Biden tears into GOP, labels DeSantis โTrump incarnate'
President Joe Biden has lashed out at Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as โDonald Trump incarnate,โ zeroing in on a potential 2024 GOP presidential contender as he campaigns for Democrats facing uphill fights in next weekโs midterm election.
Dodge, deny or fib: Candidates stay vague on 2024 plans
Presidential aspirants running for reelection while dreaming of the highest office in the land often face an uncomfortable question: Will they commit to serving a full term โ should they win one โ when their best moment to take a shot at the White House may come sooner than that.
Gov. DeSantis, Charlie Crist go head-to-head on pressing issues in first, only debate before midterm election
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and Democratic nominee Charlie Crist faced off Monday night in a debate that focused on a lot of issues from hurricane recovery and COVID-19 response to criminal justice.
DeSantis drops provocations -- for now -- in response to Ian
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has whipsawed his way through the national conversation this month, first by putting migrants on planes or buses to Democratic strongholds and then shifting to a more traditional role of crisis manager as one of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the U.S. barreled into his state.
Florida Supreme Court justice retention
Once nominated by the governor and ratified by the legislature, Florida Supreme Court justices face the voters in a โyesโ or โnoโ vote as to whether they should remain in office in the first general election after selection and again every six years. (More about the process in the Supreme Courtโs Guide for Florida Voters.)
I-TEAM: Gov. DeSantis gets backlash from Hispanic leaders and political challenger Charlie Crist over transporting migrants
On the heels of a federal lawsuit filed against Governor Ron DeSantis, the State of Florida and other state officials over transporting 50 migrants to Marthaโs Vineyard from Texasโฆ DeSantisโ challenger in the governorโs race - Charlie Crist - held a virtual meeting with leaders in the Hispanic community. They allege the migrants were misled before boarding the planes, which they say is a violation of the law.
During stop in Jacksonville, Crist discusses plan to take on property insurance crisis in Florida
Charlie Crist, the Democratic nominee for Florida governor, held a news conference Wednesday in Jacksonville, saying he has tackled property insurance in Florida before and he would do it again as governor.
DeSantis seeks dismissal of suit by suspended prosecutor
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants a federal judge to throw out a free speech lawsuit filed by a Democratic prosecutor he suspended from office over statements about not pursuing criminal charges in abortion, transgender rights and certain low-level cases.
Florida Democrats choose Rep. Crist to challenge DeSantis
U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist has won the Democratic nomination for governor in Florida, putting him in position to challenge Gov. Ron DeSantis this fall in a campaign that the Republican incumbent is eyeing as the first step toward a potential White House run.
UNF poll: Fried leads Crist in Democratic governorโs primary; cost of living a top concern of Florida voters
A new poll conducted by the Public Option Research Lab (PORL) at the University of North Florida finds gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried, Floridaโs agriculture commissioner, ahead of former Gov. Charlie Crist in the Democratic primary -- but still seven points behind Republican incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis in a race among registered voters.
Nazi protesters show up outside young conservatives meeting in Florida
A Holocaust center in Florida and others condemned the presence of protesters holding Nazi flags and posters with antisemitic imagery outside a convention of young conservative activists that drew as speakers President Donald Trump, Florida Gov, Ron DeSantis and several Republican U.S. senators.
Charlie Crist, Nikki Fried go head to head in debate before Florida Primary
With both claiming to be Florida Democratsโ best bet to defeat Gov. Ron DeSantis in November, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried traded barbs Thursday in their only debate before next monthโs primary election.
Governor candidate Crist calls for full marijuana legalization
Democrat Charlie Crist, a candidate for governor of Florida, said Thursday he supports full marijuana legalization in the state and wants the expungement of all existing charges and sentences for misdemeanors and third-degree felonies for marijuana possession.
Tropical Storm Elsa; Freedom to Fly Act & Essential Caregivers Act; Caregivers for Compromise founder
On this edition of โThis Week in Jacksonville,โ we discuss the response to and impact from Tropical Storm Elsa, with state Sen. Audrey Gibson and U.S. Rep. John Rutherford. We also look ahead to 2022, talking with Gibson about her endorsement of Democrat U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist in the race for Florida governor. Rutherford gives us an update from Washington, D.C., talking about the Freedom to Fly Act and the Essential Caregivers Act. And we talk with Mary Daniel, a local advocate for senior care and the founder of Caregivers for Compromise. Her husband, who has Alzheimerโs, resides at a memory care facility, and she couldnโt see him during the first months of the pandemic. Hear how her experiences during that time led her to take action and push for change.
Polling shows Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls have lots of ground to make up
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried this week teased a June 1 announcement for entering the race for governor and former Republican governor turned Democratic congressman Charlie Crist has already announced his bid, but early polling shows Democrats have a lot of ground to make up.
