Sunburn – The Morning Read Of What’s Hot In Florida Politics – 8.29.22

Florida voters made a lot of decisions Tuesday night in races up and down the Primary ballot.

Incumbents were ousted, upsets were made and, like always, there were players who stood out and players who took a nose-dive.

In our Winners and Losers list, we look at the people behind the scenes making calls that could make or break races.

Read the list here.

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Florida Realtors endorse Ron DeSantis, Jimmy Patronis — During a town hall event last week at the Florida Realtors Annual Convention and Trade Expo, the Florida Realtors PAC endorsed DeSantis and Patronis for re-election. “Gov. DeSantis is a true champion of the real estate industry and the professionals who work within it … the Governor clearly recognizes the importance of Realtors and the critical services they provide Floridians,” said Margy Grant, CEO of Florida Realtors. She added, “CFO Patronis knows just how critical of a role the real estate industry plays in the health of Florida’s economy and he’s not afraid to take action to ensure that connection remains strong.”

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The Florida Leadership Council, an organization made up of several current and former elected officials, is endorsing 19 candidates running for state legislative seats across the state this November.

The list features a half-dozen candidates for Senate, including incumbent Democrats Loranne Ausley and Janet Cruz, as well as Reps. Joy Goff-Marcil and Tracie Davis and non-electeds Raquel Pacheco in SD 36 and Janelle Perez in SD 38.

The remaining endorsements were for House candidates, including incumbent Democrats Carlos Guillermo Smith and Andrew Learned as well as 11 others, most running for seats in Central or South Florida.

That list: Tiffany Hughes for HD 39, Allie Braswell for HD 45, Lindsey Cross for HD 60, Jen McDonald for HD 65, Andy Thompson for HD 91, Linda Thompson Gonzalez for HD 100, Sienna Osta for HD 87, Christie Cantin for HD 115, A.J. D’Amico for HD 113, Katherine Waldron for HD 93 and Sarah Henry for HD 38.

“The guardrails for Democracy are dangerously close to being torn down by radicalized Republicans who have put culture wars and corporations above the needs of everyday people,” said former Attorney General Bob Butterworth, who Chairs the FLC Political Committee.

“While conservatively-stacked courts allow Floridians’ rights and freedoms to be eroded, families across our state are facing an affordability crisis, teacher shortages, and stagnant wages — but it doesn’t have to be this way. Our group of Democratic, independent, and former Republican leaders is proud to endorse these strong Democratic candidates for election to the Florida Legislature to fight for communities across the state and deny Republicans a supermajority in both houses. None of us can afford to sit on the sidelines, the future of our great state is too important, and it absolutely hangs in the balance over the next several election cycles.”

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Full-service consulting firm LSN Partners has promoted Nicole Gomez to Partner.

Gomez joined the firm in 2018 and has served as Director of Client Relations since 2020. LSN said she plays a crucial role in the firm’s local and national practices, often serving as the bridge between LSN’s clients and a vast network of Mayors and key municipal decision-makers across the country.

“Nicole is a tireless advocate for our clients before local and state governments across the country and has an innate ability to work extraordinarily well with our institutional and startup clients,” said Gabriel Groisman, a Partner at LSN Partners. “It is only fitting to promote her to Partner at this time.”

Managing Partner Alexander Heckler added, “It’s an honor and privilege to recognize Nicole on this important and well-deserved promotion. Nicole is an invaluable member of our firm, consistently leading our clients on complex endeavors and delivering exceptional value.”

As Partner, Nicole will continue to lead the firm in its ability to keep pace with the rapidly changing cultures to address issues for clients in many industries, including health care, transportation, infrastructure, aviation, information technology, telecommunications, and emergency management.

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— Florida has been trending Republican, but DeSantis is turning toward the hard-right faster than the electorate. The New York Times’ Patricia Mazzei puts the strategy in context in this smart interview with colleague German Lopez.

— Is the red wave going to crash into a blue sea wall? It’s looking more like it will by the day, with some Democrats even envisioning a narrow path to holding onto a House majority. But veterans of the 2010 and 2018 waves have some cautionary tales to share about counting chickens before they hatch.

— The Maxwell Frost hype train is still rolling following his big win in the Democratic Primary for Florida’s 10th Congressional District. The latest stop: Axios. The Gen Z candidate recently sat down with Andrew Solender to talk about what the win means and how his generation’s approach to politics and political scandal differs from its predecessors.

— If you want a glimpse into how one of the most successful investors in the biz approaches nine-figure stock buys, head over to Puck News, where Dan Loeb explains why he dumped $750 million into Disney and the strings he put on the deal.

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State sets dose caps on MMJ products — The Office of Medical Marijuana Use posted new rules capping THC content in medical cannabis. As reported by Arek Sarkissian of POLITICO Florida, the new rules go into effect today and limit patients to purchasing 24,500 milligrams of THC over a 70-day period. The rules would also cap the amount of smokable cannabis patients may purchase to 2.5 ounces every 35 days. The caps have been expected for months, but Florida medical marijuana companies blasted out alerts to their customers Friday noting that the new rules will go into effect today.

— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —

Tweet, tweet:

Welcome to Florida, @VP and @SecondGentleman!

We are honored to have you here for tomorrow’s historic #ArtemisI launch.

This is our nation’s first major step to go #BacktotheMoon, to Mars and beyond! pic.twitter.com/EWUk2k3n5g

— Rep. Darren Soto (@RepDarrenSoto) August 29, 2022

—@HillaryClinton: As Ann Richards said, “Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels.” Here’s me in Cartagena while I was there for a meeting as Secretary of State. Keep dancing, @marinsanna.

—@MDixon55: DGA did $7m for Gillum in 2018 and $6m for @CharlieCrist in 2014 A few polls and maybe some in-kind help coming this cycle. If DGA investing elsewhere, what does that say about Florida’s Governor’s race?

—@NikkiFried: I may have lost my Primary, but at least I’ve never put on a fighter pilot costume to pretend I was Tom Cruise without the looks, charm, or skills.

Tweet, tweet:

One story in Florida politics has been the increase in GOP registration. We do see a relationship, but there is a north/south divide. Outliers are Lake toward GOP. However, M-D, which saw a 12.3% increase in GOP reg., only saw 1.1% increase in raw votes in the primary. #flapol pic.twitter.com/tFsVcROKgh

— Dave Trotter ???????? (@davetrotter101) August 28, 2022

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