By J.C. Bruce
With the notable exception of Florida, most of the nation expressed its revulsion toward the Republican Party in a gigantic upchuck this week.
So, naturally, in true Florida Man fashion, two of the state’s leading political lights are now rumored to be on a flight path to contend for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination.
Interesting if true; true if interesting, as far as the gossip mill is concerned.
Florida’s midterm election results, to put it gently, seem a bit out of step with the rest of America, where a bluenami swept over the continent while Florida’s red seawall, for the most part, held firm.
This, in some minds, is prima facie evidence that if the G.O.P. wants to turn around its fortunes, that journey begins on our peninsula, hence the rumors about Secretary of State Marco Rubio and soon-to-be ex-Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Besides being from Florida and Republicans, what exactly is their appeal?
Well, for one thing, Rubio is now actually qualified to run, something that had been a bit in doubt for a hot minute until the Supreme Court intervened.
He was born in Miami to parents who were not U.S. citizens. And Donald Trump, who hates, hates, hates birthright citizenship, had issued an executive order to render that provision of the Constitution invalid.
The Supreme Court, however, decided that not even Trump has the authority to unilaterally change our nation’s governing document no matter how much he likes to ignore it. So, good luck for Rubio; he can run if he wants to.
But does he?
The British newspaper The Independent, and at least two other papers, say he is and that he’s making plans to resign as Secretary of State to put some space between himself and Trump’s insanity.
Although Rubio has flat-out denied it to The New York Times. But we’ll see.
Then there’s lame-duck Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Washington Post says he is also thinking about another run for the White House, even though Trump clobbered him the last time he threw his elevator boots into the ring.
However, after the Post published its initial story, DeSantis denied it on social media. Again, time will tell.
But why would these Florida Men think they stood a snowball’s chance on a (pick your hot city) summer sidewalk?
Rubio, who also ran for the Republican nomination earlier, has turned into a slavish loyalist to Trump, so were he to consider bolting to take another shot at the Oval Office, it might make sense that he should do it sooner rather than later to find something, anything, to hang his hat on — while taking great care to ensure said hat did not say Make America Great Again.
But still. He’s enabled Trump’s worst instincts for two years. That’s hard to overlook.
As for DeSantis, he’ll be a free agent in a few weeks when his term is up. Why he might think his performance as a governor would boost his chances in the eyes of a blue-tilting nation is a bit of a puzzle, though.
Can he possibly think his record as a Trump Mini-Me will work for him — all that building immigrant concentration camps, gerrymandering, book banning, Don’t Say Gay laws, and, let’s not forget, laundering money through his wife's charity—Hope Florida—for political purposes?
What would his campaign slogan be? Just like Trump, only shorter?
Might play in the universe of MAGA primary voters, but it is precisely what the saner portion of the nation’s population just made crystal clear they are done with.
But. Florida Men. Who knows?
Your thoughts, please…
That Was the Week That Was
It wasn’t all doom and gloom — Florida Dems had some notable wins and beat the gerrymander
Sure, Florida Republicans won all the major statewide offices, including the governorship and the U.S. Senate seat, and passed a major property tax ballot measure, and maintained control of the Legislature.
But Democratic legislative candidates had a blue tidal event of their own, winning 17 more seats in the Florida House and denying Republicans a supermajority. They also fended off DeSantis’ efforts to cut the number of Democrats in Congress in half.
It wasn’t the breathtaking blue wave that washed over some red states, but it’s not nothing, and party leaders believe it is momentum to build on.
Florida Democratic House leader unsure of special session on property taxes
The new leader of the now-larger House Democratic caucus hopes her GOP leadership colleagues will decline Gov. Ron DeSantis’ call for a special legislative session to implement Amendment 3, after it passed into Florida law earlier this week.
DeSantis has called for a special session before the end of the year to implement the far-reaching homestead property tax reduction measure approved Tuesday by more than 62% of Florida voters. DeSantis said in a press conference that he wants lawmakers to prevent local governments from doing “an end-run around the amendment” by changing how they collect revenue from their constituents.
