Secretary of State Laurel Lee positive is aware of tips on how to make an entrance.
Her announcement late final week that she is stepping down as Florida’s Secretary of State got here amid hypothesis she’s going to run for Congress in Florida’s 15th Congressional District. That district covers components of Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties, together with Lee’s dwelling in Thonotosassa.
A district that already guarantees a whopper of a Republican Major simply obtained extra attention-grabbing. Former U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross and state Rep. Jackie Toledo are already in the area. There’s hypothesis state Sen. Kelli Stargel of Lakeland may bounce in too.
If that occurs, replenish on popcorn as a result of that race can be no-holds-barred. Republican Scott Franklin technically represents CD 15, however the boundary strains modified after the 2020 U.S. Census. Franklin determined to run in Florida’s 18th Congressional District and, properly, we’ll get to that later.
The rapid impression, although, is on the workplace Lee is departing.
Election safety is amongst Lee’s Secretary of State duties, and that hasn’t been simple in this hyperpartisan local weather.
Florida gained widespread reward for working the 2020 election, however Gov. Ron DeSantis wasn’t glad. He pushed by a number of initiatives he mentioned would guard in opposition to fraud. Critics grumped it was about suppressing minority voters.
Lee additionally discovered herself battling far-right cries for an audit of that election, although Republicans ran up the rating statewide. It was all for present, of course. Florida’s authorities can’t appear to function today the ultimate measures of concern and loathing.
DeSantis additionally created the Workplace of Election Crimes and Safety and made Lee’s workplace answerable for placing it collectively.
She remained a loyal soldier to the Governor’s insurance policies. Nevertheless, it’s not a stretch that she may see working for Congress as a extra engaging different.
It’s additionally protected to imagine she isn’t doing this on a whim. Her husband, former state lawmaker Tom Lee, is a savvy tea-leaf reader. She wouldn’t do that so late in the recreation with no good sense she might win.
OK, it’s on to our weekly recreation of winners and losers.
Winners
Honorable point out: Disney+. You will have heard that relations between the Mouse and Tallahassee are difficult.
However lest anybody consider the feud leaves woke Disney broke, the reply is nope.
The Hollywood Reporter had a narrative that the firm beat Wall Avenue expectations for its vastly profitable streaming enterprise. Disney+ added 7.9 million subscribers in the final quarter. That blitzed the 4.5 million to five million buyers anticipated.
Disney reported income of $19.2 billion and revenue of $3.7 billion. That’ll pay for a couple of fireplace stations — for those who get my drift.
Two different Disney firms reported huge features.
The Hulu streaming service added 300,000 subscribers to achieve 45.6 million. ESPN+ added 1 million subscribers to achieve 22.Three million.
Additionally, Axios reported Disney is shifting ESPN inexorably towards direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming. The plan is to finally bypass cable and conventional streaming platforms.
“What we’re doing is kind of placing one foot on the dock, if you’ll, and one foot on the boat proper now,” Disney CEO Bob Chapek mentioned. “However we all know that sooner or later, when it’s going to be good for our shareholders, we’ll be capable of totally go into an ESPN DTC providing.”
Nearly (however not fairly) largest winner: Journalism. Good journalism nonetheless issues and deserves respect. That’s why it’s noteworthy that the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Occasions obtained Pulitzer Prizes for breaking information and investigative reporting, respectively.
The Herald’s newsroom obtained the honor for detailed and important protection of the Surfside apartment catastrophe.
The Pulitzer board praised the Herald “for its pressing but sweeping protection of the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium advanced, merging clear and compassionate writing with complete information and accountability reporting.”
Occasions Reporters Corey G. Johnson, Rebecca Woolington and Eli Murray gained for the collection “Poisoned.”
The Pulitzer board acknowledged the paper’s “compelling exposé of extremely poisonous hazards inside Florida’s solely battery recycling plant that pressured the implementation of security measures to adequately shield staff and close by residents.”
