WEEKLY DEBRIEF: Midterm election ballots are set, and Democrats have turned out en masse
Your curated summary of the top news from the previous week, plus a look ahead to coming events. And more.
That Was The Week That Was
Florida’s 2026 midterm elections will see a nearly full field of Democratic candidates in races ranging from governor to U.S. Senate down to state House and Senate districts.
A few months ago, the situation for Democrats looked bleak, especially in the Legislature, where more than 50 seats had no Democratic candidates at all.
That changed dramatically thanks to the Herculean efforts of volunteers, notably the political action committee run by Naples activist Margie Stein and her Blue Florida: Project 140, which spent the intervening weeks finding and funding Democrats willing to run.
According to the Florida Secretary of State’s website, Democrats will be on the ballot for all but one state Senate race and all but 12 state House seats. Of note: Democrats are unopposed by Republicans in two state Senate districts and 18 state House seats.
Do the math, and that means Democrats are outperforming Republicans in fielding candidates for the state Legislature 92 percent to 86 percent.
That is an accomplishment that was virtually unimaginable a few short months ago.
“Overall, we are very pleased that we recruited 38 of the 141 candidates running in Florida House races,” Stein said in a written statement. “These 38 candidates represent about 25% of the total candidates running in State House races.
“We are used to 100% success (having done this in 2020 and 2024) and that is the standard we hold. But we do consider 90% to be a good outcome. It is certainly better than leaving 53 Congressional, House and Senate races without Dem candidates as occurred in Nov 2022. (the last midterm).”
Having candidates on the ballot, even in red districts, is crucial for voter turnout as local candidates help get out the vote, which eventually rolls up to larger turnouts for the big statewide races.
“We believe that our candidates’ participation will help the top of the ticket, the Florida Democratic Party and the national party as well,” Stein said. “Perhaps they will help elect the next Democratic governor and senator in Florida.”
Democrats will face considerable headwinds in congressional races, though, because of the gerrymandering perpetrated by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature designed to reduce the number of so-called safe Democratic seats by half. Though the DeSantis map clearly violated—at the very least—the intent of the state’s Fair Districts amendments, the Florida Supreme Court upheld it. All the judges on that court are Republicans, most appointed by DeSantis.
Here’s a complete list of candidates for all offices:
https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/candidates/CanList.asp?elecid=20261103-GEN&OfficeCode=GOV
Stein also wanted to send a shout-out to Tropic Press subscribers for your help during the runup to this election:
“Your stories in the Tropic Press and your readers’ engagement were without question critical to our success both as donors and folks who stepped up to run as candidates. We can't thank them enough.”
Why David Jolly picked Gwen Graham as his running mate
A Democratic ticket seeking to break the GOP’s decades-long hold on Florida’s governor’s mansion says affordability, housing and education will be at the center of its campaign.
Former Congressman David Jolly recently selected former Congresswoman Gwen Graham as his running mate, becoming the first major gubernatorial candidate to announce a lieutenant governor pick in the 2026 race.
Why did David Jolly choose Gwen Graham as his running mate?
Jolly said he wanted more than a traditional lieutenant governor candidate.
“I wanted to find a governing partner capable of being governor of the state, not just lieutenant governor,” Jolly said.
Florida Hispanics having second thoughts about Trump
One in five Hispanic voters in Florida who voted for Donald Trump in the last presidential election now say they wouldn’t vote for him again.
That disenchantment could have significant ramifications for Republican candidates in the coming midterm elections.
The survey comes from UnidosUS and was conducted jointly by the Democratic-leaning polling firm BSP Research and Shaw & Co. Research, a Republican polling firm.
It suggests that 51% of Hispanic voters in Florida disapprove of Trump’s performance in office, while 41% approve. It also finds that 72% of Hispanic voters in Florida are concerned that Congress is not exercising its checks-and-balances role but is giving too much authority to the executive branch. That includes 64% of Cuban Americans in Florida.
New lawsuit claims proposed property tax amendment is biased
A week after the Florida Legislature placed a constitutional amendment aimed at reducing homestead property taxes on the statewide ballot, a nonprofit group has filed a lawsuit seeking a declaration that the ballot language is “unconstitutionally biased, misleading and inaccurate.”
The action also asks the court to direct Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier to redraft the language before it goes to the voters in November.
The lawsuit was filed in the Second Judicial Circuit in Leon County by Save Our Voters, a not-for-profit social welfare group, and two South Florida residents.
Meme of the Week
Quote of the Week
“You don’t always get cycles like this where people are so exhausted they say, ‘Burn the ships, I don’t care about political affiliation. People are just looking for some goodness in our politics.”
