Hello and welcome to Monday.
About to turn out the lights— Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, Florida’s only statewide elected Democrat, will leave office in early January. Fried decisively lost the Democratic primary for governor and then witnessed her party get hammered up and down the ballot across the state earlier this month.
The road ahead— At just 44 years old, Fried, who is also an attorney and a former lobbyist, isn’t planning to exit politics or move out of Tallahassee (for now). She’s set up a political committee called “Won’t Back Down” (yes, after the Tom Petty song) focused on helping female candidates that support abortion rights and possibly putting an amendment dealing with abortion on the 2024 ballot.
A few moments — Over a cup of coffee with Playbook near the Capitol last week, Fried shared some of her thoughts about what’s next for her — and her fellow Democrats.
Her future plans are still in flux— “I’m somebody with a lot of energy, excitement, drive and love my state. I want to make sure that there’s voices out here that are going to show a more rational approach to policies, how to direct the Democratic party out of this mess that we are in,” she said. “I’m still figuring out my steps, where that energy should go.”
Plans for a 2024 amendment — an expensive endeavor — also seem up in the air — “The women of our state are going to be left without health care protections, so there’s going to be an appetite to fix that and to remedy it in 2024. The question will be whether or not the resources will be here to get it done.” Fried notes that additional restrictions could be put in place by the Legislature. (What’s not discussed is that a GOP supermajority could place a rival amendment on the ballot if a citizen initiative gets through the cumbersome process.)
The outcome of the 2024 electionin Florida— “It was a complete system-wide failure. Everything from money to candidates to organizing to understanding the moment that we were in and we missed it.”
Next steps for Democrats— “I don’t want to say rebuilding, because I don’t think there’s a foundation right now,” Fried said. Part of that she said, is “I know that we are a big tent and everybody’s got their own opinions and that is incredible but we also can’t kick people out of the tent, which is what happens a lot in the Democratic world.” Fried said Democrats need to restart voter registration efforts and focus on flipping back seats in the Legislature and on local races in counties such as Hillsborough, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade that she said “are still blue.”
— WHERE’S RON? — Nothing official announced for Gov. DeSantis.
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‘THAT’S A PROBLEM’ — Republicans shrug off Trump ’24 bid: ‘The excitement’s just not there,’ by POLITICO’s David Siders: Ever since he steamrolled through the 2016 presidential primary, and even after his defeat four years later, Trump had bent the GOP to his will — reshaping the party’s infrastructure in Washington and the states to serve his interests, tearing down Republican dynasties and hand-picking congressional and statewide nominees. Now, leading Republicans are no longer cowering before Trump, and for the first time since he rode down the escalator in 2015, many aren’t listening to him at all. They are dodging questions about Trump’s candidacy, or openly defying him by rallying around DeSantis. Even if the Florida governor is not yet, as Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming declared, the “leader of the Republican Party.”
RELATED— The GOP’s great Trump reckoning begins at state party level, by POLITICO’s Adam Wren, Holly Otterbein, Natalie Allison and Lisa Kashinsky: But underwhelming midterm performances across the board have already ignited a wave of intraparty conflagrations. And as a post-midterm power vacuum in Michigan, New Hampshire and other pivotal states threatens to weaken Trump’s vise grip on state party apparatuses, Republican insiders are jostling for what they believe will be a great resorting.
THE PATH FORWARD? — “Can Ron DeSantis ride the culture war to the White House?” by Los Angeles Times’ Doyle McManus: “What the polls can say, however, is that most Republican voters have focused on three names: [former President Donald] Trump, [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis and [former Vice President Mike] Pence. Six months ago, most of them didn’t know who DeSantis was. ‘It’s too early to call anyone a front-runner,’ said Alex Conant, a strategist for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in the 2016 campaign. ‘But you’d rather be Ron DeSantis than anyone else in the field. He’s made as good a first impression on Republican voters as anyone in decades.’ DeSantis has several things going for him, including the adulation of Fox News, which treats him as a front-runner and has begun casting Trump as yesterday’s man.”
MAGIC 8-BALL SAYS— “Who would The Villages back in a Trump-DeSantis clash?” by Tampa Bay Times’ Hannah Critchfield: “On Nov. 16, the day after Trump announced his third presidential campaign, the Tampa Bay Times spoke to 25 Republicans in The Villages about whom they would back in a primary showdown between DeSantis and the former president. From tennis courts to town squares, retirees in the conservative enclave, which had strongly supported both candidates in past runs for public office, were torn.”
