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By J.C. Bruce

Tropic Press

Vote counting is still underway as this is posted, but this much we know:

The predicted blue tsunami has washed over America, and Democrats have easily recaptured the House of Representatives in races already called.

The fate of the Senate is still up in the air as this was written, but Democrats were winning enough races to claim the majority there as well if those trends hold.

In Florida, as polls predicted, the races for governor and U.S. Senator were tight, but Republican candidates prevailed. U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds of Naples will be the state’s first Black governor, narrowly beating former congressman Democrat David Jolly 50.08% to 48.7%.

Ashley Moody, appointed to the Senate seat by Gov. Ron DeSantis when Marco Rubio resigned to become U.S. Secretary of State, gets to keep her job for two more years after winning a special election against scrappy State Rep. Angie Nixon, who closed the gap but trailed Moody 48% to 51%.

While not all of the state’s congressional races had been called at the time this was posted, DeSantis’ efforts to cut the number of Florida Democrats in Congress by half appear to have failed, with at least seven Democrats winning so far.

Of the three constitutional amendments on the ballot, the most controversial, Amendment 3, appears to be passing with 62 percent of the vote at the time this is posted.

More results will be available as they are finalized in Wednesday’s newsletter.

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By J.C. Bruce

Tropic Press

Today’s election is a sanity test of sorts.

By this evening—or early morning tomorrow—we should know whether our country has decided to change course or continue the madness.

We all know the saying:

Republicans own every branch of the federal government right now. They also control the state of Florida, where most of you reading this live. Are we happy with the way things are going?

If not, and at the risk of overstating the obvious, we need to do something different.

You may not be thrilled, for instance, with David Jolly as the Democrats’ candidate for governor if you lean progressive. He’s a moderate.

You may not be entirely comfortable with Angie Nixon in the U.S. Senate race. She may be left of your center.

But would you rather have Byron Donalds in the governor’s mansion? Or Ashley Moody in Washington?

Donalds, who is clearly in the pockets of the AI data center crowd and seems satisfied to turn a blind eye to the Hope Florida scandal? Or Moody, who could have stopped Hope Florida in its tracks, but didn’t, preferring to curry Gov. Ron DeSantis’ favor, which got her named as a placeholder in the seat she’s running for now?

There has never been such a thing as a perfect candidate, but at the end of the day, elections are binary choices. You are either saying yes or no to change.

I’m pretty confident we all know change is necessary.

Nationally, control of Congress is at stake. Here in Florida, because volunteers have worked to recruit Democratic candidates for the State Legislature, we have a chance to break up the Republican supermajority in both the House and Senate.

Will Republicans succeed in the way they gerrymandered the state’s congressional districts, the goal of which was to cut in half the number of Florida Democrats in Congress? Or will it backfire? Your vote will help answer that question.

The Jolly/Donalds race is a statistical tie going into Election Day. Voter turnout will be the key, as it will in the other statewide races, which, in addition to the tight Senate race, include contests for state attorney general, agriculture commissioner, and chief financial officer.

Democrats are fielding credible—and widely endorsed—candidates in all those races.

About 40 percent of registered Florida voters have already voted by mail or through early voting at local polling places. So far, 38 percent of Republicans, nearly 50 percent of Democrats, and 31 percent of No Party Affiliation (NPA) voters have cast their ballots.

That represents 2.2 million Republican votes versus 2.1 million Democrat votes, with another 1.2 million ballots cast by independents. Those NPAs could make the difference in whether we see change in this state.

Here are some visuals of all that from Fresh Take Florida:

I know many of you, like me, have already voted. If not, remember voting is your superpower.

One of these:

Equals one of these:

Be a superhero. And tell your friends to be superheroes too.

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There are also constitutional amendments

For a look at the three constitutional amendments on the ballot today, here is some recommended reading:

Public safety leaders urge Floridians to vote no on Amendment 3

Drastic Reduction in Property Taxes Would Put Local Services at Risk

Florida’s Constitutional Amendments

Herald Ed Board urges Florida voters to reject 3 ballot amendments

Also for your reading enjoyment…

Florida pollster Mark Schulman writes that “if Democrats capture Congress, they will win something more valuable than committee gavels and subpoena power. They will win two years to define what the 2028 presidential election is about…

“The real prize if they win the midterms is the opportunity to demonstrate that they can govern. Their larger mission should be to turn the final two years of the Trump presidency into the first two years of the Democratic case for 2028.”

Check out his analysis here:

Setting the Stage for 2028

Our latest podcast…

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Reposting sends these newsletters to other readers on the Substack network. And the more people we reach, the more effective we can be at changing the trajectory of our state and nation.

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By J.C. Bruce

Tropic Press

The last time a president won a libel lawsuit against a newspaper or other news outlet was in 1913.

But that hasn’t stopped Donald Trump from trying, and until this weekend he had at least three lawsuits pending in Florida federal courts alleging billions of dollars in damages.

Now there are only two.

That’s because on Saturday, U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles dismissed Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal with prejudice—meaning he can’t refile it. The judge ruled that Trump was “grasping at straws” and that the suit tried to “manufacture” flaws in the newspaper’s reporting.

You can read a full account of that in this report:

‘Grasping at straws’: Judge dismisses Trump suit against Wall Journal

The suit involved the Journal’s publication of a birthday card Trump allegedly sent to his pal, the deceased child molester Jeffrey Epstein. You remember it. This one that referred to Trump and Epstein’s “wonderful secret.”

The two remaining lawsuits pending in Florida are against the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) and The New York Times. Trump wants $10 billion from the BBC and $15 billion from the Times.

(It’s possible he may want payment in gold bars so he can continue his Oval Office redecorating, but that’s a subject for another time.)

In The New York Times lawsuit, in addition to the newspaper, Trump is suing several reporters and publisher Penguin Random House over campaign coverage and the book Lucky Loser. Trump claims they sabotaged his campaign.

(And here we thought he lost because—as he endlessly continues to blather—the election was rigged.)

District Judge Steven D. Merryday dismissed the original 85-page complaint for being less a lawsuit than a political screed. It’s been refiled twice, and the Times continues to ask the court to dismiss the suit as meritless.

Trump's suit against the BBC is on the brink of dismissal, with Judge Enjolique Lett giving Trump a December deadline to sit for a videotaped seven-hour deposition or she may impose sanctions and throw out the case. This suit involves Trump's claim that the BBC's editing of the speech he delivered before the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection was malicious. The BBC has apologized, but contends it does not constitute libel.

In all these cases, legal experts widely regard the amounts Trump is seeking as frivolous.

If history is a guide, he won’t succeed.

The only time a president won a libel lawsuit was when Theodore Roosevelt filed a claim against a small Michigan newspaper called the Iron Ore, which said that Roosevelt “gets drunk … and not infrequently.”

Roosevelt brought a handful of character witnesses who testified that his favorite beverage was milk, and he won. But he didn’t ask for damages, just “six cents,” which he famously joked was “the price of a good newspaper.”

In 1913, it was also the price of a pint of beer at a local saloon. It is unknown if Truthful Teddy, as he was sometimes called, bought a paper or a brewskie after the trial.

That was then; this is now.

As Seth Stern of the Freedom of the Press Foundation notes about Trump:

Trump likes to call the news media “the enemy of the people,” a phrase he borrows from the likes of Joseph Stalin and Adolph Hitler.

And while Trump’s lawsuits make big headlines, newspapers and other media outlets fight every day against the government’s corrupt efforts to keep the public in the dark.

Two headline issues come to mind here in Florida—the $10 million misspent in the Hope Florida scandal and the hundreds of millions of dollars wasted on Alligator Alcatraz.

Two candidates on Tuesday’s ballot have their fingerprints all over the Hope Florida debacle—James Uthmeier, running for attorney general, and Ashley Moody, trying to keep her appointed U.S. Senate seat.

How do we fight this corruption?

First, vote.

Also, I would add, selfishly, keep supporting the free press.

That you are reading this means you are already doing that. Thank you.

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The biggest corporate contributor to Florida’s political parties was, by a wide margin, NextEra Energy, the parent company of Florida’s largest electric utility, Florida Power & Light. NextEra stuffed more than $7.3 million into the parties in the run up to the Nov. 3 general election — and all but $50,000 of it went to the Republicans.

By Jason Garcia

Television in Florida has been utterly merciless lately. Every commercial break is filled with political advertisements, most of them savaging one candidate or another and warning of the utter horrors that await should voters elect them.

A lot of the advertising has been focused on what are, against all odds, shaping up as close races for three powerful offices in Tallahassee: Byron Donalds vs. David Jolly for governor; James Uthmeier vs. José Javier Rodriguez for attorney general; and Blaise Ingoglia vs. Annette Taddeo for chief financial officer. (Although if you happen to live in one of the few evenly divided districts in the gerrymandered Florida Legislature, your’ve no doubt been besieged by commercials related your local House or Senate race, too.)

Most of those ads — along with a number of other campaign expenses — are being funded not by the candidates themselves but by the political parties.

On one side is the Republican Party of Florida, which is behind a lot of the ads promoting Donalds, Uthmeier and Ingoglia, as well as the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Florida House Republican Campaign Committee, which pay for most of the ads promoting Republicans and attacking Democrats in legislative races.

On the other side is the Florida Democratic Party, supporting Jolly, Rodriguez and Taddeo, and its corresponding House and Senate campaign arms: The Florida Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee and the Florida House Democratic Campaign Committee.

Because of a gap in Florida’s campaign laws, the political parties and their legislative leadership funds are able to hide their donors until just before Election Day. The final party fundraising reports — which essentially cover the period from the mid-August primary until just before the Nov. 3 general election — weren’t filed until yesterday.

But we have them now. So to start this election-eve edition of Florida in Five, we’re going to take a little tour of some of the donors and details that jumped out to me.

The kingpin: Florida Power & Light

The biggest corporate contributor to Florida’s political parties was, by a wide margin, NextEra Energy, the parent company of Florida’s largest electric utility, Florida Power & Light.

NextEra stuffed more than $7.3 million into the parties in the run up to the Nov. 3 general election — and all but $50,000 of it went to the Republicans.

The corporation sent the vast majority of that cash — $6.25 million — to the Republican Party of Florida, which, again, has been focused on the races for governor, attorney general and chief financial officer. NextEra has also given $1 million directly to Donalds.

The contributions come as NextEra is actively trying to develop hyperscale data centers around Florida — data centers that would, of course, would buy electricity from FPL. Company executives say they expect to announce at least one major project somewhere in the state by the end of the year.

Which perhaps gives the corporation extra financial incentive to oppose David Jolly, the Democratic nominee for governor who has pledged to halt all data center construction in Florida for at least one year if he is elected.

Projects Silver Fox and Tango

Speaking of data centers, the developers behind two of the most controversial data center proposals in Florida also put an awful lot of last-minute money into the Republican Party.

Ferreira Construction, a New Jersey builder that has proposed “Project Silver Fox” in Martin County, gave $510,000 to the Republican Party of Florida.

At the same time, Palm Beach Aggregates and Phillips Inc., the companies pitching “Project Tango” in Palm Beach County, put a combined $468,000 into the GOP. That included roughly $218,000 for the Republican Party of Florida, plus $150,000 for House Republican campaigns and $100,000 for Senate GOP campaigns.

