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Kimberly Leonard's must-read briefing on what's hot, crazy or shady about politics in the Sunshine State | | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | |  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis answers questions from the media in the Florida Cabinet following his State of the State address during a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives, March 7, 2023, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida. | Cheney Orr/AFP | Good morning and welcome to the first day of the special session. Gov. Ron DeSantis is poised to score political points in the week ahead, and the timing couldn’t be better after former President Donald Trump brutally dragged him in their shared home state over the weekend. Some of the issues lawmakers are taking up this week address several of Florida’s most glaring vulnerabilities that Republican rivals could capitalize on. The Legislature plans to spend half a billion dollars on issues ranging from hurricane relief to creating more school vouchers for students with disabilities, to home hardening grants and security measures to protect against anti-Semitic hate crimes. It’s the seventh special session under the DeSantis administration. By Wednesday night’s debate in Miami, the Legislature will also be on track to hand DeSantis wins he asked for to expand sanctions against Iran and Iran-linked businesses, and a resolution supporting Israel. These foreign policy items can help DeSantis contrast himself with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who is tied with him in Iowa and surpassed him in New Hampshire and South Carolina. DeSantis’ public schedule also showed that yesterday he had a call with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, though his office didn’t elaborate on the substance of the conversation. The special session gives DeSantis some talking points during a crucial week in the 2024 cycle, when he’s once again under pressure to show yet-to-materialize momentum. A New York Times/Siena College poll released yesterday shows Trump besting President Joe Biden in key swing states, which undermines the electability argument DeSantis and many other Republicans have been making, that a Trump nomination would ensure GOP defeat. That brings DeSantis to the next argument he’s been making about why he’d make a better president, which is that he’s an effective leader who does what he promises. All signs show he’ll get everything he asked for from the Legislature this week, and capping off the week signing bills into law will help him project that image. “We’re getting stuff done,” DeSantis told reporters in Kissimmee, Fla., on Saturday, listing off not just the special session’s agenda but new appointments, suspensions and his management of disaster efforts around Hurricane Idalia. DeSantis made the comments at the Freedom Summit, where Trump’s campaign worked to outshine him at every turn by peeling away some of his support (more on that below). The session’s timeline could be a boost for state GOP lawmakers who don't want to get directly involved in the DeSantis-Trump rivalry anymore than they already have. Though committee meetings had already been scheduled for this week, the urgency of passing bills gives lawmakers an out to say they're focused on state business, and therefore don't have to choose between whether to attend Wednesday’s debate and its surrounding festivities, or the Trump counter-programming rally in Hialeah — not to mention the Mar-a-Lago dinner Trump is planning for grassroots Republicans the next day. — WHERE'S RON? Gov. DeSantis is doing a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, with GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds. She plans to endorse him for president, as first reported by the Des Moines Register. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | |
DEI-NIED — Judge rejects attempt to block Florida’s anti-DEI law, reports POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury. A federal judge on Friday denied an attempt to overturn several key DeSantis administration policies targeting “woke” ideology on college campuses, putting the state in position to soon start carrying out measures including restrictions on spending tied to diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.
In shutting down the request to block Florida from implementing the high-profile law, Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker determined that the group challenging the state — including college professors and students — lacked sufficient evidence to spur the court into action. PUSH FOR CHANGE — “Families are rallying hard to end the medical malpractice ‘free kill’ law,” reports Cindy Krischer Goodman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Florida is the only state that has a 1990s-era law saying “when it comes to medical negligence, only a decedent’s surviving spouse or a minor child under 25 can pursue pain-and-suffering damages. If you are single, over 25, and don’t have young children, there would be almost no legal consequences if a doctor or health provider makes a deadly medical mistake.” — “A committee appointed by the Florida Supreme Court unanimously recommended against shrinking the number of judicial circuits in the state,” by Dara Kam of News Service of Florida | | | | GO INSIDE THE CAPITOL DOME: From the outset, POLITICO has been your eyes and ears on Capitol Hill, providing the most thorough Congress coverage — from political characters and emerging leaders to leadership squabbles and policy nuggets during committee markups and hearings. We're stepping up our game to ensure you’re fully informed on every key detail inside the Capitol Dome, all day, every day. Start your day with Playbook AM, refuel at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report and enrich your evening discussions with Huddle. Plus, stay updated with real-time buzz all day through our brand new Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here. | | | | | | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | |
SELF-DEFENSE — “‘We don’t feel safe.’ As antisemitism threat rises, South Florida’s Jews arm themselves,” by the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Shira Moolten. “Across South Florida, Jewish residents are buying guns and learning to use them, many of them older, more liberal-leaning people who never thought they’d touch a gun in their lives. Spouses are dragging each other to lessons, children are going with parents. Introductory shooting classes are booked up months into the future, even on the Sabbath, because people are so desperate for slots.”
UPGRADE — New developers are finding ways to help homes withstand hurricanes and cut emissions, by The Associated Press’ Isabella O’Malley. “Solar panels, for example, installed so snugly that high winds can’t get underneath them, mean clean power that can survive a storm. Preserved wetlands and native vegetation that trap carbon in the ground and reduce flooding vulnerability, too.” PALM BEACH — “'Their silence is killing people': Residents want health warnings about sugar-cane fires,” reports the Palm Beach Post’s Antigone Barton. The sugar-cane fires fill the air with smoke and cause ash to fall onto homes and cars in nearby towns. Residents want to see the county health officials issue similar warnings as those routinely put out about sea water quality. RECORDS — More than 50 people applied to be on the new Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority board, shows a list obtained by the Gainesville Sun’s Nora O’Neill. “The records show the governor's office appeared to struggle to make appointments to the authority board, as only 26 known Republicans applied with even fewer having utility experience or knowledge of the industry.” COMPLAINT FILED — “Florida teacher fired for using gender-neutral title Mx. in class materials,” reports the Orlando Sentinel’s Leslie Postal. “AV Vary, 43, refused to change titles and was terminated on Oct. 24, according to a letter sent from the school … Now, Vary has contacted attorneys, filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and is looking to challenge state law.” PETITION FILED — “Arguing that a $1.33 million price tag is unjustified, medical marijuana operator Sanctuary Cannabis is challenging a license-renewal fee boost that came after DeSantis said pot companies aren’t paying enough to conduct business in Florida,” reports the News Service of Florida. | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | TOMORROW — Hialeah, Homestead, Miami, Miami Beach and Surfside are holding elections. | 
Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the Florida Freedom Summit at the Gaylord Palms Resort on Nov. 4, 2023, in Kissimmee, Fla. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images |
ABOUT LAST WEEKEND — Trump flexed his dominance over DeSantis during the Freedom Summit on Saturday in a pivotal Florida showdown, POLITICO’s Gary Fineout and Kimberly Leonard reported from Kissimmee.
The weekend was all about who could claim Florida as their own. By the end, it was clear the answer was Trump. He paraded state legislators onstage who flipped from DeSantis, and the crowd for the ex-president was decidedly louder. Vendors sold DeSantis merch at a discount, reported Olivia George for the Tampa Bay Times, while attendees bought up Trump’s goods. When Trump did go onstage, he did a dramatic DeSantis impersonation of the governor, breaking down in mock sobs as he pleaded for his support back in 2018. It’s not just the summit. Polling shows Trump is ahead all over Florida, said Doug Kaplan, president of the polling company Kaplan Strategies who attended the Freedom Summit. “Trump has hurt him significantly,” Kaplan said of DeSantis. Numerous legislators and Republican leaders admitted to Playbook that they dreaded the moments leading up to Trump’s speech and said they wished the former president wouldn’t be so vicious with the governor because it might divide Republicans ahead of the general election. Still, several Republicans said they were impressed with the governor’s delivery and glad that he stayed above the fray. One of them was Ed Shoemaker, state committeeman in Polk County for the Republican Party of Florida who is undecided in the 2024 primary. He told Playbook that he thought DeSantis should carry the same “relaxed” tone from Saturday’s speech into Wednesday’s debate. “It seems like he gets a little nervous on the debate stage … if he would just be himself like he was today, I can see him actually picking up momentum,” he said, stressing that he and other GOP voters in Florida saw DeSantis’ record as “outstanding.” But he also shared feedback he’s gotten from Republican voters in his county, which could help explain why DeSantis was well-received during his speech on Saturday yet still outshined compared to Trump. “If there is any issue with Ron DeSantis, the majority of people wanted him to wait until 2028,” Shoemaker said. “They feel like they love him just as much as Trump … but they feel they worked hard to get him elected.” Shoemaker said voters have told him they would have been “110 percent” behind DeSantis presidential bid — after he finished his term. It’s an observation Playbook hears often in casual conversations with Florida GOP voters: They’d resoundingly supported DeSantis in 2022 because they wanted him to stay their governor, not because they wanted to help propel him to the presidency. Voters might get their wish if the polling bears out, but the lingering question is whether a bruising contest with Trump will ruin DeSantis’ future political prospects. |  Senior strategists for former President Donald Trump, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles. | Alex Brandon/AP | ‘2024 REVENGE TOUR’ — “Many of the Trump advisers and aides working hardest to keep DeSantis from the White House are people who used to call him their boss … some harbor deep-seated and personal animosity toward DeSantis after acrimonious divorces,” reports CNN’s Steve Contorno and Kristen Holmes. “Among them is Trump’s top campaign adviser, Susie Wiles, one of the state’s most successful political operatives in recent memory … Justin Caporale, an experienced aide, and James Blair, a seasoned political consultant who became DeSantis’ deputy chief of staff, were pushed out of the governor’s office … Jennifer Locetta, a former state party executive director who two sources say DeSantis ousted, recently joined the staff of a super PAC that supports Trump … Trump’s Florida political operation is spearheaded by Brian Hughes, a longtime GOP strategist in the state who served as one of the architects of DeSantis’ successful first congressional run in 2012.” This is key: “Many of these advisers and aides have intimate knowledge of what makes the governor tick.” FLORIDA TRANSPLANT — Ken Griffin, who was a major DeSantis donor for his 2022 reelection, just praised Nikki Haley as he assesses who he’ll support for president, reports Bloomberg’s Laura Davison and John Gittelsohn. The Citadel founder who moved his company to Miami said he was “really paying attention” to Haley and praised her foreign policy experience, after calling her a “rock star” last week. | | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | |
BIRTHDAYS: NPR’s Eric Deggans … Rick McAllister, former CEO/President of Florida Retail Federation
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