— “Elon Musk’s political shift: How the billionaire moved from backing Obama to endorsing DeSantis,” by Forbes’ Sara Dorn
— “As Florida tries to change ‘Resign to run’ laws, Mayor Curry wants voters to implement them in Jacksonville,” by News4Jax’s Scott Johnson
— “County political chief seats in play on both sides of bay,” by Tampa Bay Times’ William March
PALM BEACH STORY — “‘F—ing nightmare’: Trump team does damage control after he dines with Ye and white supremacist Nick Fuentes,” by NBC News’ Marc Caputo: “Former President Donald Trump distanced himself Friday from a pre-Thanksgiving dinner at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and white supremacist Nick Fuentes, claiming he didn’t know the identity of the far-right activist who was unexpectedly brought along with the rapper. ‘This past week, Kanye West called me to have dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Shortly thereafter, he unexpectedly showed up with three of his friends, whom I knew nothing about,’ Trump said Friday in a statement on his Truth Social platform.”
WHO’S THAT?— “GOP lawmakers hushed on Trump’s dinner with white nationalist,” by Axios’ Andrew Solender: “Republican lawmakers have largely remained silent in the wake of former President Trump’s dinner with antisemitic rapper Ye and white nationalist Nick Fuentes, reviving a tactic they frequently relied on during his presidency. … Spokespeople for nearly two dozen House and Senate Republicans — including party leaders, co-chairs of caucuses and task forces focused on Judaism or antisemitism and sponsors of legislation to combat antisemitic hate crimes — did not respond to requests for comment.”
SHH — “State looks to limit protests at Capitol with rules to protect children from ‘harmful materials’,” by Tallahassee Democrat’s James Call: “Florida officials may get new tools to silence dissent and prevent demonstrations at the State Capitol under new freedom of speech rules proposed by the Department of Management Services, the agency that serves as the state’s property manager. DMS wants to empower law enforcement to remove individuals they think may prove disruptive from traditional public forum arenas — such as the fourth floor rotunda separating the Florida House and Senate chambers, and the Capitol Courtyard. The Florida ACLU warns, as currently written, the proposed rules are a how-to guide to chill political speech.”
KEEPING TRACK — “New state voter fraud units finding few cases from midterms,” by The Associated Press’ Gary Fields, Anthony Izaguirre and Sudhin Thanawala: “Weeks before the Nov. 8 election, the Office of Election Crimes and Security began notifying Florida counties of hundreds of registered voters who potentially were ineligible to vote because of prior convictions. In letters to the counties, state officials asked that election officials verify the information and then take action to prevent ineligible voters from casting ballots. ‘We’ve heard stories about voters who are eligible to vote but have a criminal conviction in their past, and they are now scared to register and vote,’ said Michael Pernick, a voting rights attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He called it ‘deeply concerning.’ A spokesman for the new office did not provide information related to any other actions it might have taken or investigations it might have underway related to this year’s primary and general elections.”
— Federal judge rejects push for DeSantis testimony, by POLITICO’s Gary Fineout
— “DMS chief of staff resigns, sets up law firm,” by Florida Politics’ Gray Rohrer
‘WHEN ASKED TO EVACUATE, YOU EVACUATE’ — “Florida hospitals weren’t ready for Hurricane Ian. Some fear the next big storm,” by POLITICO’s Arek Sarkissian: Hurricane Ian exposed an alarming weakness in Florida’s healthcare system: Many hospitals in the state are unprepared to quickly evacuate patients and some facilities likely couldn’t withstand a direct hit from a major storm. The leaders of five hospitals found themselves in that situation in late September as Hurricane Ian approached. Despite being under evacuation orders and in the path of the catastrophic storm, the hospitals remained open and removed only a handful of patients before the Category 4 hurricane made landfall, according to state records.
Delays — It was only after the hurricane had pounded the facilities for several hours that staff moved at least 640 patients from five hospitals in Charlotte, Sarasota and Lee counties. In one instance, hospital staff had to delay transferring patients for hours because it was too dangerous to move anyone outside the hospital as the storm raged.
