Good Tuesday morning.
Sunburn will be off tomorrow as Extensive Enterprises Media holds an organizational retreat in St. Petersburg. The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics will be back in in-boxes Thursday.
Since ‘burn is not being published tomorrow, join me in wishing an early happy birthday to one of our besties, the brilliant and indomitable Sarah Bascom. Happy 37th birthday, Sarah!
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More unwelcome news for Democrats: Voters are switching parties in droves.
According to voter registration data analyzed by The Associated Press, more than 1 million voters across 43 states have switched their affiliation to the Republican Party over the past year. During the same period, about 630,000 voters have switched affiliations to register as Democrats.
“The previously unreported number reflects a phenomenon that is playing out in virtually every region of the country — Democratic and Republican states along with cities and small towns — in the period since President Joe Biden replaced former President Donald Trump,” AP’s Steve Peoples and Aaron Kessler write.
The numbers are grim but may not be as dour as they first appear, as AP data shows a subset of party swappers changed their affiliation to vote against Trump-backed candidates in primary races.
But that only accounts for a small chunk of the shift.
Republicans have boosted their voter share in about three-quarters of suburban counties across the country, especially in Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Ohio, Virginia and Washington state.
The trend has also been a boon for Florida Republicans. The state party had claimed 58% of party switchers during the final years of the Trump era. However, their share has grown to 70% over the past year.
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Charlie Crist’s campaign posts $100K for weekend fundraising — The Crist campaign is announcing weekend fundraising of nearly $100,000 in the wake of the SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The campaign collected $40,000 online with an overall average donation of $32.03. Crist leads the field in fundraising with the support of over 54,000 individual donors, and June is on track to be his fourth consecutive million-dollar fundraising month. “The stakes in this election could not be higher — reproductive rights, voting rights, LGBTQ+ rights, workers’ rights, and more are all on the ballot this November. We cannot relent in the fight to put an end to the heartless leadership coming out of Tallahassee,” Crist said. “Ron DeSantis has made it clear he will trample anyone in his path to the White House — but that ends now.”
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The Florida Chamber Foundation kicks off its annual Learners to Earners Education Summit at 9 a.m. in Tampa.
The one-day education summit will focus on all levels of education and will give business and education leaders a chance to discuss ways to prepare their students for the future.
Get ready for a jam-packed schedule.
The agenda features sessions focused on the challenges facing the state’s future, how to strengthen career pathways and the benefits of connecting business leaders and students.
One of the early panels will feature
Florida Department of Education Senior Chancellor Henry Mack, Chancellor Kevin O’Farrell, and Statewide Director of Career and Technical Education Quality Keith Richard discussed how Floridians can transform their futures with CTE programs.
Next are panels discussing how businesses can support early learning and another discusses “small steps for big results.”
Later in the program, Florida Chamber’s Senior Vice President Kyle Baltuch, who leads the organization’s Equality of Opportunity Initiative, will host a discussion on the challenges facing the state and how they can be overcome.
A full summit agenda and registration information can be found on the Florida Chamber’s website.
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Gail Morgan, Film Commissioner for the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Film Commission, has been re-elected president of Film Florida.
Morgan’s re-election was announced at the Film Florida Annual Meeting, alongside the announcement of the Film Florida Board of Directors for 2022-2023.
The 2022-2023 Film Florida Board of Directors and alternate board members hail from 12 different counties in Florida, stretching from Escambia to Monroe.
“It is an honor to continue to serve as president of Film Florida. The past two years have been challenging but also rewarding and I am proud of how everyone in our organization has stepped up to help each other and the entire state of Florida,” Morgan said.
“Our industry has been resilient and remains an important piece in Florida’s economic growth and diversification and we look forward to competing for high-wage jobs in the film, television and digital media production industry.”
Morgan has worked at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Film Commission, formerly the Emerald Coast Film Commission, for over a decade.
Before becoming Film Commissioner, she worked as a producer and production manager for more than 20 years, gaining an extensive amount of experience working on several types of entertainment production, including feature films, TV series, commercials, and documentaries
— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —
—@KirbyWTweets: According to @FiveThirtyEight, Joe Biden is less popular today than Donald Trump was at this point in his presidency
—@HillaryClinton: It shouldn’t be harder to obtain an abortion than an AR-15.
—@NateSilver538: Yes, Roe has electoral implications. Major, unpopular policy changes get punished by the electorate. This is Politics 101. Enough to stop the GOP from winning the midterms? Probably not but it makes it less certain or may decrease their margins.
—@MichaelSchettig: So literally the only group of people impacted by overturning Roe are the people who disapprove the most and the group of people least impacted disapprove the least.
—@AnnaforFlorida: Nothing like rage writing your remarks for an abortion rally while watching the state spend money to defend their disgusting 15-week abortion ban in court. This is only the beginning — if DeSantis wins in November, he will pursue an all-out ban. There is no debate about that.
—@AndyGawt: I consume a lot of conservative media (so you don’t have to!) and let me just tell you that the idea that they are not coming next for gay marriage, or contraception, or same-sex relationships, is just nuts. The electeds just won’t say it because they know it’s unpopular.
—@BillScher: Congressional generic ballot, Marist April Republican 47% Democratic 44% June Democratic 48% Republican 41% A 10-point swing to the Democrats post-Dobbs
—@ChristinaPushaw: Hi @HumaneSociety, I noticed that you are still running ads in Florida urging @GovRonDeSantis to veto SB 620 due to your concerns about puppy mills. You will be relieved to hear that Gov. DeSantis already vetoed this bill on June 24. We look forward to your updated statement.
—@SenPizzo: Now is the time for all of us to do what we can to get real Democrats (re)elected to the FL State Senate and House. Today, in addition to walking and knocking on doors, I am pledging $500,000 in contributions, that will go toward targeted races throughout the state.
—@WesWolfeFP: Never expected political shenanigans at a library board meeting before, but these days you never know.
Republished with permission [/vc_message]