Democratic Sen. Bracy hints at run for Florida governor
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. โ State Sen. Randolph Bracy released a campaign-style video Tuesday strongly hinting that heโll consider seeking the Democratic nomination to face Republican Gov. In the video, Bracy discusses problems facing the state because of the coronavirus pandemic, says the state needs to change course and needs a governor who will work with both parties to help Florida through the crisis. We need to leave behind the small fights at the Capitol and figure out how to work together to move Florida in the right direction. But in a phone interview, Bracy said the video posted on his website isn't an announcement that he's getting in the race. Bracy, 43, of Orlando, was elected to the House in 2012, where he served before being elected to the Senate in 2016.
The Latest: Ontario wants vaccine shot in adults by June 20
Eric Holcomb received his COVID-19 vaccine shot Friday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the opening of the stateโs first mass vaccination clinic. Holcomb wore a face mask in the front passenger seat of an SUV while getting the shot of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine at the drive-through clinic. Ad___TORONTO โ Canada is getting a fourth vaccine to prevent COVID-19, approving the Johnson & Johnson shot that works with just one dose. Canada has pre-purchased 10 million Johnson & Johnson doses, with options to buy another 28 million. The U.S. approved the Johnson & Johnson vaccine last month.
Florida governor faces growing claims of vaccine favoritism
Bruce Rauner, last week gave the Florida governor's campaign committee $250,000. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried joined Democratic U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist in calling for federal officials to probe the DeSantis administrationโs vaccine distribution programs. AdDuring a Thursday news conference, DeSantis expressed no misgivings about the early vaccinations at the exclusive Key Largo community. In recent weeks, other reports have surfaced of wealthy retirement communities getting exclusive access to vaccine doses through pop-up vaccine sites. Bruce Rauner to the Florida governor's campaign committee.
Poll: Majority of Florida voters approve of DeSantisโ performance as governor
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ A Mason-Dixon poll released Tuesday finds more than half of registered Florida voters support Ron DeSantisโ performance as the stateโs governor. Of those polled, 51% of Florida voters said between Fried and DeSantis, they would vote for DeSantis. Not surprisingly, 63% of North Florida voters said theyโd vote for DeSantis, compared to 31% who would vote for Crist, with a remaining 6% undecided. When it comes to Fried, 65% of Florida voters would vote for DeSantis, 32% would vote for Fried and 3% were undecided. Mason-Dixon polled a total of 625 registered Florida voters who were interviewed live by telephone statewide from Feb. 24 through Feb. 28.
Survey sent to Florida Democrats highlights 10 potential challengers to DeSantis in 2022
An inner-party survey is already asking Democrats who they favor to take on Republican Gov. The survey was sent to Florida Democrats via email last week. โSure, Crist is well known, but things have changed,โ said retired University of South Florida political scientist Susan MacManus. Despite former President Donald Trump winning Florida handily in the 2020 presidential election with DeSantisโ help, MacManus argues Florida is still a swing state. โItโs just that Democrats did not run a very good campaign in the presidential contest,โ MacManus said.
With another Florida loss, Democrats begin second guessing
As election postmortems go, the one that began in Florida Wednesday was especially wrenching for Democrats. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)TALLAHASSEE, Fla. โ Perhaps only in Florida is a loss by fewer than 4 percentage points considered a public drubbing. Democrats zeroed in on two clear explanations: Biden didn't connect with the state's Latino voters, performing particularly poorly with Cuban voters in South Florida. Some Democrats also give Republicans credit for registering thousands of new voters and narrowing the voter registration advantage Democrats have long had. For Taddeo, the Democratic state senator, it means going back to basics.
How starving public health fueled a COVID fire in Florida
โPublic health canโt help us get out of this situation without our elected officials giving us the resources.โState officials neither answered specific, repeated questions from The Associated Press and KHN about changes in public health funding, nor made staffers available for deeper explanations. The 1990s saw a move toward privatization, particularly as Medicaid managed care took hold, said a 2004 paper in the Florida Public Health Review. By 2011, budget cuts and lack of money were the most frequently cited challenges in a Florida public health workforce survey, which pointed to growing needs. โCurrent events demonstrate how bad a decisionโ the deep cuts to public health were, said Dr. Marissa Levine, a professor of public health and family medicine at the University of South Florida. โDismantling the system was a complete disregard for the health and well-being of the citizens of Florida.โWith an ill-equipped public health system, Wilson, the retired public health nurse, said it falls to everyone to lead Jacksonville, and Florida, out of the coronavirus crisis.
Florida governor: New director for states employment agency
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. State Rep. Dane Eagle was appointed as executive director of the state's employment agency on Wednesday, a little more than two weeks after barely losing a Republican primary for Congress in a heavily GOP district. The agency was widely criticized for long delays in paying out unemployment benefits after the economy tanked during the coronavirus pandemic. Hundreds of thousands of people waited weeks and sometimes months for benefits from the glitch-ridden unemployment system after suddenly losing work amid the outbreak. But Crist dropped out of the Republican primary, ran as an independent and lost to Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. Lawson remained as director of the Department of Economic Opportunity, but management of the unemployment system was given to Department of Management Services Secretary Jonathan Satter.