to the left of what her campaign says her current views are. “We always have to push back on this,” Harrison said, adding that the party should flip the script to call Republicans the “anti-freedom party” given their opposition to abortion rights, policies that remove books from school libraries and Trump’s comments saying he wouldn’t be a dictator “except for day one.” The GOP's accusations could otherwise resonate with Floridians who fled socialist dictatorships in Latin America. “The thing that many of these folks are escaping — and they don't want to see — is not just the socialism, they don’t want to see dictators,” he said. “They don't want to see people restricting their freedom. They came to America because it is the home of the free.” COMING UP: Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will face off in a debate next week. What questions should the ABC News moderators ask that would have particular salience for Florida? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com for a chance to get featured in Playbook.
|  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | SEAT STATUS — “Florida PSC chair on path to secure another term,” reports POLITICO’s Bruce Ritchie. “Public Service Commission Chair Mike La Rosa seems favored to secure a second term as a regulator after a legislative panel voted to send the governor three nominees, including La Rosa, for the seat he currently holds. The PSC Nominating Council voted for La Rosa, who was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2020, along with Baldwin County, Alabama, grants director Brian Underwood and Peter Drao of Milton, a Republican minority committee staffer in the New York state Senate.” PETITION SCRUTINY — “DeSantis administration reviewing abortion amendment petitions for ‘fraudsters,’” reports Justin Garcia, Lawrence Mower and Romy Ellenbogen of the Tampa Bay Times. “Florida’s Department of State is examining thousands of petition signatures that were used to get the abortion amendment on November ballots, saying it’s looking for fraud. In a move that supporters of the amendment fear could be ‘political interference,’ Gov. Ron DeSantis’ deputy secretary of state has asked supervisors in Hillsborough, Orange, Palm Beach and Osceola counties to gather roughly 36,000 signatures for the state to review.” BOOTED OFF — “Disabled people in Florida still struggling to get Medicaid restored after 'unwinding,” reports Jason Kane, Jesse Kirsch and Natalie Obregon of NBC News. “During the pandemic, states were required to keep providing health care coverage to Medicaid recipients, even if they had lost their eligibility. When the Covid public health emergency ended, eligibility rules for the program were reinstated last year. The nationwide re-evaluation of eligibility for enrollees in Medicaid — the government-backed health insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities — went terribly wrong in states like Florida. “ NO LUCK — “Florida lottery sales decrease amid inflation,” reports News Service of Florida. “Increased costs for necessities might have helped lead to consumers dialing back purchases of scratch-off lottery tickets, as state economists reported Florida Lottery sales decreased during the past fiscal year. Economists reported that ticket sales came in at $9.4 billion during the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which ended June 30. That was down from $9.8 billion in the previous fiscal year and was $132.5 million less than anticipated.” RAISE TO $13 AN HOUR — “What is Florida's minimum wage in 2024? You may see a bump in your paycheck this month,” by C.A. Bridges of USA Today Network — Florida. “Florida's minimum wage will be rising again this month for the fourth year in a row, thanks to an amendment Florida voters approved in 2020. Under the amendment, the state's minimum wage was bumped up from $8.65 to $10 in 2021, with another dollar raise to come every year until it reaches $15 an hour for non-tipped employees and $10.98 for tipped employees.” OCT. 1 HEARING — “Randy Fine faces contempt hearing over 'offensive conduct' during online court appearance,” reports Eric Rogers of Florida Today. “State Rep. Randy Fine will face a contempt of court hearing next month after allegedly making obscene gestures and other ‘offensive conduct’ during a recent online court appearance, according to an order filed Tuesday by a Brevard County judge. Screenshots taken during Fine's appearance in an Aug. 19 hearing over a now-dismissed lawsuit against Brevard County Supervisor of Elections Tim Bobanic appear to show him giving the middle finger and making other gestures at the camera.” PRELIMINARY DATA — “More manatee babies are dying this year. FWC says it’s ‘not necessarily bad news,’” reports Molly Duerig of Central Florida Public Media. “On average since 2019, 70 of all manatee deaths recorded in Florida are perinatal, with carcasses less than five feet long. So far in 2024, 130 of the 435 dead manatees were perinatal: that’s about 30 percent, based on preliminary FWC data through August 23. But ‘it is not necessarily bad news,’ according to Martine de Wit, a veterinarian with [the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission] who oversees the agency’s manatee health research program. In fact, the numbers underscore one key, positive point: more manatee babies are also being born, after 2021’s starvation event killed off manatees in record numbers.”
| | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | ‘EXPLORING OPTIONS’ — “U.S. seeks to turn Kenya mission in Haiti into U.N. peacekeeping operation,” reports the Miami Herald’s Jacqueline Charles and Michael Wilner. “More than two months after the first contingents of Kenyan police officers arrived in Haiti to head a largely U.S.-funded multinational security force, the Biden administration is exploring the possibility of transitioning to a traditional United Nations peacekeeping operation. The State Department, which in the face of funding and equipment shortfalls has been mulling over the possibility of transforming the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support, has notified U.S. lawmakers of its intentions, a source familiar with the matter told the Miami Herald.” STILL SUSPENDED — “Two student protesters arrested at UF accept plea deals in criminal cases,” reports Vivienne Serret of Fresh Take Florida. “Two University of Florida students arrested earlier this year during pro-Palestinian protests on campus have accepted plea deals to misdemeanor criminal charges and will pay a small fine with no jail time. Keely Nicole Gliwa, 23, of Gainesville and Roseanna Yashoda Bisram, 20, of Ocala pleaded no contest to a single count of resisting an officer without violence, according to court records. Under a deferred prosecution agreement, the cases against them would be dropped in six months if they are not arrested again, pay $150 in court fees and donate $150 to specific children’s charities.” NO RFP — “Sebring airport officials pulled a fast one on public with shady land sale,” by Bob Norman of the Florida Trident. “Without properly notifying the public of the proposed sale or opening it up for competitive bids, the city-appointed Sebring Airport Authority sold the land to a partnership that included local developer Mark Gose, who has private business ties to several board members, and former board member John Haviland. The price for the land was $325,000, an amount the board was informed prior to the sale was grossly under market value. A rival developer, Bruce Ledoux, who owns land bordering the 17-acre tract and was excluded from bidding on it, warned the board the land was likely worth twice that amount.” POSTPONED — “Inter Miami now says long-awaited, oft-delayed new stadium will open in 2026, not 2025,” by The Associated Press. “Jorge Mas, one of the team’s owners, previously told multiple outlets that he was targeting a 2025 opening for the stadium. The team, in its announcement Wednesday, did not reveal any reason why the expected opening has changed.”
| | | ...HURRICANE HOLE... | | | FALSE ALARM? — “Curiously quiet Atlantic has hurricane scientists scratching their heads. ‘A mystery,’” by the Miami Herald’s Alex Harris. “The quiet in the Atlantic is even weirder considering nearly every forecast this year trumpeted an alarming hurricane season ahead. Federal forecasters and other experts called for the most active season on record … Instead, after an early burst of intense and record-setting storms, including two U.S. landfalls, the Atlantic Ocean has fallen nearly silent at a time when every homeowner in Florida is typically watching which way the cone of concern is pointing on one or more tropical tempests.”
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | JUST OUT — Democratic Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is out with her first general election TV ad, titled “Freedom,” where she highlights her immigration from Ecuador to escape a dictatorship. The ongoing seven-figure buy is aimed at “dismantl[ing] Rick Scott’s baseless ‘socialist’ attacks and goes on the offensive on an issue Republicans have claimed as their own to win elections for years in Florida,” per a campaign release.
|  Whitney Fox, Democratic candidate for Florida's 13th congressional district, speaks to supporters during her primary night election watch party Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Dunedin, Fla. | Chris O'Meara/AP Photo | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Whitney Fox, the Democratic challenger to Rep. Anna Paulina Luna in the 13th District, is challenging the Republican incumbent to a debate, in a statement shared exclusively with POLITICO. The Suncoast Tiger Bay Club has agreed to host the debate, according to Fox. "Pinellas County deserves a representative who shows up, listens, and delivers results. That's why I'm challenging Anna Paulina Luna to come out of hiding and face the voters in a series of televised debates,” Fox said in a statement. Luna is in her first congressional term representing the Pinellas County district and it is one of two Florida districts targeted by the DCCC. “This election isn't about shallow political theatrics; it's about kitchen table issues that affect real families,” Fox said in a statement. “While Luna has been more interested in stoking partisan dysfunction on cable news, I've been meeting with voters, listening to their concerns, and offering concrete solutions.” — Mia McCarthy POR FAVOR — “Debbie Mucarsel-Powell doubles down on Spanish debate challenge,” reports A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics. “In a media release Wednesday, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell’s campaign formalized its request for a ‘Spanish language statewide televised debate hosted in Florida to address the issues important to the Latino community in Florida and meet as many voters as possible where they are.’ Nearly 30 percent of Floridians are Hispanic.”
| | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | — “Stephen King had a 3-word reaction to news his books are banned in some Florida schools,” reports Douglas Soule of USA Today Network — Florida. BIRTHDAY: Former Rep. Ric Keller. | | | | 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 | | | | |
