Sunburn — The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics — 10.14.22

 Good Friday morning.

As the 2022 Midterms loom large — a new episode of Hunkering Down with Peter Schorsch takes a deep dive into the state of play in many Florida races, both at the top of the ticket and down ballot.

Peter chats with four of the state’s top political operatives — Anthony Pedicini, Steve Vancore, Michael Worley and Brad Herold — to give listeners an inside look at who is running an effective race, what issues are working (or not), accurate polling, the value of yard signs and how Hurricane Ian shook Florida politics to its core.

Please, take a few minutes to check out this must-listen episode — available now — wherever you get your podcasts.

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Here are some other thoughts this morning:

— Is your Congressional Representative doing their job?: There’s a lot more to congressional work than you learned in Schoolhouse Rock’s “I’m Just a Bill.” Thanks to this nifty guide from ProPublica, even the most novice watcher can learn what really happens on Capitol Hill and figure out whether their Representative is getting it done. The guide suggests things like checking out which bills their Representative has sponsored, what the bill seeks to accomplish, how far it got, and who else is supporting it. They also suggest paying attention to what Representatives say, paying careful attention to how those topics and priorities align with your values.

— How bad can a lawyer be? A young Black man accused in a shooting suffered a horrendous lack of legal representation that led to his conviction. C.J. Rice, himself shot just weeks before the shooting he was convicted of, could barely walk. He still had staples closing a massive incision the length of his torso. Family members had alibis to provide, but none were taken. Medical records weren’t sought. The Jake Tapper piece published in The Atlantic lays out the details in painstaking detail, from Rice’s injury to the shooting he was accused of, to the investigation, and on to the wholly inadequate public defense. The entire narrative paints not just a horrifying reality for Rice and others like him but demonstrates how kids growing up in crime-ridden areas are subjected to near-constant challenges.

— Everything you ever wanted to know about Florida, but were afraid to ask: Steve Schale is voluntarily, and very happily, sitting this Midterm election cycle out, but that didn’t stop him from weighing in on Florida’s complexity in the voting sphere. In this case, the main takeaway is Florida’s unique population and enormous size (The distance from Florida’s north-westernmost spot is roughly the same distance from its southernmost spot as it is to Chicago!). So, to evaluate if Democrats will pull off wins in the two statewide elections is at the same time easy to predict (both history and polls give Republicans a significant advantage) and difficult to gauge. He dives into various demographics, including the state’s own geography, and takes an interesting look at how Florida’s voting patterns, by virtue of the state being home to so many transplants, is a decent predictor of other states’ outcomes at the ballot box. It’s a long one, and if you don’t enjoy football references, you might roll your eyes a time or seven, but it’s worth a read.

— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —

—@fineout: Governor said the Parkland massacre merited the death penalty. “I don’t think anything else is appropriate,” he said. Also said he was frustrated that it took several years to reach this point. Said there was once a time when someone would have been “executed in 6 months.”

—@aronberg: It’s rare to get a death penalty verdict in South Florida. I respect the jury’s decision in the Nikolas Cruz case, but if the death penalty doesn’t apply to the slaughter of 17 innocents — nearly all children — then when?

—@PollackHunter: I am shocked by today’s verdict. The death penalty is for humanity’s worst crimes, and what this monster did falls in that category. Our justice system is broken. (1/2)

—@PollackHunter: But I hear that the prisoners in general population aren’t sympathetic to mass murderers. The ultimate punishment is in their hands, and although I am incredibly disappointed in the verdict, I believe justice will one day be served. (2/2)

—@aedwardslevy: won’t stop until I get everybody to refer to this election as the “mids-term”

—@NilesGApol: So far this month we have had at least one independent poll of every battleground Senate race … except for #PASen

Tweet, tweet:

This is what many, many of us warned about!! Transparency is always among the best of disinfectants. https://t.co/PBvUdxLKGG

— Senator Gary Farmer (@FarmerForFLSen) October 13, 2022

—@alivitali: SCOOP: J6 Cmte currently plans to vote to subpoena fmr Pres (Donald) Trump during today’s hearing, sources familiar w/ their plans tell @NBCNews. Members want to put the move in the public record despite acknowledging how unlikely it’d be for him to comply — w/ @haleytalbotnbc

Tweet, tweet:

NEW EVIDENCE: “They plan to literally kill people,” a tipster alerted the Secret Service ahead of Jan. 6 pic.twitter.com/Oup3deGVN3

— Matt Laslo (@MattLaslo) October 13, 2022

—@Jim_Jordan: Real America can’t afford gas, groceries, or rent. When will the January 6th Committee address those issues?

— DAYS UNTIL —

NBA season tips off — 4; Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights’ release — 7; the Gubernatorial General Election debate — 10; Florida Chamber Annual Meeting & Future of Florida Forum — 101; Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Passenger’ releases — 11; Jon Meacham’s ‘And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle’ releases — 11; City & State Florida Digital Summit — 13; Early voting begins for General Election — 15; 2022 General Election — 25; ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ premieres — 28; ‘Captain Marvel 2′ premieres — 28; FITCon 2022 begins — 34; ‘The Flash’ premieres — 34; The World Cup kicks off in Qatar — 38; The U.S. World Cup Soccer Team begins play — 41; Florida TaxWatch’s Annual Meeting begins — 50; ‘Willow’ premieres on Disney+ — 50; McCarthy’s ‘Stella Maris’ releases — 53; ‘Avatar 2’ premieres — 63; final Broadway performance of ‘The Music Man’ with Hugh Jackman — 79; Bruce Springsteen launches his 2023 tour in Tampa — 110; ‘Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ premieres — 126; final performance of ‘Phantom of the Opera’ on Broadway — 127; 2023 Legislative Session convenes — 144; ‘John Wick: Chapter 4′ premieres — 161; American Association of Political Consultants Pollies ’23 conference begins — 186; 2023 Session Sine Die — 203; ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ premieres — 203; ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ premieres — 231; Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ premieres — 280; ‘Dune: Part Two’ premieres — 385; ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ Part 2 premieres — 532; ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ premieres — 588; Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games — 651; ‘Thunderbolts’ premieres — 651; ‘Blade’ reboot premieres — 693; ‘Deadpool 3’ premieres — 756; ‘Fantastic Four’ reboot premieres — 854; ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’ premieres — 931. ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ premieres — 1,120.

Sunburn is authored and assembled by Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Daniel Dean, Renzo Downey, Jacob Ogles, and Drew Wilson.

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