FORCED TO LEAVE— “‘Where am I going to go?’: Matlacha residents speak out against sudden evictions,” by Fort Myers News-Press’ Samantha Neely: “Jonathan Brooks has lived at his apartment in Matlacha for seven years, working as a dock master while forging his own presence on the tiny, yet vibrant island. Now he’s being forced out in less than just two weeks. Dolphins Resort has issued evictions notices to five residents within their community, citing that ‘the property is no longer safe for habitation’ after Hurricane Ian’s hit. It has upwards of six apartments and 30 mobile homes along Pine Island Road. The eviction notices come nearly a month after promising residents that they wouldn’t force anyone out after Ian.”
— “More bad news for insurance in Florida: Reinsurance costs going up after Hurricane Ian,” by News Service of Florida’s Jim Saunders
— “Hurricane Ian left mountains of debris. Clearing it will take months,” by Washington Post’s Anna Phillips
AWFUL— “Innocence Sold: Florida’s foster system provides dangerous sex traffickers with easy access to vulnerable children,” by South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Brittany Wallman, Spencer Norris and David Fleshler: “A yearlong investigation by the South Florida Sun Sentinel exposed the complicity of Florida’s child welfare system in underage sex trafficking, through evidence found in government records, state and federal lawsuits, research studies, and interviews with victims and family members.”
Toplines — “The Sun Sentinel found: When Florida’s child welfare system takes in a girl, the odds she will be trafficked for sex increase. Florida exploited a loophole so it could keep sending vulnerable girls to group homes, despite a federal law that discourages their use. Teen girls at those homes have been preyed on by traffickers who sometimes “shark” the block, waiting for a girl to walk to the corner store. Young people with a history of commercial sexual exploitation run away from group homes at an alarming rate, and those runaways are even more susceptible to sex trafficking. Yet, once they’re gone, no one tries very hard to find them, and nothing in Florida law requires them to.”
FOR YOUR RADAR— “U.S. allows Chevron to expand energy operations in Venezuela,” by New York Times’ Julie Turkewitz and Zolan Kanno-Youngs: “The U.S. Treasury on Saturday granted Chevron a license for a limited expansion of energy operations in Venezuela, signaling the possible beginning of the country’s re-entry into the international oil market. Foreign investment in the oil sector is something that Venezuela’s authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro, desperately needs to improve the economy. The license was issued in response to the resumption of talks between representatives of Mr. Maduro’s government and the Venezuelan opposition in Mexico on Saturday, after a stalemate that stretched more than a year.”
R.I.P. — “Felipe Valls Sr., founder of landmark Versailles Cuban restaurant in Miami, dies at 89,” by Miami Herald’s Howard Cohen: “There would be no Versailles Cuban restaurant without its founder Felipe Valls Sr. He was the man with the vision that led to a culinary and social and cultural landmark in the Miami neighborhood that became known around the world. Valls Sr., who lived in Coral Gables, died Saturday in Miami at 89 of natural causes, his family said. … ‘Felipe Valls was a giant, a gentleman and exuded the very best of a generation of Cuban exiles who reshaped life and culture in Miami,’ said former Miami Herald food editor and author Carlos Frias, now host for WLRN’s Sundial program.”
— “Fort Lauderdale officer worked as bodyguard for rappers Meek Mill and Rick Ross. Then he was fired. Now he can’t be a cop in Florida,” by South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Angie DiMichele
— “Sarasota Schools superintendent negotiating resignation ahead of termination vote,” by Sarasota Herald-Tribune’s Steven Walker
— “Confederate banner stokes controversy ahead of Jacksonville Jaguars game,” by Florida Politics’ A.G. Gancarski
— “Thousands of Florida’s ‘nuisance alligators’ are killed each year. Is it necessary?” by Tampa Bay Times’ Matt Cohen
— “Judge to decide on Florida face-biter insanity plea,” by The Associated Press’ Terry Spencer: “A former college student who randomly killed a Florida couple in their garage six years ago and then chewed on one victim’s face finally goes on trial Monday, with a judge deciding whether he goes to prison for life or to a mental hospital. Austin Harrouff, 25, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to two counts of first-degree murder and other charges for his August 2016 slayings of John Stevens, a 59-year-old landscaper, and his 53-year-old wife, Michelle Mishcon Stevens, who had retired after working in finance.”
BIRTHDAYS: Former state rep. Omari Hardy