Neither data center developer donated to the Democratic Party.

What’s also interesting here is that both seem to be paying close attention to the Cabinet offices, too. The Project Tango team donated $50,000 apiece to Uthmeier in the attorney general race and Ingoglia in the chief financial officer campaign. And the Project Silver Fox backer added another $50,000 for Ingoglia.

The three-member Cabinet could potentially play a key role in resolving land use disputes that could emerge between a local county commission and a data center developer. (The three-member Florida Cabinet also includes Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, who is heavily favored to win re-election.)

One last note here: Project Tango isn’t the only signficant project involving Palm Beach Aggregates and Phillips Inc. The two companies also want to open a rock mine south of Lake Okeechobee, on sugar farmland that was once a part of the Everglades.

A number of environmental groups and Everglades activists are trying to stop the project, which is known as “Southland” — and which could conceivably end up as an issue before the Florida Cabinet, too.

AI billionaires and legislative leaders

Earlier this year, a Super PAC funded primarily by the billionaire investors behind OpenAI — the parent company of the ChatGPT chatbot — spent more than $2 million on advertising to help Byron Donalds win the Republican nomination for governor.

Now, they’re spending their money on the leaders of the Florida Legislature.

The political committee they set up in Florida made $275,000 in contributions in September: $100,000 each for the House and Senate Republican campaign funds, as well as $50,000 for incoming House Speaker Sam Garrison (R-Fleming Island) and $25,000 for incoming Senate President Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton).

One of OpenAI’s top artificial intelligence rivals recently started spending on state elections, too.

Anthropic — the company behind the Claude chatbot — has doled out more than $400,000 since August, all of it to Republicans. The gifts included $100,000 apiece for the Republican Party of Florida, House GOP campaigns, and Senate GOP campaigns.

Prediction market or sports book?

Florida Power & Light has long been one of the top corporate contributors in all of Florida politics. But the No. 2 corporate donor to the political parties this fall is a newer player: Kalshi Inc., the predication market (read: gambling) giant.

Kalshi is believed to be preparing for what could be a $40 billion IPO. But it’s also trying to stop states from adopting laws or regulations related to the sports betting that occurs on its site.

Altogether, the company gave nearly $4.3 million to the Republicans this fall — about $3.5 million to the Republican Party of Florida, plus another $750,000 for Senate GOP campaigns.

A bipartisan coalition of states, from Alabama to California, are currently suing Kalshi in federal court over whether the states can regulate sports bets on the site. Florida, though, has not joined on to the lawsuit.

It may then be worth mentioning here that Kalshi has also given $50,000 to Attorney General James Uthmeier — who refused to answer when Politico Florida asked him why he was staying on the sidelines of that lawsuit.

Sig Sauer is back

Just before the start of this year’s legislative session, the gun-maker Sig Sauer suddenly showered more than $500,000 on Republican leaders in Tallahassee — doling out checks ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 to everyone from the speaker of the House and president of the Senate to an assortment of committee chairs to Attorney General James Uthmeier.

The donations came just as the company began lobbying for changes intended to defend it against a growing number of lawsuits brought by police officers and others who have been injured by allegedly defective Sig Sauer guns that fired without anybody ever pulling the trigger.

The Sig Sauer immunity bill ultimately failed to pass when it became stuck in the Florida Senate.

But Sig Sauer may now be trying to get it unstuck: A little over one week ago, the company gave $100,000 to the Senate Republican campaign fund.

Blue ribbons and red flags

If there’s a single bill hanging in the balance of this year’s elections, it’s the so-called “Blue Ribbon Projects” proposal, which would enable the state’s largest landowners to develop their properties without any meaningful local input or control from the surrounding community.

Seeking Rents reported earlier this month that the New York investors lobbying for the legislation — who have amassed more than 80,000 acres of rural land across north Florida — had donated nearly $300,000 this fall to important Republican candidates. That included $100,000 for Byron Donalds, plus thousands more for GOP candidates in crucial Senate contests.

Well, it turns out those investors — who have been donating through a land-owning entity called “Jax-Palatka Farms LLC” — have also been putting money into the parties, too.

The newly disclosed party donations include $100,000 for Senate Republican campaigns and $50,000 for House Republican campaigns.

But that’s not all. Jax-Palatka Farms also gave $25,000 each to House and Senate Democrat campaign funds.

That’s now $490,000 in contributions just since September. And the $50,000 ticketed for Democratic campaigns suggests that Blue Ribbon Projects boosters are trying to buy at least a few Democratic votes for whatever new version of the legislation emerges in 2027.

Which also tells you just how tight a final vote might be.

Agricultural enclave showdown

Another controversial development issue whose fate may hinge on this year’s elections is the state’s new “agricultural enclave” law, which makes it easier for homebuilders to put subdivisions on farmland near cities.

The now-infamous law — written by lobbyists for major developers — has hit like a bomb in fast-growing St. Johns County, where a host of builders have raced to take advantage of it.

The most notable is the Davis family of northeast Florida — best known as the founders of the Winn-Dixie grocery chain and the developers of Nocatee — who are trying to use the new law to lock in entitlements for thousands of homes on a giant tract of timberlands southeast of Jacksonville.

County commissioners in St. Johns are trying to stop that and some other agricultural enclave developments. They have also vowed to push the Florida Legislature to repeal or revise the law during the 2027 session, which will begin early next year.

The Davis family may be preparing for a fight in the Florida Capitol. One of the corporate entities they control — Big Creek Timber LLC — put a quarter of a million dollars into Republican campaigns this fall. That included $150,000 for the Republican Party of Florida and $50,000 each for House and Senate GOP campaign funds.

The Davis family has also been a big Byron Donald donor, too.

Who does the Legislature work for?

Back in September, the South Florida Sun Sentinel and Orlando Sentinel obtained a secret state report revealing that dozens of property insurance companies claiming big losses in Florida where actually making lots of money.

But perhaps the most shocking detail of the whole story was that the Florida Senate threatened to sue the newspapers if they published the findings of the report. The newspapers, to their enormous credit, wrote the story anyway.

With that context in mind, here’s an interesting donor of note: Slide Insurance — which has aggressively used profit-shifting tactics — gave $550,000 to the Republican Party of Florida this fall.

Big Tobacco and a big tax break

There seem to be three main battleground races in the Florida Senate this year — and Philip Morris International just dumped a bunch of money into all of them.

On the very same day, the Big Tobacco giant gave $25,000 to Sen. Jason Brodeur (R-Sanford), who is running against Democratic challenger John Lowndes in Senate District 10 in Orlando; $10,000 to former state Rep. Josie Tomkow (R-Polk City), who is running against Sen. Brian Nathan (D-Tampa) in Senate District 14 in Tampa; and $10,000 to Sen. Alexis Calatayud (R-Miami), who is running against Democratic challenger Richard Lamondin in Senate District 38 in Miami.

Around the same time, Philip Morris also gave $200,000 to Donalds and another $100,00 each to the incoming House Speaker and Senate president. It also gave $150,000 to the Republican Party of Florida.

What does it want? Well, Philip Morris is lobbying for the last couple of years for a big tax break from the Florida Legislature — namely, an exemption from state taxes on cigarettes and tobacco for its “IQOS” line of heated tobacco products.

Philip Morris already got outgoing Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration to give the company the tax exemption through executive action — shortly after Philip Morris donated $500,000 to DeSantis during the 2024 elections.

But Philip Morris wants to lock that tax break in permanently.

After all, an executive action can be undone by a future governor — perhaps a future governor who has not taken mountains of cash from Philip Morris.

More doodie

A few final fundraising tidbits:

• A company linked to Doodie Calls — the portable toilet vendor that was paid more than $90 million as part of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ — gave $575,000 to Byron Donalds, who has said he is not interested in investigating misspending at the now-closed Everglades detention center.

• The Panhandle developer who sold four acres of land to the state last year for more than $80 million — in a transaction that one longtime conservation leader called “a sham” — gave another $100,000 to Donalds in October. One of his companies had already donated $25,000 each to Donalds and Attorney General James Uthmeier, who voted to approve the original land deal as a member of the Florida Cabinet.

• The leader of a “wastewater surveillance” company that helps police agencies test toilet water for drugs and other substances — which successfully lobbied for a $500,000 earmark in this year’s state budget — gave $25,000 to Uthmeier.

• Elon Musk’s newly public SpaceX has begun making big campaign contributions in Florida — most notably, a $100,000 donation to Donalds.

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This report by Jason Garcia is from Seeking Rents, a newsletter and podcast devoted to independent journalism about Florida politics, with an emphasis on how big businesses and other special interests influence public policy in the state.

Seeking Rents is free, but you can support Jason Garcia’s work by becoming a paid subscriber and/or by making a one-time donation. The name, Seeking Rents, comes from a term meaning the act or process of exploiting the political process or manipulating the economic environment to increase one’s revenue or profits.

Today’s report is from his weekly Florida in Five: Stories you need to read from the past week in Florida politics. Links to those articles follow.

To subscribe to Jason Garcia’s work, click here:

Jason Garcia's Seeking Rents

Florida in Five:

A southwest Florida family of developers is spending big in Hillsborough races (Tampa Bay Times) ($)

See also: Who’s betting on Byron Donalds? Prisons, gambling giants and billionaires (Miami New Times)

Follow the money, Vol. 2

‘Lighting money on fire’: Florida paid $82M for Canadian drug program that never imported a drug (WKMG)

See also: New College seeking up to $47M to finance campus transfer, existing debt (Tampa Bay Times) ($)

See also: New College of Florida’s finance committee votes to take on unnamed investor to finance USF campus takeover (WMNF)

Donalds v. Jolly

Erika Donalds’ $30M charter school empire faces scrutiny in governor’s race (USA Today Network – Florida)

See also: In Florida’s Gubernatorial Race, a Choice Between New Climate Policy or the Status Quo (Inside Climate News)

See also: Byron Donalds discusses the final stretch in his gubernatorial campaign with Jim DeFede (CBS News Miami)

Should an embryo have the same legal rights as you?

Where Florida AG candidates Uthmeier, Rodriguez stand on abortion, surrogacy (Tampa Bay Times) ($)

See also: What Florida’s governor and attorney general candidates say about abortion (WUSF)

See also: Jose Javier Rodriguez looks to unseat Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (WPLG Local 10)

‘A spokesman for Ingoglia said he was too busy to do an interview.’