And let’s not neglect reporter Lulu Ramadan of the Palm Seashore Put up, who joined with three reporters from ProPublica for a finalist bundle in native reporting. They revealed harmful air high quality throughout Florida’s sugar cane harvest season. The report prompted vital reforms.
The largest winner: Eric Lynn. The Pinellas County Democrat noticed his path to profitable his get together’s Major Election in Florida’s 13th Congressional District get so much simpler.
A tricky three-way battle was looming between Lynn and state Reps. Ben Diamond and Michele Rayner, however that modified. Diamond suspended his marketing campaign (not the identical as dropping out, however shut). There additionally is theory Rayner might comply with.
Diamond blamed the congressional map drawn by DeSantis. CD 13 had been a comparatively protected Democratic district, however DeSantis redrew it to provide Republicans the benefit.
“Sadly, the Governor and the Legislature didn’t create honest districts for Florida and didn’t comply with our structure,” Diamond instructed Florida Politics.
Diamond did open the risk of leaping again in the race if the courts overturn the district map. That appears unlikely.
This enables Lynn, who served as Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama, to keep away from spending closely on the Major. That would depart additional cash for the Normal Election.
He’ll want it.
Losers
Dishonorable point out: DeSantis congressional map. The Governor drew a stinging rebuke when Leon Circuit Choose Layne Smith dominated the map he submitted was unconstitutional, particularly relating to North Florida and Florida’s fifth Congressional District.
Earlier than DeSantis’ supporters scream about ACTIVIST JUDGES, do not forget that the Governor appointed Smith to that put up.
Ouch!
For now, nevertheless, it conserves the district represented by Democrat U.S. Rep. Al Lawson.
The district stretched from Jacksonville to Tallahassee and was drawn below the Truthful Districts modification to provide Black voters a greater probability at illustration in Congress. DeSantis maintains it’s an unlawful gerrymander (see Diamond, Ben, above).
The ruling is topic to enchantment, and the Florida Supreme Courtroom might overturn it.
Nearly (however not fairly) largest loser: Rick Scott. His diatribe that President Joe Biden ought to resign as a result of of inflation smacks of hyperpartisanship, even by at the moment’s exaggerated requirements.
“We’re in horrible form. He doesn’t even know what state I’m from. And also you mentioned he was supposed to provide his concepts on inflation yesterday,” Scott mentioned on Fox & Buddies.
“What had been his concepts? Oh, it’s all people else’s fault however his. So we all know he can’t do it. Let’s be trustworthy. We all know that Joe Biden can’t repair this economic system. Alright, get out of the method, let anyone else do it. That’s what you do in enterprise life.”
Properly, we all know one of Sen. Scott’s concepts is to boost taxes on the poorest People to, in his phrases, give them “pores and skin in the recreation.”
We additionally know he proposes all federal packages sundown after 5 years. That would embody Social Safety and Medicare, though Scott mentioned that’s not his intent.
As an alternative, he desires to “assessment” these packages — most likely the identical method he “reviewed” Medicaid whereas Governor of Florida and mentioned increasing the program would price an excessive amount of.
It’s political theatrics as a result of none of that can ever occur, nevertheless it provides us an concept about the inside workings of Scott’s thoughts.
It’s not fairly.
The largest loser: Ramon Alexander. He was set to turn out to be chief of the Home Democratic Caucus subsequent time period, however he introduced he wouldn’t search re-election.
His political profession imploded after accusations of sexting and groping a Florida A&M College athletics worker.
In January, that worker, Michael Johnson Jr., a former assistant athletic director, left the college. The Tallahassee Democrat reported the departure occurred after “an unpleasant employees shakeup.”
Johnson filed a grievance in February with the Florida Fee on Human Relations, alleging harassment and retaliation by high-ranking FAMU workers.
Alexander, a married father of two, instructed the Democrat he had an “grownup consensual” relationship with Johnson.
In an announcement, Alexander mentioned, “After considerate consideration and private self-reflection, I can’t search re-election for my last time period in the Florida Home of Representatives.”
Good transfer.
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