State economists have estimated that local government revenues could be reduced ultimately by as much as $12 billion five years after the amendment goes into effect.
“I am hoping that this will not be a special session,” Florida House Democratic Leader Designate Christine Hunschofsky said during a remote press conference with reporters. “Those haven’t always worked out so well.”
South Florida U.S. Attorney calls it quits
The U.S. attorney for South Florida overseeing Trump’s retribution campaign has resigned amid growing dissatisfaction with his performance, people familiar with the situation told The New York Times. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Jason Reding Quiñones's departure on social media. He is among the first of what is expected to be a succession of departures at the Justice Department after the midterm elections.
CAIR shuts down Florida chapter after state declares it a terrorist organization
A federal judge last week denied a request from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) not to be labeled a “domestic terrorist” organization under a new state law.
While acknowledging that the organization is shutting down because of the law, the group announced plans to appeal the decision by U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor of the Northern District of Florida.
Meme of the Week
Quote of the Week
"To call it a wave, I don't think would be fully accurate. It's the political equivalent of a meteor strike that went all around the United States, blue states, red states, everything in between.”
— Gov. Ron DeSantis
Letter of the Week
While very disappointed (but not surprised) by the Florida vote, I'm extremely heartened by the rest of the country. I just hope the Democrats focus on the voters' issues--affordability, end the unnecessary war, rein in ICE--and forget about impeachment. Too distracting, too divisive, and it's not gonna change any MAGA minds. Provide some real achievements, and please, please, please talk about them--the Dems need to get much, much better at messaging about the kitchen table successes they have. KISS (keep it simple, stupid).
—Marcy Galbreath
Looking Ahead
When I’m not writing this newsletter, I also scribble a current events column for Florida Weekly. This coming week, for instance, I explain why diphthongs are evil. 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. 8. Today is the start of Diwali, a five-day Festival of Lights celebrated by adherents of Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism.
Nov. 9. World Freedom Day, commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Nov. 10. For you Leathernecks out there, happy birthday. The Continental Congress created the United States Marine Corps on this day in 1775.
Nov. 11. Veterans Day memorializes all living and deceased military veterans. It is always celebrated on Nov. 11—marking the “11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month”—the time in 1918 when World War I ended.
Nov. 12. American Fancy Rat and Mouse Day. The “fancy” doesn’t mean all duded up. It just means domesticated. Here in Florida, gigantic fancy rats roam the Kissimmee area.
Nov. 13. Friday the 13th. There are three Friday the 13ths in 2026, which, mathematically, is the most you can possibly have in a given year. Now you know.
Nov. 14. National Pickle Day. Celebrating the Gherkin, the best pickle in the world, we so declare right here for the first time ever. Others may celebrate dills and whatnot; the Gherkin is supreme.
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.
BREAKING NEWS: Trump replaces his chief of staff, Floridian Susie Wiles. Will more heads roll?
Where was the blue tsunami in Florida? It was more like a blue puddle. Who to blame?
Midterm Election Update--Republican blame game begins in the wake of the blue tsunami
Blue tsunami washes over America as Democrats retake U.S. House and Senate
ELECTION UPDATE: Democrats capture U.S. House of Representatives; Donalds, Moody win in Florida
Be a superhero: Vote, if you haven’t already, and tell your friends to be heroes too
Trump wants to punish the press with lawsuits, but it is up to us to protect the First Amendment
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DeSantis rigged his way into a second term Governor. HE put refugees on a plane and it land to a city these humans knew nothing of their fate! DeSantis is not an honest man, his laundering money to stop what Floridians wanted. He's not WHAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WANT AS THEIR LEADER!! NOT ANOTHER TRUMP PLEASE NO!!!
I voted against Rubio and DeSantis running, but when you think about it maybe it would be in our best interest if either of them DID! Lots of name recognition and wide-spread contempt... A good Dem ticket should be able to have them for lunch...