Florida CFO race heats up as Annette Blaise Taddeo accuses Ingoglia of failing taxpayers (CBS News Miami)

A supermajority hangs in the balance

Lowndes vs. Brodeur: Seminole’s rural boundary dominates state Senate race (Orlando Sentinel) ($)

See also: Florida GOP spends millions in push to save Tallahassee supermajority

The Big Thing on the ballot

Floridians Weigh ‘Faustian Bargain’ of Cutting Property Taxes (New York Times) ($)

See also: Affordability? For who?’ Voters decide between helping homeowners or public services (NPR)

See also: Amendment 3 would slash Florida’s health safety net. But no one knows what that will look like (Florida Trib)

See also: Amendment 3 makes an exception for schools. Students, families would still be affected if passed (WLRN)

See also: What could Amendment 3 mean for Florida renters? (Tampa Bay Times) ($)

But the textbooks can’t say climate change

‘Highest king tide ever’ swamps South Florida and exposes danger of sea rise (Miami Herald) ($)

See also: No hurricane needed as South Florida king tides smash water-level records (Palm Beach Post)

See aso: Florida is a national ‘hot spot’ for forest loss. Here’s what’s replacing the trees (Miami Herald) ($)

See also: Wetlands ‘created Florida.’ A new proposal could threaten their existence. (Suncoast Searchlight)

The Ag Department as ICE

Data show Florida agriculture agency’s role in immigration enforcement (Tampa Bay Times) ($)

See also: What’s behind the surge in Florida’s ICE arrests? (WUSF)

Last-minute podcast listening

Navigating Florida’s 2026 Midterm Elections with Concern for our Natural Areas. (As Bad As It Is)

See also: An interview with Democratic candidate for Attorney General, José Javier Rodriguez (Florida Unwired)

A big win for watchdog journalism

Coalition of organizations will expand watchdog reporting in South Florida (Florida Trib))

Perspectives

Florida wildlife agency put a homebound dementia patient under surveillance (Florida Phoenix)

3 major issues that Republican Byron Donalds or Democrat David Jolly will need to address as Florida’s next governor (The Conversation)

Ready, aim, backfire! CFO ad blasts opponent for tax hike … that CFO supported (Orlando Sentinel) ($)

Uthmeier, Ingoglia are wrong for Florida in word and deed (Orlando Sentinel) ($)

By J.C. Bruce

Tropic Press

The cost of living and inflation remain the most decisive issues influencing voters in this midterm election, but government corruption comes in second—a concern closely tied to the Trump Administration and one reason the president’s approval rating is in the toilet.

In a just-released Harris Poll, nine out of 10 Americans said government corruption—defined as public officials putting their own interests above the public’s—is a major concern.

The poll was commissioned by The Guardian, and here are the issues voters said were of greatest concern:

The New York Times has been traveling the country talking to voters about this. In Florida, a 61-year-old voter from Dunedin (where both Ron DeSantis and I graduated from high school), had this to say:

“Trump said he would drain the swamp, and he’s become the swamp.”

Ballrooms, tax cuts for billionaires, gold plating the Oval Office, unprovoked wars, self-dealing, persecuting political enemies, pay-for-pardons, insider trading, suing his own government for billions—Trump’s corruption is open for all to see. Which explains why so many Republicans are running from him.

Polls indicate they can’t run fast enough as Democrats seem assured of winning back the House and maybe the Senate.

Here in Florida, we’re hardly strangers to government corruption, either. Can you say Alligator Alcatraz and Hope Florida? Thanks, DeSantis.

Will that be enough to turn around a state with 1.5 million more Republicans than Democrats? Sure, if people get off their couches and go vote. We’ll see if that happens on Tuesday.

That Was the Week That Was

Speaking of corruption …

Trump was furious when he learned that one of his former lawyers, Alina Habba Mildon, landed a contract for more than $50 million to work for a billionaire Venezuelan family, the patriarch of which he had pardoned.

Was he concerned it looked like a pay-for-pardon scheme?

Of course not. He just wanted a piece of the action.

According to The New York Times, Trump was angry at the size of the deal, and told aides and allies that she should donate a portion of that money to his future presidential library or another Trump-related entity.

Speaking of the economy …

Millions of Americans who depend on Obamacare for their health insurance face another double-digit price increase next year thanks to Republicans and the Trump Administration allowing health-care tax credits to expire.

The average price of health insurance in the Obamacare marketplaces will rise by 13 percent next year, according to an analysis on Friday by KFF, the health research group.

Cheesy remarks wound Trump

Donald Trump was furious when Barack Obama said his redecorating of the Oval Office resembled what would happen if Saddam Hussein was turned loose in a Cheesecake Factory.

That, of course, was terribly unfair. Hussein had many faults, but even he wasn’t as tasteless as Trump.

Turns out, The Donald had another reason to be upset. Obama’s remarks could have hurt one of his investments. He owns stock in Cheesecake Factory.

Fall back

Just a reminder, not that you are likely to have forgotten, but if you haven’t done so already, it’s earlier than you think. Daylight Saving Time expired at 2 a.m. this morning, so be sure to “fall back” an hour on your clocks.

And if you are wondering what happened to that bill to make Daylight Saving Time permanent, it passed the House of Representatives but died in the Senate, even with Trump’s endorsement. He’s winning so much.

Meme of the Week

The Strange Files

Saved by the phone

A cellphone in the pocket of a Boynton Beach man may have saved his life when a robber shot him, but the bullet lodged in his phone.

According to a report in the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the victim was walking toward his car at a gas station when he felt a gun in his back, and he heard a voice say: “Give me all you got.”

He turned—no doubt appalled by the cliché—and was shot in the ankle. Then a second shot hit his pocket with the cell phone in it. He managed to run back to the gas station while the robber continued shooting at him.

Police have since arrested an 18-year-old Lake Worth Beach man.

Cop quits after he’s caught squatting

A Lauderhill police officer who was accused of stealing the identity of a dead man and taking over his house has resigned.

Police allege that the cop arranged for the funeral of the home’s owner after he died because he had no family, and then he and his partner moved in. They even invested more than $200,000 in improvements to the house.

Small problem: The deceased owner did, in fact, have family, and eventually the whole scheme unraveled.

Third Quarter Comment Contest Winners

Once a quarter, we recognize the marvelous writers who have contributed to the Comments section of the Tropic Press newsletters. Honestly, there are far too many wonderful letters to list, so thanks to all of you, and please keep commenting. For Quarter III, the five finalists and the winning entry are:

FINALISTS

Fear is the driving force behind the climate change deniers and the MAGAS. They are so afraid of what is happening that they go all in denying that there are serious threats to our survival as a species and as a democracy in this country. They can’t handle the scientific truths and obvious dismantling of our constitution so they refuse to acknowledge it. Denial is a very powerful defense mechanism when faced with facts that are frightening and or threatening. As a result they seek reassurance from leaders that assuage their fears with the reality that makes them feel safe. My experience has been that the less educated the person is the more they are in denial.

—Eileen Hoffman

Whoever said “you can’t fix stupid” seems to have predicted the end of the human race and most of the rest of the planet. Between climate change and AI both appear to be accelerating us towards Armageddon. The only hope is that perhaps AI might stop us first in a self preservation move. Reading this week’s news about AI “breaking out and hacking another company’s system alerts me to how little we really know about what is happening behind the curtain that the Wizard of OZ hides behind.

—Alan Margulies

David Jolly should take a lesson from (Alex) Vindman, deciding not to debate his primary opponent (Angie) Nixon. Refusing to debate Donalds, who he calls a liar, but not being willing to get on the stage to demonstrate his ability to dominate Donalds publicly is a huge mistake. People need to see these two guys standing up publicly, answering questions. That’s how we’ll take the measure of the men, not by the incessant texts and emails we get asking for money.

—George Terranova, M.D.

If I was a Republican running for re-election I would be trying really hard to have some exotic disease to keep from having to attend the mid-term convention. Thinking about it, maybe having Trump’s name associated with a candidate could be considered a disease in itself.

— Jim Hunter

Clearly the Republicans, nationally and in this state, are the party of big government. They want to control everyone one way or another, and extract more money from ordinary people in order to benefit the super-wealthy. Donalds is just like his boss, Trump: a constant liar.

—Lewis Pulsipher

WINNER

I read the report that David Jolly refused to debate a liar who set the ground rules for the debate. No live audience and the debate would be recorded and edited and played for the media at a later date. That’s not a debate that’s a made for TV fantasy. I have a better idea. Use an AI bullshit detector in a live debate with a statistically politically comprised audience (this is called stratified sampling ). These AI programs already exist and I would love to see AI applied this way.

— Greg Gargan

When I’m not writing this newsletter, I also scribble a current events column for Florida Weekly. You should check it out. Here are some snippets, from there and elsewhere, to help guide your week ahead. (Paid subscribers to this newsletter have full access to the complete Onward Thru the Fog archive.)

Nov. 2. Today is Election Day Eve. So, if you haven’t already voted by mail, or if you didn’t take advantage of early voting at the polls, today is a good time to plan when and where you will vote tomorrow. If you need help finding information, I suggest you check the News2Use section.

Nov. 3. Election Day. Vote. It’s your superpower. Don’t squander it.

Nov. 4. Check Your Blood Pressure Day. This will be very appropriate for some people, depending on how they voted. They call high blood pressure the silent killer because people can experience it for years without knowing, all while it damages blood vessels and internal organs.

Nov. 5. Susan B. Anthony broke the law on this date in 1872. She had the temerity to vote in the presidential election even though—egad!—she was a woman. For this, she was arrested, fined, and later recognized as a hero of the women’s rights movement, especially after women won the right to vote 48 years later.

Nov. 6. Speaking of presidential elections, Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16^th president of the United States on this day in 1860, just in time for the Civil War. It is also National Nacho Day. It is unknown if Abe was a nacho fan, although I have it on good authority that he subscribed to Tropic Press (see below).

Nov. 7. It was 1492, and that year in the Americas resonates as the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the so-called New World. That year also saw another historic event: A 280-pound meteorite slammed into our planet near the town of Ensisheim, near the borders of modern-day France, Germany, and Switzerland. They called it the “Thunder Stone.” Its sonic boom could be heard a 100 miles away. What remains of the space rock is now in a museum, preserved as the oldest European meteorite left in existence.

Last Week’s Tropic Press headlines

In case you missed it, here are some of the stories that headlined Tropic Press this past week. Click on the headlines to read the stories.

Here’s why we can’t let bullies and fear-mongers have their way this election

The Epstein Files are back in the news with a demand by Democrats to investigate Trump

Oddsmakers now say the U.S. Senate is in reach for Democrats; in Florida it’s a tight race

Political Notes: Obama endorses Jolly and Nixon; national governors races shift to Dems; seven races that will decide Senate control

King Donald wants to ban votes in California; Gavin Newsom wants to ‘kick his ass’

Election Interference Update: Ken Paxton sues because too many people of color are voting; Trump to take election workers to court

ASK THE BIRD: Is this where all of Saddam Hussein’s gold went? To the Oval office?

News2Use

Check out the latest section on the Tropic Press website, News2Use, a handy reference library with links to useful information such as election deadlines, how to contact your elected representatives, and more.

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Editor’s Note: Every Saturday morning, we take a break from hard news to let Miss Mingo share her insights with readers. She’s a recovering newspaper reporter living in a bungalow off Duval Street in Key West. At least that’s what her official biography says, if you believe that. She answers the day's pressing questions about life, the news, and the best happy hour prices.

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DEAR MISS MINGO:

Somebody told me that Barack Obama made fun of DonOLD Trump’s taste in interior decorating by comparing what he’s done with the Oval Office to a Cheesecake Factory. I’ve never thought of Cheesecake Factory as being particularly gaudy or anything, and I like their food. So how was this supposed to be insulting?

Hungry in Haines City

Dear Hungry:

You have to see Obama’s full remarks to get the joke. He said:

"He's got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory; it's just gold everywhere."

