Sunburn — The Morning Read Of What’s Hot In Florida Politics — 5.31.22

By Peter Schorsch   

Good Tuesday morning.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce held candidate interviews for state legislative seats in the Central Florida area last week, and insiders walked away with a better idea of who they — and their organizations — will support in the upcoming elections.

In HD 45, where five Republicans are vying to replace Rep. Geraldine Thompson, a Democrat was among the most impressive. Allie Braswell, insiders say, was prepared with intelligent answers. Still, Republicans Mike Zhao and Janet Frevola also showed up from the HD 45 field, but the five-person Primary fracas will shape up to be a battle of political consultants with no clear favorite yet.

In HD 37, Republican Susan Plascencia — Coach P’s sister — is challenging incumbent Democratic Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith. Those in the interview room say she had a well-articulated pitch and solid ground game strategy that could put her in a position to oust the incumbent.

Democrat Tiffany Hughes also garnered attention as a crowd favorite, with some tossing around the term “rising star.” She’s one of two Democrats running for the new HD 39, an open seat currently held by Rep. Kamia Brown, who is running for Senate. The takeaway from the interview is that Hughes will “be a refreshing presence in Tallahassee.”

As interesting as who showed up was who didn’t. Republican Taylor Yarkosky is rumored to have his eyes on becoming House Speaker for the 2028-30 term, but he canceled his interview with little notice. One of his opponents, Liz Cornell, showed up and was a crowd favorite. Cornell has a lot of catching up in the HD 25 race, but her performance at the Chamber interviews shows she shouldn’t be counted out entirely.

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Markel trial verdict: Guilty — GUILTY. First-degree murder. Conspiracy. Solicitation.

After nearly eight hours of deliberation, a jury of 12 peers found Katherine Magbanua culpable for her role in the 2014 murder of Dan Markel.

Prosecutor Georgia Cappleman was at a loss for words, she told reporters. And while there’s still “a ways to go,” she and her team will take a moment to appreciate the step toward justice taken today.

“They’ve been through hell and back,” she said of Markel’s family, who was present for the whole trial and spoke publicly after the verdict.

“Get out the champagne,” Markel’s mother Ruth said. “2022 has really started to move forward for our family in a very positive direction. We are really delighted. Of course, Charlie Adelson was arrested; we passed the grandparent legislation this year — (Gov. Ron) DeSantis still has to sign it, but it is the start to a beautiful phase. Prosecutors did a wonderful job; we have to thank the State Attorney’s Office and the community and the media as well.”

While “closure” isn’t a word the Markels use, to Markel’s sister Shelly, this verdict means “a lot of relief, a lot of satisfaction.”

To read the final wrap-up, click here.

— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —

—@POTUS: To everyone impacted by the horrific elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: We grieve with you. We pray with you. We stand with you. And we’re committed to turning this pain into action.

Tweet, tweet:

—@KKfla737: Another factor working in favor of gun control this time, unlike past mass shootings, is the proximity of the tragedy in Uvalde to the Memorial Day Holiday Weekend, which is traditionally one where politicians circulate among constituents more than any other per my experience.

—@Floridaner: My entire family, who are VERY BIG (Donald) Trump supporters, are pissed the NRA did not postpone the meeting and livid that Trump went to the meeting and attacked those who did not have the time to come. They are slowly beginning to support DeSantis over Trump in 2024.

Tweet, tweet:

—@TheEliKlein: The Rebekah Jones saga encapsulates why many lifelong Democrats will vote Republican. She was clearly lying about COVID in kids/schools. She was amplified by left-wing media, “experts,” teachers’ unions and politicians. This caused irreparable harm to kids. Truly unconscionable.

—@CharlesCWCooke: Local news expert, can you explain to me why the Miami Herald ran a breathless editorial after Jones *applied* for whistleblower status — pretending, absurdly, that it was “a win” — but has not run an editorial on the actual case, which she lost?

—@MarcACaputo: Interesting, I got doxxed by a new troll account that echoes some of the talking points about the person I wrote about & who faces a misdemeanor charge for stalking someone online & an unrelated felony charge for hacking into a state system

Tweet, tweet:

—@Photoriphy: The worst part about influencer culture is when they haven’t posted in all of 5 minutes, and they’re like, “omg, I’m soo sorry I haven’t been active on here,” as if their followers would die if they don’t know what this person has for lunch or unnecessarily spent money on today.

Tweet, tweet: