Florida Politics

It’s Just Miami Pilitics, Folks

August 5, 2019 Buck Banks

$400,000

“During his final two years in office and for several months afterward, former Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) paid a Miami dentist and childhood friend with no political experience nearly $400,000 for political consulting,” the Miami Herald reports. … And since losing his seat last November, he’s spent thousands of dollars from his leadership PAC — called ‘What a Country!’ — on wine and high-end restaurants. … Now, Curbelo’s friend, JP Chavez, is his business partner in a communications and public affairs startup venture called Vocero LLC.”

Floridians Split on Trump Re-Election

January 25, 2019 Buck Banks

46% to 45%

A new Mason-Dixon poll in Florida finds voters are nearly evenly divided on if President Trump should be re-elected, with 46% saying he should be replaced, 45% saying he should be re-elected and the remainder unsure.

As of Tuesday, 1.4 Million Ex-Felons in Florida Can Vote

January 8, 2019 Buck Banks

1.4 million

“Tuesday is a historic day in Florida. Under an amendment passed by the voters in November, as many as 1.4 million former felons are regaining the right to vote. The referendum overturned a 150-year-old law that permanently disenfranchised people with felony convictions,” NPR reports.

Gillum Demonstrates How to Call Someone a Racist Without Calling Them a Racist

October 26, 2018 Buck Banks

“I’m not calling Mr. DeSantis a racist. I’m simply saying the racists believe he’s a racist.”

HuffPost, on challenger Ron DeSantis (R).

Dems Ahead in Florida

October 22, 2018 Buck Banks

12 points and 5 points

A new CNN/SRSS poll in Florida finds Andrew Gillum (D) holds a wide 12-point edge over Rep. Ron DeSantis (R) in the race for governor, 54% to 42%. In the U.S. Senate race, Sen. Bill Nelson (D) leads Gov. Rick Scott (R) by five points, 50% to 45%.

Gillum: DeSantis is ‘Uniquely Unlikeable’

October 22, 2018 Buck Banks

“He’s easily dislikable. I don’t think anybody could spend a lot of time with him and walk away feeling inspired or encouraged or believe that he in some way knows what it means to to live their life. They realize they can’t package him in that way.”

— Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum (D), telling the Tampa Bay Times that rival Ron DeSantis (R) is “a uniquely unlikeable candidate.”

Florida Has Paid Out $11 Million to Settle Sex Suits

November 28, 2017 Buck Banks

$11 million

The state of Florida has paid more than $11 million over a 30-year period to settle hundreds of cases that alleged that state workers were sexually harassed by supervisors and co-workers, or were forced to work in a hostile work environment, reports the Associated Press.

Puerto Rican Climate Refugees to Tilt Florida Politics

November 21, 2017 Buck Banks

168,000

New York Times: “More than 168,000 people have flown or sailed out of Puerto Rico to Florida since the hurricane, landing at airports in Orlando, Miami and Tampa, and the port in Fort Lauderdale. Nearly half are arriving in Orlando, where they are tapping their networks of family and friends. An additional 100,000 are booked on flights to Orlando through Dec. 31… Large numbers are also settling in the Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach areas.”

Florida Democrats Crushing GOP in Voter Registrations

October 14, 2016 Buck Banks

503,000 to 60,000

Margin by which Florida Democrats are beating the GOP in voter-registration forms submitted, reports Politico: “Remember when the GOP said it had this great ground game in Florida? Yeah.”

Scott Refuses to Extend Voter Registration in Florida After Hurricane

October 7, 2016 Buck Banks

Everybody has had a lot of time to register.

— Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R), the chairman of the super PAC backing Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, refusing to extend the Tuesday deadline for voter registration as requested by Hillary Clinton’s campaign due to Hurricane Matthew, Politico reports.

$400,000

46% to 45%

A new Mason-Dixon poll in Florida finds voters are nearly evenly divided on if President Trump should be re-elected, with 46% saying he should be replaced, 45% saying he should be re-elected and the remainder unsure.

1.4 million

“Tuesday is a historic day in Florida. Under an amendment passed by the voters in November, as many as 1.4 million former felons are regaining the right to vote. The referendum overturned a 150-year-old law that permanently disenfranchised people with felony convictions,” NPR reports.

“I’m not calling Mr. DeSantis a racist. I’m simply saying the racists believe he’s a racist.”

12 points and 5 points

A new CNN/SRSS poll in Florida finds Andrew Gillum (D) holds a wide 12-point edge over Rep. Ron DeSantis (R) in the race for governor, 54% to 42%. In the U.S. Senate race, Sen. Bill Nelson (D) leads Gov. Rick Scott (R) by five points, 50% to 45%.

“He’s easily dislikable. I don’t think anybody could spend a lot of time with him and walk away feeling inspired or encouraged or believe that he in some way knows what it means to to live their life. They realize they can’t package him in that way.”

— Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum (D), telling the Tampa Bay Times that rival Ron DeSantis (R) is “a uniquely unlikeable candidate.”

$11 million

The state of Florida has paid more than $11 million over a 30-year period to settle hundreds of cases that alleged that state workers were sexually harassed by supervisors and co-workers, or were forced to work in a hostile work environment, reports the Associated Press.

168,000

503,000 to 60,000

Margin by which Florida Democrats are beating the GOP in voter-registration forms submitted, reports Politico: “Remember when the GOP said it had this great ground game in Florida? Yeah.”

Everybody has had a lot of time to register.

— Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R), the chairman of the super PAC backing Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, refusing to extend the Tuesday deadline for voter registration as requested by Hillary Clinton’s campaign due to Hurricane Matthew, Politico reports.

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“Get rid of her! Get her out tomorrow. I don’t care. Get her out tomorrow. Take her out. Okay? Do it.”

“If you find him guilty, you must find that he be removed. Because right matters. And the truth matters. Otherwise we are lost.”

— House manager Adam Schiff, quoted by CNN, ending his arguments on the second day of President Trump’s impeachment trial.

“Everyday Americans know what a fair trial is. And that includes witnesses, it includes testimony, it includes both sides having a fair shot at presenting their case. And if they don’t see that, then they’ll say, ‘Well, yeah, he got off, but it’s because it was rigged.’”

— House manager Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), quoted by The Hill.

“The Constitution is not a suicide pact. It does not leave us stuck with presidents who abuse their power in unforeseen ways that threaten our security and democracy.”

— House manager Jerry Nadler, arguing it’s impossible to limit impeachment to acts that already written into law.

— Vox

Numerati

34

The Pentagon has confirmed that 34 U.S. service members were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries after the Iranian missile strike in Iraq. Eight of them were flown back to the United States for medical treatment, CNN reports. President Trump originally said there were no casualties.

72%

100 seconds

15th

Yesterday was Donald and Melania Trump’s 15th wedding anniversary, but Kate Bennett noticed that neither has ever said anything about their anniversary publicly since Trump took office.

51%

A new Pew Research survey found that 51% say the outcome of the Senate trial should be President Trump’s removal from office, while 46% say the result should lead to Trump remaining in office.