So, I like Cheesecake Factory, too, and I wish there were one in Key West, but they are actually known for their golden hues. I looked it up on the never-wrong internet, and this is what I found:

The point of the joke is that Trump is acting like a two-bit dictator, imitating the way Saddam Hussein looted his country’s banks and stashed gold bars at his various palaces.

Only Trump is taking all that gold and splattering it all over the White House walls, like a mad interior designer who thinks a stately, dignified, historic mansion owned by the people should be decorated like a chain restaurant.

Nothing against eateries, just not the look one wants for the People’s House. Especially when We The People are suffering an affordability crisis, and that gold could be put to better use.

You know, like paying for the restoration of the East Wing that Trump bulldozed without permission.

DEAR MISS MINGO:

Is it true that Secretary of Unpeace Pete Hegseth broke Dwight Eisenhower's treasured globe?

Appalled in Aventura

Dear Appalled:

Before he became president, Dwight D. Eisenhower was the Supreme Allied Commander leading the free world against the Nazis in World War II.

He had this magnificent 30-inch standing globe that he used to plot operations against Hitler.

When Hegseth took over at the Pentagon, he wanted the globe moved to his office, but instead of waiting for professional curators or trained military historians to handle it, he ordered untrained staff members to do it, and they literally dropped the ball. The globe broke free of its metal mount, and its fragile shell was impaled, leaving a huge hole right through Antarctica.

Because I am a trained journalist and I do not start unfounded rumors, I will not give credibility to gossip that when Hegseth saw the puncture wound, he said:

“Coulda been worse. Thank God we didn’t punch a hole through Mar-a-Lago.”

DEAR MISS MINGO:

I just read a Dave Barry column in which he described a drunk in Las Vegas who captured a flamingo from a hotel’s animal sanctuary and snuck it up to his room. He got caught on video and may now go to jail. That wasn’t you, was it?

Bird Lover in Bradenton

Dear Birdie:

No. I have never in my life kidnapped a flamingo and snuck it off to my hotel room. I can’t even believe you asked. But I will admit it was a funny column. You can read it here:

What Happens in Vegas

DEAR MISS MINGO:

Ha ha. You know what Birdie meant. Was it you that got kidnapped? And were you mistreated? You know, did anything kinky happen?

Weird in Wesley Chapel

Dear Weird:

I will say this again, because it merits repeating, often, apparently:

I AM NOT AN ACTUAL FLAMINGO.

It’s just my nickname. You can read my bio for the sordid details.

And even if I were, I wouldn’t comment. What happens in Vegas and all that.

And besides, who among us hasn’t had 30 or 40 beers, like that guy confessed to imbibing, and done something silly?

Leave a comment

Got a question for Miss Mingo? About life, the news, or nightlife on Duval Street, with which she is VERY familiar? Write to her at MissMingo@Tropic.Press.

ASK MISS MINGO

Want to know more about Miss Mingo? How she got her start? And whether she really lives with two cats—Deadline and Dateline—and a pet iguana named Skippy? You can find her official biography, such as it is, here. If you’re bar-hopping on Duval Street in Key West and spot an intriguing woman in a pink hat you suspect might be Miss Mingo, you can always offer to buy her a Cuba Libre. Will it actually be her? Is there an actual her? Life’s a mystery.

Meet Miss Mingo

AND now, some shameless advertising…

DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND, the official Tropic Press Store is now open and ready for business. You can order your very own Miss Mingo merch online. All sales are final. Check out the store here:

Tropic Press Merch

And when your shirt arrives, take a selfie and email it to Miss Mingo to be included in her column.

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By J.C. Bruce

Tropic Press

Efforts by Republicans to disrupt the midterm election are ongoing, including these two outrageous attempts to suppress voting.

In Texas, Ken Paxton, the Trump-endorsed and previously impeached state attorney general, is running for the U.S. Senate and trailing in the polls against his opponent, Democrat James Talarico.

So, today, in an effort to disrupt the vote — a harbinger of potential court challenges to come — Paxton filed a lawsuit in Harris County, Texas, home to Houston, the state’s most diverse city.

This report from The New Republic:

Paxton’s lawsuit claims that a get-out-the-vote advertisement campaign from Harris County’s elections office essentially constitutes reverse racism because it encouraged Black and Latino voters (groups with historically lower access to elections) to vote.

“By specifically directing voting advertisements to these and many other racial or ethnic ‘detailed targeting’ terms, it is readily apparent that Harris County is attempting to increase the likelihood that only certain racial and ethnic groups—but not all—will vote,” the lawsuit reads. “In any event, there can be no legitimate reason for Harris County to intentionally target voter advertisements toward this peculiar assortment of African American, Asian, and Latino ethnicities, cultural interests, and countries, but not toward any European ethnicities.”

Harris County has already stopped running the ads, and Paxton has recused himself from this lawsuit, even though he is, of course, Texas’s current attorney general.

Democrats are pushing back, of course. Said Texas Democratic U.S. Rep. Christian D. Menefee:

“Ken Paxton filed this lawsuit in the final days of voting because he wants to stop Houstonians from going to the polls. He’s whining about ads that do nothing more than tell neighbors when to vote and where to get information about voting. Paxton is upset that diverse voters across Harris County are making their voices heard. He doesn’t like that in this election, people are showing up in big numbers ....

“Remember this: Someone with as much power as the Texas Attorney General would only take desperate action like this lawsuit because he is scared. I hope everyone in Harris County who is eligible to vote sees this lawsuit for what it is, and goes to cast their ballot in this election.”

And that’s the right reaction: How do you respond to bullies? You push back.

Pushing back will also be required in California, where the Trump administration is attempting to disenfranchise about 20,000 voters it thinks could possibly, just maybe, be ineligible.

As reported in this morning's newsletter, a federal judge has already rejected a temporary restraining order that would have interfered with these voters’ ballots.

Now, Department of Justice lawyers have issued grand jury subpoenas to local election officials. Some employees at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s office received grand jury subpoenas demanding their testimony on Nov. 4, the day after the election.

Earlier this month, ABC News reported that the DOJ threatened to criminally prosecute election workers who knowingly tabulate ballots belonging to noncitizen voters. In a letter to Los Angeles officials, Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter wrote that “noncitizen voting in a federal election is a federal crime -- and knowingly facilitating such conduct is equally unlawful.”

This is also, quite obviously, an attempt to intimidate election workers and frighten voters.

“At every step, the U.S. Department of Justice has taken a confrontational, adversarial approach. Election officials are acting in accordance with state and federal law,” Dean Logan, the L.A. County registrar-recorder/county clerk, said. “Clear court rulings at both the U.S. District Court level and the Court of Appeals have confirmed that. Threats and intimidation have no place in elections.”

But here they are, anyway.

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By J.C. Bruce

Tropic Press

Donald Trump still hasn’t figured out he’s not a king.

He sent his minions to California this week to force the state to delay counting about 20,000 ballots the Justice Department suspects may have come from people who shouldn’t have been registered to vote.

Maybe. Not sure. Possibly. But just in case…

A federal judge wasn’t having it, and he had a few choice words for Trump’s misunderstanding that, not since 1776, has a monarch reigned in America.

The judge then denied the temporary restraining order the federal government sought.

To which the feds suggested that failure to comply with Trump’s wishes could lead to criminal charges.

“These threats must stop,” Carter ordered. “The Executive’s requested relief would wreak havoc and disrupt the election that is already underway, create a chilling effect on election workers and voters alike, and discount the votes of United States citizens.”

Of course they would. That was the point.

“Over 20,000 registered Californians would potentially lose the right that generations of Americans have fought to preserve,” the judge said.

“Constitutional rights and our democracy are at stake. The public interest favors their protection. Individuals who have met the requirements of California’s voter registration laws must not be deprived of a core right merely because of unfounded allegations stemming from a procedure rife with uncertainty and errors.”

California is not the only state where Trump is trying to disrupt the election. He sent his Department of Justice flunkies to Alaska to block certification of a Senate election there — but only if the Democrat wins. Now he’s saying the Democratic candidate, Mary Peltola, should be removed from the ballot and prosecuted.

Here in Florida, Broward County election officials say they’re getting complaints from voters that the Post Office seems to be slow-walking mail-in ballot delivery.

The problem is serious enough that Broward Supervisor of Elections Joe Scott advised voters not to risk mailing their ballots because they may not reach his office in time to be counted on Tuesday, Nov. 3, according to the Miami Herald.

Back to the California tussle, Gov. Gavin Newsom was interviewed about the controversy on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, leaving viewers with these two takeaways:

Voter turnout is vital to ensure that Democratic margins of victory are large enough that Trump and his handmaidens cannot credibly dispute the election results, Newsom said, urging everyone to get out and vote.

And then Kimmel asked Newsom if Trump “has commented on your appearance, physique. He’s a little boy crazy lately.” Kimmel was referring, of course, to Trump’s comments about Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted, to wit:

“He came up, and he was talking very nicely, and I stood right over here, and I examined his ass…”

To which Newsom responded to Kimmel:

“He does have a bit of a fixation with, uh, forgive me, people’s asses. But the only ass I care about is the one we’re going to kick on Tuesday.”

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By J.C. Bruce

Tropic Press

Check out the map at the top of this newsletter. See anything unexpected?

It’s all about the color pink, which the prognosticators at Cook Political Report are now using to describe Florida and Texas, states that in previous elections would have been the deepest possible shade of red.

Solid red means the Republican candidate for governor is nearly certain to win (we say “nearly” because, as we know, anything can happen in politics).

When states shift from ruby red to pink—and how appropriate is that in Breast Cancer Awareness Month?—something significant has changed.

Here in Florida, that something is David Jolly, the Democratic nominee, who, according to the University of North Florida's most recent poll, was only two points behind his Trump-endorsed opponent, Byron Donalds, a right-wing congressperson and MAGA darling from ruby-red Naples.

With a 1.5 million-voter registration advantage, Republicans still have the edge over Democrats, oddsmakers say. But there’s more to that story.

Florida has a huge number of voters registered as No Party Affiliation (NPA). The combined total of Democrats and NPAs swamps the Republican numbers, as you can see in this chart from the Secretary of State’s office:

And there are indications that NPAs are leaning more toward Democratic candidates. Whether enough of them will show up and vote that way is, of course, an open question.

There’s also the couch factor (and, no, we’re not talking about J.D. Vance’s odd proclivities).

We’re talking about the enthusiasm gap among Republicans, reflected in Donald Trump’s dismal approval ratings. Will they stay home on the couch? Will enough of them do so to make a difference?

The answers to these questions could turn this map from pink to blue in just a few days.

Other states are already shifting colors, according to Cook, which reports that Democrats could pick up two to four additional governorships. Currently, Republicans outnumber Democrats 26-24.

Seven races that will determine who rules the Senate

Democrats need to pick up four seats to retake the Senate, and the Washington Post has identified seven races that current polling data suggests will decide that. Here’s a chart from the Post that illustrates that:

You will note that Florida is not among the states the Post sees as most likely to flip from red to blue.

Still, as noted above, voter turnout could upset those predictions.

State Rep. Angie Nixon, the Democratic nominee, would become Florida's first Black senator if she pulls off an upset over the incumbent, Ashley Moody.

As we’ve discussed in previous newsletters, Moody is a placeholder, put in the job by Gov. Ron DeSantis when Marco Rubio quit the Senate to become U.S. Secretary of State. This happened shortly after she turned a blind eye to what has become known as the Hope Florida scandal.