—David Jolly
Letter of the Week
Can a tiger really change its stripes? That is what I wonder about Jolly. I read an article about him on PBS, and since it wasn't an overnight change and since Democrats don't have another option, Jolly is our Democratic candidate. But Bryon Donalds? Talk about scraping the bottom of the barrel. Remember the good old days when crooks couldn't be elected to a public servant post? Now, it's practically a job requirement. No wonder Florida has become FloriDUH. I'm a native of Florida, but if Donalds becomes our governor, leaving the state is an option for me.
—Janet Robinson
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.
June 14. Flag Day. On this day in 1774, the Second Continental Congress adopted Old Glory as the national banner.
June 15 is Global Wind Day. Appropriately, this event, dedicated to discovering wind energy, comes right after the start of Hurricane Season.
June 16 is, oddly, both Fresh Veggies Day and Cannoli Day. The Godfather says: Drop the veggies and keep the cannoli.
June 18 is Sushi Day. No matter what you’ve been told, sushi is actually just a fancy name for fishing bait, not human food. I’ll be starving during the Zombie Apocalypse before raw fish enters my mouth.
June 19. Juneteenth is a federal holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the United States. June 19, 1865, is the day when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, were finally told they were free. It is unclear if this will be taught in Florida schools since the Florida Legislature insists that slavery wasn’t all bad.
June 20. National Bald Eagle Day. The bald eagle is the nation’s official avian. The flamingo should be Florida’s official bird, but our state Legislature can’t seem to get around to naming it. It’s too busy rewriting history.
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.
Florida’s Republican Supreme Court rejects efforts to block the state’s gerrymandering
ASK THE BIRD: Are we great again yet? What makes you think we never were?
Since he’s a Florida resident, could Donald Trump be Baker Acted?
Trump’s mind seems evidence-free. Where are the responsible adults?
Could Donald Trump demolish Lady Liberty if he wanted to? First the East Wing, then her?
Thanks for your support
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed if you are a rational person living in the Free State of Florida, but there are plenty of smart, reasonable people just like you here. The purpose of this newsletter and the Tropic Press website is to provide a source of news and commentary that shines a light through this irrational fog.
Thank you for your support as a subscriber. It is invaluable. This is especially so for those of you who have chosen to upgrade to paid subscriptions. Your contributions are making this possible.
J.C. Bruce
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Donalds and Moody are both vulnerable in this political climate. We can do this!!
Ads for Byron Donalds keep popping up on my YouTube feeds. (I don't watch network television or have any social media accounts.) If what he says is popular, I would have to conclude that the entire state flunked social studies. I asked ChatGPT what the USA's Founding Fathers meant by "freedom." The response below is lengthy. But I presume that it is simply a review for educated Americans:
The Founding Fathers did not all mean exactly the same thing by "freedom." Figures like Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Washington, and Alexander Hamilton sometimes disagreed sharply. But several core ideas recur in their writings. 1. Freedom meant liberty from arbitrary government power. The American Revolution was largely a reaction against what colonists saw as arbitrary rule by the British Crown and Parliament. To them, freedom meant not being subject to a ruler's unchecked will. This idea appears in the American Revolution and the Constitutional Convention: government should be limited by laws and divided into branches so that no one person or faction could dominate. For many Founders, freedom did not mean doing whatever one wishes. It meant living under laws made through legitimate, representative government. 2. Freedom meant protection of natural rights. The Declaration of Independence famously states that people possess unalienable rights: Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. This reflects the influence of John Locke, who argued that individuals possess natural rights that governments exist to protect, not create. Jefferson wrote that governments derive "their just powers from the consent of the governed." Thus, freedom required: Consent to government, Protection of rights, The ability to replace oppressive governments 3. Freedom meant self-government and civic virtue. Many Founders believed liberty could survive only if citizens were virtuous and engaged. Madison worried about factions, while Washington warned against excessive partisanship in his farewell address. To them, freedom required: Participation in public life, Respect for the rule of law, Personal responsibility. This republican concept of liberty came partly from classical Rome and thinkers like Montesquieu. 4. Freedom had limits—and contradictions. The Founders' concept of freedom was not universally applied. Many who championed liberty also tolerated or participated in slavery. For example: Jefferson owned enslaved people. Washington owned enslaved people during much of his life. The Constitution originally accommodated slavery through compromises such as the Three-Fifths Compromise. Women generally lacked political rights, and Native Americans were often excluded from the political community. As a result, historians often distinguish between: The ideals of freedom articulated by the Founders and the limited application of those ideals in practice. Different kinds of freedom: Modern scholars sometimes describe two strands of liberty among the Founders: Negative liberty: freedom from government interference. Republican liberty: freedom from domination or arbitrary power, sustained through self-government. The Founders generally embraced both. In summary, when the Founding Fathers spoke of "freedom," they usually meant a condition in which individuals possess natural rights and live under a government of laws and consent rather than arbitrary power—not unlimited personal autonomy in the modern sense. Their understanding of freedom was deeply influential, but also incomplete and unevenly applied.