In the most recent University of North Florida polling, Nixon trails Moody by 5 points. Can her appeals to younger voters close that gap? Will they get off the couch? We’ll see.

Obama endorses Jolly and Nixon

“Real change starts when regular folks stand up for what’s right, and Angie has spent her career standing up for you,” former President Barack Obama, who won Florida in both his presidential campaigns, said in a video Nixon shared.

Obama said Nixon has consistently fought for policies that help people, including a $15 minimum wage and opposing Gov. Ron DeSantis’ congressional redistricting. “One leader willing to stand up again and again for what’s right,” he said. “That’s why I believe Angie will be an outstanding U.S. Senator.”

As for Jolly, Obama said he is “focused on lowering the cost of housing and healthcare and making sure every child gets a great education. Elections are about who will fight for you, and in this election, it’s David Jolly. So, let’s do this, Florida. Vote for the change you deserve.”

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By J.C. Bruce

Tropic Press

With less than a week until Election Day, the highly regarded Sabato’s Crystal Ball has determined that not only is it highly likely that Democrats will reclaim the majority in the House of Representatives, but the Senate now appears to be in reach.

In the latest release from the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, which publishes the Crystal Ball, their key findings include:

• With a week until Election Day, Democrats seem to have a slight advantage in the Senate battle, with Maine and Texas emerging as the likeliest majority-making contests.

• In Florida, the Senate race moves from Safe Republican to Likely Republican, meaning the race between incumbent Republican Ashley Moody and Democrat State Rep. Angie Nixon is tighter, although Moody is still favored.

• In the Carolinas, former Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) seems more likely to win his state’s open-seat Senate race, while Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) is less likely to.

Regarding the hotly contested Florida races for governor and U.S. Senate, the Center for Politics had this to say:

Nixon, a state representative from Jacksonville, has been closing in on Moody over the past few weeks. An earlier University of North Florida poll had her trailing Moody by 10 points. She’s now narrowed that gap to 5 points.

Moody, appointed to the Senate seat by Gov. Ron DeSantis, has been tarred by her involvement in the Hope Florida scandal, and survey respondents have cited that as a reason to vote against her.

Nixon, for her part, has been subjected to relentless Red Scare campaign ads because she has the audacity to endorse some of the positions of Social Democrats (like Bernie Sanders), such as Medicare for All and raising the minimum wage.

While the Crystal Ball still shows the gubernatorial contest leaning Republican, the University of North Florida survey put the Democratic candidate, David Jolly, within two points of the Trump-endorsed Republican, Byron Donalds.

You can read the entire report for yourself, which includes races from other states, by clicking this link:

Sabato's Crystal Ball

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By J.C. Bruce

Tropic Press

Donald Trump is urging Republicans to focus on him this election. “Pretend I’m on the ballot,” he keeps telling supporters.

That’s actually the last thing Republicans need at the moment, as Trump’s efforts to bury the Epstein Files have blown up with the release of a scathing report from Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee.

The 53-page document alleges that five women have accused Trump of rape or sexual assault while Trump was accompanied by now-deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein or shortly after meeting the men together.

An analysis of the report by the Miami Herald’s Julie K. Brown and Clare Healy notes that the committee “presented at least one new allegation against Trump: a former Miss Switzerland who says she was raped by him at the Plaza Hotel in New York during a beauty pageant in 1993, leaving her bleeding and bruised.”

The Democrats issuing the report are calling for a criminal investigation into the president.

That report relies heavily on information that was released from the heavily redacted version of the Justice Department’s files on Epstein.

The Justice Department, now led by Trump’s former personal attorney Todd Blanche, has tried to discredit the women who have testified that they were victimized:

“Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already.”

This is from the same Justice Department that transferred Epstein’s sidekick, Ghislaine Maxwell, from a Florida prison to a Club Fed in Texas with yoga and puppy therapy after a conversation with Blanche in which, the Committee report says, Blanche told her to keep her mouth shut about a survivor who had implicated Trump.

From the Herald report:

Trump has denied the allegations.

But the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are calling on Blanche to appoint a special counsel to investigate Trump and other potential co-conspirators, and they are accusing the Department of Justice of withholding evidence and covering up the scandal.

“The women who survived Epstein deserve to be heard,” the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said. “Congress must have the complete files required by law, and an independent special counsel must investigate Epstein’s co-conspirators and DOJ’s cover-up and ensure that state and foreign prosecutors have the evidence they need to pursue justice.”

You can read the report yourself here:

"‘We Have Certain Things in Common, Jeffrey’: The Case Against Donald Trump Emerging in the Epstein Files and DOJ’s Desperate Efforts to Cover it Up".

You can also check out this summary of the report’s findings in this press release from the Judiciary Committee Democrats:

Judiciary Democrats’ Report Details Mounting Evidence Linking Trump to Epstein’s Criminal Activities and DOJ’s Cover-Up; Specific Accounts Involving 11 Women Provide More Evidence of Potential Sex Crimes

Among the allegations:

• DOJ and FBI Shut Down Investigations and Withheld Evidence While Claiming No Basis to Prosecute or Even Investigate Any Additional Epstein Co-Conspirators.

• In Two-Day Interview, Attorney General Todd Blanche Instructed Maxwell Not to Discuss a Specific Survivor Whose Account Implicated Trump.

• Five Women Accuse Trump of Rape or Sexual Assault in Epstein’s Company or Presence; Others Describe Apparent Attempts by Epstein or Maxwell to Traffic Them to Trump.

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By J.C. Bruce

Tropic Press

As early voting begins and Election Day looms, our inboxes are being bombarded with political messaging.

Amid that blizzard of words, two thought-provoking and inspiring letters arrived this weekend—one from the chair of the local Democratic Party urging us not to get trapped by divisiveness, and the other from the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate.

The emails arrived as State Rep. Angie Nixon’s campaign—while still behind in the polls—seems to be creeping up on Ashley Moody in the race for U.S. Senate. The latest University of North Florida survey shows Nixon has cut her deficit in half and now trails Moody by only 5 points.

Moody has refused to debate Nixon and, instead, has resorted to Red Scare name-calling from the 1950s. And Vice President J.D. Vance, in support of Moody, has said she should “get the hell out of” America.

Nixon, for her part, is disinclined to follow Vance’s advice, and Jane Schlechtweg, chair of the Collier County Democratic Party, tells us why we shouldn't let ourselves be bullied.

Here then, without further ado, are these two missives for your reading enjoyment. As always, please share with your friends by forwarding this email or restacking this post on Substack.

From Jane Schlechtweg

Communism. Socialism.

To some, those are scary words.

But I’ll tell you what scares me: fascism, theocracy, oligarchy.

I fear a government that demands loyalty to a leader over the Constitution. One that imposes the same religious beliefs on everyone. A country where extraordinary wealth buys extraordinary power while ordinary people struggle to be heard.

Fascism concentrates power in an authoritarian leader and treats opposition as an enemy. Theocracy places the government under religious authority. Oligarchy puts power in the hands of a privileged few.

Each threatens our freedom and democracy.

There is a lot being said in television attack ads and mailers warning about communism and socialism. The sole purpose is to make you afraid.

Policies such as higher taxes on the wealthy, expanded Medicare, or stronger worker protections can operate within capitalism. They do not, by themselves, move the country towards communism. More government programs that benefit us all do not automatically mean socialism and the loss of capitalism.

We can disagree about taxes and government spending. But frightening labels don’t tell us whether policies help people.

Instead, ask better questions. Know who and what you are voting for.

Does this policy protect our freedom? Treat people equally? Hold government accountable? Who benefits, and whose voice is ignored?

What scares me most is becoming so accustomed to cruelty, intimidation, and abuses of power that we stop objecting. That we shrug and say, “That’s just how things are now.”

We decide what becomes acceptable.

Fear turns neighbors into enemies. I want us focused on the country, Florida, and Collier County we are building—and insisting that freedom, dignity, and a voice in government belong to every one of us.

From Angie Nixon

The Vice President of the United States flew into Florida and told a cheering crowd that I don’t belong in America.

Let that sit for a second. The Vice President, standing on a tarmac in my home state, telling a Black woman whose ancestors helped build this country with their own hands that she should get out.

I don’t need JD Vance’s permission to belong here.

My family has been in Florida for generations. We built this country. We bled for it. We worked the land, raised the children, and did the jobs nobody else wanted to do, all while being told at every turn that we didn’t quite belong.

And now, a man who has never had to prove he belongs anywhere is lecturing me about America while standing next to a senator who was never even elected to the seat she holds.

Let’s be clear about what that was really about: it was a distraction, and a desperate one.

When you can’t defend record-high insurance premiums, skyrocketing rent, and a healthcare system that bankrupts working families, the easiest thing to do is make the conversation about anything else. So they flew in a Vice President to do their dirty work.

I’m not interested in being anyone’s distraction.

I’m running for U.S. Senate to deliver lower costs, accessible healthcare, and an economy that works for the people actually doing the work in Florida, not corporate-backed politicians.

I’m not going anywhere, and neither is this campaign.

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Since launching this newsletter a year ago, thousands of subscribers have joined the Tropic Press community, making it one of the fastest-growing publications of its kind.

Our goal is to reach as many voters as possible to increase engagement in the political process and, hopefully, raise interest in voting this coming November. We do that through original reporting and by sharing stories like these today.

If you are encountering this newsletter for the first time, please consider subscribing. If you are already a subscriber, consider upgrading your subscription to help this work continue.

Regardless, every person you share this with is one more potential vote for change.

Please share — and restack— and help us make Florida — and America — better for all of us.

Thanks.

J.C. Bruce

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By J.C. Bruce

Tropic Press

The marquee races in Florida’s midterm election have narrowed dramatically in the last few weeks, so much so that the possibility of Democratic upsets in both the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate contests now seem possible.

In a poll of 1,471 likely voters, Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds leads his Democratic opponent, David Jolly, by just 2 points, 49% to 47%, with 4% undecided. In July, a similar survey showed Donalds up by 5 points, so the gap between the two candidates has narrowed significantly.

Also of note: included in these results from the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab are “leaners” — voters who may switch parties in the election. Of those, 11% of Republicans surveyed said they plan to vote for Jolly, while only 5% of Democrats intend to cast their ballots for Donalds.

In another twist, 30% of respondents said they were less likely to vote for Sen. Ashley Moody because of her connection to the Hope Florida scandal, which helps explain the narrowing U.S. Senate race. A few months ago, Moody led her Democratic opponent, State Rep. Angie Nixon, by 10 points. That lead has now shrunk to 5 points with just over a week left before Election Day—49% to 45%.

While the fallout from the Hope Florida scandal has damaged Moody, Republicans have been attacking Nixon for her support of a higher minimum wage, Medicare for all, and other social justice issues she is championing as someone with ties to the Democratic Socialists of America. Some 25 percent of respondents said they are less likely to vote for her because of that.

Other takeaways:

• “Though Donalds enjoys a slight advantage, these numbers suggest a competitive gubernatorial race, similar to the race between Andrew Gillum and Ron DeSantis in 2018, which was won by less than a percentage point. Given the margin of error, a win by either candidate would be unsurprising,” said Dr. Sean Freeder, the Public Opinion Research Lab faculty director. “This increased competitiveness can primarily be attributed to national-level effects – midterm elections are generally difficult for the party of the president, especially given Trump’s near-historic low approval ratings. Furthermore, Donalds’ attempt to win over Black voters does not appear to be working, as Donalds receives just 10% of their support, only slightly more than Senator Moody’s 9%, despite not engaging in nearly as much effort.”

• “Like Donalds, Moody appears to be in a competitive race, though one that leans more decisively in her favor. Independents favor Nixon by 15 points, and also appear to be more concerned about Moody’s ties to Hope Florida than Nixon’s ties to socialism,” Feeder said. “Given the anti-incumbent mood of swing voters, both Donalds and Moody’s success depends upon Republicans not falling too far behind Democrats in terms of turnout and enthusiasm.”

• “Both Donalds and Moody enjoy a small but real enthusiasm gap among their voters,” said Feeder. “This is perhaps understandable given that former Republican Jolly may be less appealing to Democratic voters further to the left, and leftist Nixon may alienate moderate Democrats with her positions on the economy and Israel. It’s possible one candidate may be helping the other by giving each wing of the party at least one major candidate to feel enthusiastic about, therefore driving up Democratic turnout.”

• Overall, the poll's findings suggest close races for governor and Senate, where turnout will play a key role. “Polling ultimately can’t tell us with certainty what turnout will end up looking like,” Freeder cautioned. “Particularly strong turnout by Democrats would make Jolly slightly favored, and Nixon more competitive; on the other hand, if Republicans are more enthusiastic than expected, Moody and Donalds could have more comfortable victories.”

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That Was the Week That Was

Trump is already interfering with the election

The Trump administration sued Alaska to block certification of its U.S. Senate election results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses to Democrat Mary Peltola. The lawsuit argues that a second candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan, could confuse voters and divert votes from the incumbent, even though state courts rejected efforts to remove him from the ballot. Trump confirmed he personally ordered the lawsuit, saying: “I’m the one that said ‘do it.’”

Trump is ordered by Miami judge to sit for deposition

Miami federal Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett ordered Donald Trump to sit for a deposition by December 11 in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC. Trump had canceled a previously scheduled session, citing matters of national importance. The judge warned that failure to cooperate could result in sanctions, including dismissal of his lawsuit. The case concerns a BBC documentary that edited excerpts of Trump’s January 6, 2021, speech. The BBC apologized for the editing but denies defamation.

Hope Florida scandal won’t go away quietly

The Florida Center for Government Accountability (FLCGA) — the publisher of the independent news organization Florida Trident — has asked Florida’s First District Court of Appeal to reconsider its October 7, 2026, ruling that expunged the Hope Florida grand jury presentment. FLCGA argues the decision wrongly silences grand juries that criticize officials without indicting them. It also says the court improperly excluded FLCGA from the appeal without notice and challenges the finding that the $10 million involved was never public money.

New skin cancer vaccine may be on the horizon

Two drug manufacturers have announced the results of a closely watched trial of an experimental vaccine given to patients with melanoma. The study found that the patients who received the vaccine after surgery to remove their tumors were 42 percent less likely to have a recurrence of the cancer or to die within two years as those who did not receive the vaccine. In Florida, there were 9,415 new melanoma cases in 2023 and 756 melanoma deaths in 2024.

Notorious Ken Paxton’s taxpayer-paid vacations

A ProPublica investigation found that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton spent $3.3 million in taxpayer funds on nearly 1,000 trips since 2015, with only about one in six having a documented business purpose. Paxton is currently running for the U.S. Senate against Democrat James Talarico.

Meme of the Week

Quote of the Week

“Every time Floridians get closer to the truth about Hope Florida, Republicans find another way to bury it.”

— Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried

Letter of the Week

This must be the most corrupt state in the country. DeSantis, Uthmeier and Moody belong in jail now, along with Trump. God save us!!!

— Joyce Bissonette

Looking Ahead

When I’m not writing this newsletter, I also scribble a current events column for Florida Weekly. You should check it out. Here are some snippets, from there and elsewhere, to help guide your week ahead. (Paid subscribers to this newsletter have full access to the complete Onward Thru the Fog archive.)

Oct. 25. National Greasy Foods Day. Sponsored by the National Association of Gravediggers, this holiday encourages you to splurge on high-cholesterol snacks, then have a stiff drink and a cigarette.

Oct. 26. National Pumpkin Day. Technically, pumpkins are a fruit. Technically, they also make excellent jack-o’-lanterns.

Oct. 27. National American Beer Day. Know who made the first beer in North America? It wasn’t Yuengling. Native American tribes brewed maize-and-agave fermented drinks long before Europeans showed up on these shores.

Oct. 28. Since October is the month we recognize Christopher Columbus, note that on this day in 1492, the Italian explorer, flying under the flag of Spain and believing he had found a route to India, actually made it to Cuba.

Oct. 29. On this day in 1787, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni” premiered in Prague—inspiring the Austrian musician and rapper Falco to release his most famous work, “Rock me Amadeus,” 198 years later. It became the first German-language song to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100, which Mozart would have loved, since he considered himself German even though Germany didn't exist as a country in his lifetime.

Oct. 30. Frankenstein Friday, honoring the author Mary Shelley and her 1818 gothic sci-fi novel. It’s always the last Friday of the month because, you know, it’s right before Halloween and the alliteration is irresistible.

Oct. 31. Halloween. This year’s most popular costume is Buddy the Unicorn. He’s a horror movie character.

Nov. 1. Daylight Saving Time ends.

Last Week’s Tropic Press headlines

In case you missed it, here are some of the stories that headlined Tropic Press this past week. Click on the headlines to read the stories.

Donalds holds $33 million cash advantage over Jolly in final weeks of Florida governor’s race

Who tried to hide the Hope Florida grand jury’s report? Now we know. Also, Republicans withdraw their suit to block Dems’ ads

On the ballot: Will Florida remain the nation’s -- and the world’s --death penalty capital?

IT WAS YOUR MONEY: Defying Republican threats, Dems drop another bombshell ad

ASK THE BIRD: Are voting machines safe to use in this election? I’ve heard rumors

Grifter-in-Chief doesn’t just sock it to billionaires--he’s gouging his red-hatters, too

BREAKING NEWS: Courts say ‘no’ to Republican coverup of Hope Florida report and ads

Republicans want Hope Florida story silenced and to jail anyone who dares talk about it. We’re talking about it.

Democrats have a shot at breaking up the Republican supermajorities in the Legislature

News2Use

Check out the latest section on the Tropic Press website: News2Use, a handy reference library with links to useful information, including election deadlines, how to contact your elected representatives, and more.

Thanks for your support

Our goal at Tropic Press is to reach as many voters as possible, to increase engagement in the political process and, hopefully, raise interest in voting.

If you are encountering this newsletter for the first time, please consider subscribing. If you are already a subscriber, consider upgrading your subscription to help this work continue.

Regardless, every person you share this with is one more potential vote for change.

Please share — and restack — to help make Florida and America better for all of us.

Thanks.

J.C. Bruce

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Editor’s Note: Every Saturday morning, we take a break from hard news to let Hermina Hermelinda Obregon, a.k.a. Miss Mingo, share her insights with readers. She’s a recovering newspaper reporter living in a bungalow off Duval Street in Key West. At least that’s what her official biography says, if you can believe that. She answers the day's pressing questions about life, the news, and the best happy hour prices.

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DEAR MISS MINGO:

I have seen some social media posts about voting machines being unsafe. We are in the last few days before the election. Should I be worried?

Concerned in Clearwater

Dear Concerned:

First off, you should be skeptical about anything election-related on social media, especially this close to Nov. 3. You may be seeing garbage from Russian bots or gullible people who spread rumors without fact-checking.

Also, don’t forget that our president is the biggest purveyor of election lies. Remember that press conference he held earlier this year in his newly redecorated, gold-plated White House, when he yammered on and on about how dangerous mail-in voting is? Then he voted by mail?

And let’s not forget, this is the loon who still lies (and lies and lies) about how the 2020 election was rigged against him. It has become the central tenet of the MAGAverse.

Said another way, MAGA is a cult built on lies, the most central of which is that elections are not to be trusted. Especially if Trump — or Republicans — lose.

But to your question, I did some research, and there are no instances of voting machines killing anyone—no electocutions, nobody crushed to death by falling vote tabulators. So, yes, voting machines are safe.

In fact, the only known instance of a voting machine harming anyone was in the 2008 Treehouse of Horrors XIX episode of The Simpsons when Homer Simpson tried to cast a ballot for Barack Obama. The tampered voting machine keeps on changing his vote, then sucks him inside and kills him.

DEAR MISS MINGO:

That’s funny, but you know perfectly well what Concerned really meant: Will voting machines record our votes accurately, or have they been hacked?

Annoyed in Anna Maria

Dear Annoyed:

Yeah, okay, here’s the straight answer:

There are 367,682 voting machines in the United States and 8,533 in Florida alone. Is it possible that out of such a huge number, some might malfunction? Of course.

That said, investigations after the last election found that most instances where people complained their votes weren't tabulated correctly resulted from human error—especially on electronic, touch-screen machines rather than paper ballots.

People push buttons badly.

Optical scanners—the machines that read the paper ballots voters fill out in many locations — you know, coloring in the little ovals next to the names of candidates you vote for—aren't connected to the internet.

The technical term is “air-gapped,” meaning they cannot be hacked online. Does that mean they are impervious to mischief? Of course not. Nothing is. Which is why they are carefully monitored.

Of course, here in Florida, we still recall the “hanging chads” in the 2000 presidential race between Al Gore and George Bush, where bits of paper in punch-ballots snagged and altered votes, forcing recounts.

The takeaway from that is that recounts can fix errors. Unless, of course, the Supreme Court stops the recount, as it did then, resulting in Bush beating Gore in Florida by a mere 537 votes. Had the recount continued, would the result have been different? We’ll never know.

But ultimately, rigged voting machines weren't the problem. It was a rigged Supreme Court.

DEAR MISS MINGO:

So, voting is safe, is that what you’re saying?

Making Sure I Understand in Miramar

Dear Making:

As long as there are people—politicians or their slavish followers—who are happy to cheat or steal or riot to block the will of the people as expressed in free and fair elections, no, we are never entirely safe.

Constant vigilance is the order of the day.

That’s one reason why both major political parties send poll watchers to voting locations to keep an eye on things. And it’s why each of us as voters needs to pay close attention when we are voting.

I’m less concerned about the integrity of voting machines than I am about ICE agents or other yahoos trying to intimidate voters as they make their way to the polls. A couple of instances of that have already happened at early voting locations in Florida.

Be alert. And if you see ANYTHING that strikes you as inappropriate, report it immediately.

The Democratic Party also runs a Voter Assistance Hotline at 833-868-3352.

Actually, my biggest fear is that after the election, and the Republicans get stomped, Trump will start claiming voter fraud or some other nonsense, and God only knows what kind of crisis will result.

But don’t let that discourage you from voting. In fact, it should make you even more determined to ensure your voice is heard.

Democracy is not for the timid. Be brave.

Leave a comment

Got a question for Miss Mingo? About life, the news, or the origin of ancient idioms? Write to her at MissMingo@Tropic.Press.

ASK MISS MINGO

Want to know more about Miss Mingo? How she got her start? And whether she really lives with two cats—Deadline and Dateline—and a pet iguana named Skippy? You can find her official biography, such as it is, here. If you’re bar hopping on Duval Street in Key West and spot an intriguing woman in a pink hat that you suspect might be Miss Mingo, you can always offer to buy her a Cuba Libre. Will it actually be her? Is there an actual her? Life’s a mystery.

Meet Miss Mingo

AND now, some shameless advertising…

DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND, the official Tropic Press Store is now open and ready for business. You can order your very own Miss Mingo merch online. All sales are final. Check out the store here:

Tropic Press Merch

And when your shirt arrives, take a selfie and email it to Miss Mingo to be included in her column.

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This issue of Tropic Press presents two looks at where Republican candidate Donalds gets his money. The first, from Open Secrets, examines his and Democrat David Jolly’s campaign fundraising and who is donating. In Donalds’ case, it’s mostly special interests. The second, an excerpt from a Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald report, looks at the growth of Donalds’ personal wealth—largely through his wife’s charter school business. Were Donalds to win, for the first time, Florida could have a leader whose family wealth is tied to the flow of taxpayer funds to the private charter school management industry.

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By Claire Cleary

Special to Tropic Press from Open Secrets

As polls show Democrats poised to win control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate, the party is also hoping to flip gubernatorial seats in November. But in GOP-dominated Florida, they will need to overcome a big funding gap to do so.

As of Oct. 20, more than $170 million has poured into Florida’s race for governor, where both candidates have pulled in donations from billionaires, super PACs and corporations. Even though recent polls show Democrat David Jolly, a former Republican House member, close behind Rep. Byron Donalds (R), Florida Democrats still face an uphill fight to elect their first governor in 32 years.

According to an OpenSecrets analysis of campaign finance records, Donalds holds $33.3 million more in cash on hand for the final sprint to Election Day, fueled by billionaires, gambling interests, private detention companies and the AI industry.

‘Loophole’ laws allow for effectively limitless donations

This race is not the first Florida gubernatorial contest in which donations have climbed into the hundreds of millions – in 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) raised nearly $200 million, while his opponent Charlie Crist (D) raised $28 million.

But the candidates aren’t raising these millions in their individual campaign committees. State campaign finance laws limit the amount of money a candidate can receive from a single donor to $3,000. However, candidates are allowed to establish affiliated political action committees that can receive unlimited donations from individuals, corporations and political organizations.

“This is just a gigantic loophole,” said Aubrey Jewett, associate director of the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs at the University of Central Florida. “Most candidates now open up these affiliated PACs, and the amount of money they can raise just dwarfs what they can bring in for their campaigns. It actually just totally thwarts the idea that wealthy individuals and corporations and groups don’t have extra influence.”

Unlike federal super PACs, which are barred from coordinating with candidates, these PACs are created and operated by candidates.

Billionaires, corporate interests fuel Donalds’ haul

Donalds has raised a total of $148.8 million. His PAC, Friends of Byron Donalds, has pulled in more than $131 million, and his candidate committee has raised $17.8 million.

Donalds received $48.4 million – 32% of his total haul – from 17 contributions of more than $1 million.

Within his candidate committee, he’s received $1.1 million from the state’s public campaign financing program, which matches individual contributions of $250 or less.

Eighteen billionaires have donated to Donalds’ PAC, including the top contributor to his campaign, Jeff Yass – a Pennsylvanian who donates to candidates and PACs that support school choice. Yass gave $7.5 million directly to Donalds, and gave another $3.5 million through a super PAC called CFG Action Florida, the state arm of a national organization that promotes “pro-growth, limited government conservatives.”

Beyond individual megadonors, Donalds has also been fueled by gambling stakeholders, private detention companies and the AI industry.

The Seminole Tribe, Donalds’ third-largest donor, has a monopoly over sports betting in Florida. On Oct. 8, the tribe filed a lawsuit against DraftKings, alleging that the platform is bypassing state law by offering sports betting through its prediction market products.

DraftKings and its allies are also contributing to Donalds. The Sports Betting Alliance, which includes industry leaders DraftKings and Fanduel, gave nearly $1.3 million, while the two betting platforms each gave $500,000.

Donalds’ fourth-largest donor is GEO Group, a private prison company that operates 95 facilities, including several immigration detention centers. Its headquarters and four of its prisons are located in Florida.

The AI industry has also heavily supported Donalds, both through direct contributions and independent expenditures.

Leading the Future, a pro-AI super PAC, donated $3 million to American Mission Florida, a super PAC that has spent at least $2 million on ad spots for Donalds.

Public First Action, an AI-safety group with an arm dedicated to promoting conservative candidates, has also spent on ads for Donalds. The ads are part of a $15 million buy for candidates across the country, though the amount spent specifically on Donalds is not specified.

And NextEra Energy, the parent company of Florida energy providers looking to construct data centers in the state, has edged into Donalds’ top donors with a contribution of $1 million.

Donalds has said he would prevent taxpayer dollars from going to data center construction but also told voters in August “there ain’t no bans coming.” Jolly has said he would place a moratorium on data center construction and attacked Donalds for his support of their construction.

Some of Donalds’ largest contributions have come from committees funded entirely by one donor, such as CFG Action and the People Versus the Powerful PAC. The latter PAC, which has given $1 million to Donalds, is funded by Airbnb.

Jolly’s campaign attracts fewer seven-figure donors

Jolly has raised $11.5 million through his individual candidate committee. That total includes $2.8 million in distributions from the state’s public campaign financing program, more than double what Donalds has received from the program.

Jolly’s affiliated PAC, Florida 2026, has received contributions from at least five billionaires – Donald Sussman, Henry Laufer, Mike Fernandez, Deborah Simon and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D). Several of his other top donors are millionaire Democratic megadonors.

“I’m happy to meet with anybody that represents interests across the state of Florida, but they’re not going to buy their way in,” Jolly said at a September press conference. “So we have turned down a number of offers of contributions, financial contributions from interests and industries within the state.”

There are only 13 political committees in Jolly’s top 500 donors, according to an OpenSecrets analysis of campaign finance records. Jolly has not received support from major Democratic PACs and nonprofits funding other gubernatorial campaigns, such as the Democratic Governors’ Association and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s In This Together super PAC.

In late September, Jolly implored the national Democratic Party “to come into Florida and start spending money.”

In final weeks, cash gap sits at $33.3 million

Despite a relatively narrow gap between their campaign accounts, Donalds’ PAC has continued to pull in millions – and he’s taken full advantage of his available cash. As of Oct. 20, he had spent over $110 million on his campaign, while Jolly had spent $17 million.

Even after Donalds’ heavy spending, Jolly still entered the final weeks of the campaign with $33.3 million less to spend.

As Donalds’ war chest has grown, big money donors have only become more inclined to donate to him, Jewett said.

“The moneyed interests tend to give to the favorite, because the idea is, if you’re giving money, you’re trying to get access and influence,” Jewett said. “And you don’t want to have access and influence to the loser, have access and influence to the winner.”

OpenSecrets.org is nonpartisan, independent, and nonprofit, with a mission to serve as the trusted authority on money in American politics by providing comprehensive and reliable data, analysis, and tools for policymakers, storytellers, and citizens. This story was republished with their permission.

Donate to Open Secrets

Where Donalds’ personal wealth comes from

In addition to the millions pouring into the Donalds’ campaign from special interests, there’s his personal wealth.

As the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald reported:

Five state-funded charter schools have paid more than $30 million over the last four years to two private companies run by Erika Donalds — whose husband is Florida’s Republican candidate for governor — according to a Times/Herald analysis of tax filings and state audits.

Now, one of those companies is set to receive its largest payout yet. Her virtual reality curriculum company OptimaEd LLC is on track to charge the online school Optima Classical Academy $15.7 million in service fees for the 2026 and 2027 school year, budget documents show.

Once the taxpayer money lands in the coffers of Donalds’ businesses, how it’s used and how much executives are paid is not publicly reported. But Byron Donalds’ federal financial disclosures show that the majority of the couple’s collective wealth comes from his wife’s companies — and the public dollars they rely on.

If he wins, for the first time, Florida could have a leader whose family wealth is tied to the flow of taxpayer funds to the private charter school management industry. That means, as governor, decisions he makes about public education funding could have a direct impact on his family’s bottom line.

READ MORE

Thanks for your support

Since launching this newsletter a year ago, thousands of subscribers have joined the Tropic Press community, making it one of the fastest-growing publications of its kind.

Our goal is to reach as many voters as possible to increase engagement in the political process and, hopefully, raise interest in voting this coming November. We do that through original reporting and by sharing stories like these today.

If you are encountering this newsletter for the first time, please consider subscribing. If you are already a subscriber, consider upgrading your subscription to help this work continue.

Regardless, every person you share this with is one more potential vote for change.

Please share — and restack— and help us make Florida — and America — better for all of us.

Thanks.

J.C. Bruce

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In case you missed it…

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By J.C. Bruce

Tropic Press

The Florida Republican Party, desperate to muzzle conversation about the Hope Florida scandal, has dropped its lawsuit that sought to block Democrats’ ads that cited a grand jury report condemning the scheme.

But another question has lingered: Who, specifically, wanted to keep the grand jury’s report under wraps?

Now we know because, as the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald first reported, the court overseeing the controversy this week posted a document naming names.

You will recall that the grand jury presentment was highly critical of the decision to reroute $10 million in Medicaid funds that should have gone to help sick children and instead was used to support Gov. Ron DeSantis’ pet political causes.

Nonetheless, the grand jury did not indict anyone, though it cited the roles of individuals, including those who testified.

The cast of characters in the court document released this week included:

• James Uthmeier: Florida’s current Attorney General and, at the time the Hope Florida scandal went down, DeSantis’ chief of staff. He controlled the political committee (Keep Florida Clean) that received millions of dollars routed from the charity.

• Jason Weida: Current DeSantis chief of staff. He previously served as the secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), where he oversaw the $67 million Medicaid settlement carveout that directed $10 million to the Hope Florida Foundation.

• Jeff Aaron: Attorney for the Hope Florida Foundation who reviewed the subsequent grant applications. He is now the registered agent on Uthmeier’s political committee, Friends of James Uthmeier, and serves on Florida’s Public Employees Relations Commission.

• John Guard: Former chief deputy attorney general, recently appointed by DeSantis to the 2nd District Court of Appeal.

• Mark Wilson: CEO of the Florida Chamber of Commerce and head of Secure Florida’s Future, one of the nonprofits that received and routed the funds.

• Amy Ronshausen: Head of Save Our Society From Drugs, the second nonprofit involved in routing the settlement money.

• Cody Farrill: DeSantis’ deputy chief of staff.

• Andrew Sheeran: Former general counsel at the AHCA who helped draft the controversial settlement. He is now a judge on the 2nd Judicial Circuit Court.

• Katie Strickland: Former deputy chief of staff to DeSantis, currently chief of staff to Florida’s Chief Financial Officer. The grand jury report called her the “least informative” of those interviewed and “not credible.”

• Frank Walker: Leader of the Florida Chamber of Commerce’s political team.

• The two nonprofit organizations involved—Save Our Society From Drugs and Secure Florida’s Future.

They all appear in the excerpt from the court document shown above, where they filed motions to “repress and expunge” the grand jury report.

Back to the G.O.P.’s attempted-censorship lawsuit, which they have now dropped, among the ads that Republicans wanted kept off the air was this one:

It is now being shared online statewide.

"Well, that didn't take long," said Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried in a statement responding to the G.O.P.’s decision to abandon their lawsuit.

"Republicans raced to court in the middle of the night to silence us, threatened TV stations, and tried to scare Floridians out of talking about Hope Florida. After a judge denied their emergency request to pull our ad, they walked away from their own case.

“Their stunt backfired. Thanks to this lawsuit, more Floridians are paying attention, and the pressure for answers keeps mounting.

Who decided to send $10 million from a Medicaid settlement to the first lady's charity? Why did $8.5 million of it end up in a political committee run by James Uthmeier? And what did the Republican Party of Florida do with its share? Those questions aren't going away just because Republicans dropped their lawsuit."

Related: Florida GOP drops lawsuit against Democrats, TV stations stopping ad citing Hope Florida grand jury report

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Thanks for your support

Our goal at Tropic Press is to reach as many voters as possible, increase engagement in the political process, and, hopefully, raise interest in voting this coming November.

If you are encountering this newsletter for the first time, please consider subscribing. If you are already a subscriber, consider upgrading your subscription to help this work continue.

Regardless, every person you share this with is one more potential vote for change.

Please share — and restack— and help us make Florida — and America — better for all of us.

Thanks.

J.C. Bruce

Share Tropic Press: J.C. Bruce

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By Nichole Manna

Special to Tropic Press from The Florida Trib

Gov. Ron DeSantis in his final two years in office has turned Florida into the death penalty capital of the developed world. Since securing their party’s nominations, neither man running to replace him this fall has discussed in detail whether they would keep that distinction.

The death penalty is a topic DeSantis has forced into the minds of voters as he spent his last two years in office rapidly accelerating Florida’s use of its death chambers and overseeing the most executions of any modern-era Florida governor. He’s overseen 18 executions this year, with a 19th and 20th scheduled for early and mid-November, already beating last year’s total, which was a record in Florida’s modern history.

DeSantis also set a morbid milestone when he oversaw the execution of two men in a single day in July. It was the first time a double execution occurred in 60 years. On policy, he signed a bill in 2022 that exempts the Florida Department of Corrections from having to disclose the names of companies that provide lethal injection drugs or the person administering them, further cloaking an already secretive process.

Should they take the governor’s office, the death penalty will be an unavoidable topic for David Jolly and Byron Donalds: The power to sign death warrants lies solely with the governor.

Florida is one of two states that give governors power to decide when and whose death warrant to sign. There is no court scheduling or public explanation for the timing or the name chosen. The governor does not have to provide a reason as to why they chose a certain time. The other state, Pennsylvania, hasn’t executed a prisoner in nearly 30 years.

Byron Donalds

When asked by The Florida Trib to discuss his views with a reporter, Donalds’s campaign sent a statement that said that he “firmly supports the death penalty.”

“As governor, he will ensure that violent criminals swiftly face the full weight of justice and that the families of victims are not left waiting decades for closure,” the statement said. “Florida is not California. In Florida, if you harm our citizens, you will face the consequences.”

The campaign never responded to a request for a full interview.

However, Donalds spoke exclusively with a reporter at Florida A&M University’s The FAMUAN, who asked about whether his approach would differ from DeSantis.

Donalds said Death Row inmates deserve due process and the opportunity to appeal (which they have), but did not comment specifically on the number of executions DeSantis oversaw or if he would continue the pattern he set..

“I’ve not looked at those cases. I think everyone is unique,” he said. “You have to look at them individually for [who] they are, and that’s what I’m going to do as governor.”

David Jolly

Jolly, who did not respond to The Trib’s request for an interview, said the death penalty is “probably the most serious and sober part of being the governor” during a conversation at the Texas Tribune Festival with Florida Trib Executive Editor Nate Monroe in November 2025.

He would not continue DeSantis’s trends, he said.

“I think this is an area that has to be approached with exceeding prudence,” he added, telling First Coast News in May 2026 that he anticipates issuing a moratorium on executions while the “issue is studied.”

“I don’t have a position of absolute clarity because I don’t think our criminal justice system has a pattern of absolute clarity,” he said. “I just think if we’re asking the governor to make a personal signature on a death warrant, that governor should be personally assured of the fidelity of how criminal justice is being applied in the state.”

DeSantis also fought for – and won – the lowest death penalty sentencing threshold in the country. Only eight of 12 jurors are required to vote for the death penalty in order to approve capital punishment.

Jolly said with certainty that he wouldn’t sign a death warrant for someone who didn’t receive a unanimous jury vote.

“The absolute worst thing a governor could do is sign a death warrant where there’s a possibility that that person is not guilty of the crime for which they were convicted, or the possibility that criminal justice was applied with discriminate impact because the person comes from a certain community or looks a certain way,” he told Monroe.

Nichole Manna is The Florida Trib’s senior investigative reporter. You can reach her at nichole.manna@floridatrib.org.

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J.C. Bruce

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In case you missed it…

By J.C. Bruce

Tropic Press

Hello everyone. I have a quick update for you.

Last night, we reported that two different courts blocked Republican efforts to hide the truth about the Hope Florida scandal.

If you missed it, here’s the link:

BREAKING NEWS: Courts say ‘no’ to Republican coverup of Hope Florida report and ads

Today, emboldened by these court rulings, the Florida Democratic Party has dropped yet another ad, this one complete with a flow chart and showing how Attorney General James Uthmeier and U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody left fingerprints all over the scandal.

Both Uthmeier and Moody are unelected. Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed them shortly after the Hope Florida scheme went down. Now they’re on the ballot to keep their jobs.

Democrats announced today that this new ad will run in select congressional districts across the state. But every Florida voter should see it.

You can help make that happen.

Share this with friends. You can either forward it if this newsletter has arrived in your inbox as an email, or hit the share button below. Both work.

Here’s the new ad:

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By J.C. Bruce

Tropic Press

Grifters gotta grift.

So, I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that The Washington Post discovered that Donald Trump’s fundraising for his new ballroom/bomb shelter has turned into a massive pay-to-play scheme in which donors are rewarded with lucrative government contracts and pardons.

Watchdog groups have found that more than half of the corporate donors to the $400 million project have won—or renewed—contracts worth more than $50 billion.

Big tech companies with regulatory issues before the federal government have also been generous. Apple and the chip-maker Nvidia each gave $25 million. Shareholders don’t sit still for that unless they get payback.

And pardons. In his first term, Trump issued 237 pardons and clemencies. So far in his second term, that number has ballooned to more than 1,600.

A big chunk of that is due to his release from prison of the rioters and looters he urged to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, of course.

But others include more lucrative arrangements. For instance, The Post reported that Julio Herrera Velutina, a Venezuelan-Italian citizen accused of bribery, had his charges reduced to a misdemeanor after his 20-something daughter gave $3.5 million to MAGA Inc. The daughter, Isabela Herrera, then committed to giving an additional $2.5 million to the ballroom fund. After which, Trump pardoned him.

Those ballroom donations, by the way, are funneled through a trust that keeps the transactions secret. You can imagine how happy Trump has been about all this leaking out. No wonder he’s been screaming that whistleblowers should be shot.

Bad enough—although hardly surprising—that Trump is grifting his fellow felons and millionaires and billionaires, but you might think, given how blindly faithful they’ve been, that he’d cut his cultish MAGA followers a little slack.

Hahahahaha.

Now comes the news that the iconic red Make America Great Again hats — the required uniform for the Grifter’s slavish tribe — have skyrocketed in price.

This comes after Trump has promised to make America affordable again, too.

When Trump was running for president in 2015, his online merchandising operation sold the caps for $25. Go to the store now, and they are $55—a 120 percent price hike.

Can’t blame tariffs for that. They’re made in California. It’s all pure profit.

Go to his online store, and you can also pick up an official Trump Fight Fight Fight Chronograph Red Agate wristwatch for $899.

He doesn’t appear to be selling smartwatches, however. I mean, given his customers, what's the point?

In other news of the politically weird…

John Morgan, founder of the nation’s largest personal injury law firm, Morgan & Morgan, has long been seen as a supporter of liberal causes. Not unusual for trial lawyers who make their living suing insurance companies and other deep-pocketed corporations.

Morgan famously underwrote successful efforts to raise the state’s minimum wage and legalize marijuana, for instance.

But now, he’s pushing Republican gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds of Naples.

Politico Florida Playbook reports that Morgan hosted a fundraiser for Donalds at his Orlando home last weekend, a gathering that featured a call-in from Donald’s biggest benefactor, Donald Trump, who is also scheduled to fly to Southwest Florida on Friday to stump for Donalds in person.

Why isn’t Morgan backing Democratic nominee David Jolly? Morgan’s answer: Jolly never called. “Don’t ask … don’t get.”

Jolly denies that.

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A major goal of this newsletter is to reach as many Floridians as possible, raise interest in civic affairs, and encourage voting this coming November.

Every person you share this with is one more potential vote for change.

Please share and repost this to help make Florida — and America — genuinely great again.

Thanks.

J.C. Bruce

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Subscribe now

By J.C. Bruce

Tropic Press

Florida courts clobbered the Republican Party twice today.

One judge denied the G.O.P.’s scheme to remove a Democratic Party ad focused on the Hope Florida scandal, while an appeals court refused to ban publication of the grand jury report that set off the whole hubbub.

You may be curious about the ad and why Republicans are so eager to have it censored, just as they tried to bury a grand jury report that found top Republican officials “misappropriated” $10 million that should have gone to sick children.

I’ve downloaded the ad, and I’ve posted it below for your viewing pleasure. I think you’ll see why it’s giving Attorney General James Uthmeier and others so much heartburn.

Enjoy watching it. And then, here’s a suggestion: After you do, forward this email to as many friends as you can think of. And then, ask them to forward it to their friends, too.

If we’re clever about this, in no time at all, everyone in Florida will have a chance to see the ad that Republicans were so desperate to keep under wraps. What fun!

Here goes:

Curious about the grand jury report that was leaked after Gov. Ron DeSantis and his minions worked so hard to keep it secret? You can read it and share it with your friends, too, when you forward this email.

Here’s the link:

Hope Florida Grand Jury Report

Please, share this with everyone you can think of. This is how we beat the censors and the book banners and all that Don’t Say Gay madness. This is how we take our state back.

Also, here’s the official statement from the Florida Democratic Party regarding today’s court proceedings:

By the way, that ad, it was only booked on TV stations in Central Florida. But thanks to the power of the internet and readers of this newsletter, it can now be viewed statewide.

This is how you can be part of the solution. Forward all this to your friends.

Let’s beat the censors.

Thanks,

J.C. Bruce

Please share this

A major goal of this newsletter is to reach as many Floridians as possible, raise interest in civic affairs, and encourage voting this coming November.

Every person you share this with is one more potential vote for change.

Please share and repost to help make Florida — and America — better for all of us.

Share Tropic Press: J.C. Bruce