Sunburn â The morning read of whatâs hot in Florida politics â 5.10.21
Good Monday morning.
Cody McCloud, press secretary to Gov.
Ron DeSantis, is exiting the comms shop to become Legislative Affairs Director at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
State Rep.
Ben Diamond is entering the race for Florida’s 13th Congressional District â a seat being vacated by incumbent
Charlie Crist, who
jumped into the 2022 gubernatorial contest Tuesday.
The St. Petersburg Democrat is set to make the announcement today at USF St. Pete, where he will be joined by several local politicos, including Pinellas County Commissioners
Pat Gerard and
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Hello and welcome to Monday.
Federal court here we come The post-session lawsuit count keeps on rising.
Cap imposed Late Friday afternoon, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law that places a $3,000 limit on contributions to political committees that push citizen initiatives. It wasn’t a surprise since DeSantis signaled a week ago that he would approve the measure boosted by the Florida Chamber of Commerce even though a string of court decisions has found campaign donations are protected under the First Amendment.
Rep.
Ramon Alexander will file Monday to take the reins of the House Democratic Caucus for the 2023-24 term.
The Representative from Tallahassee has the support of dozens from the caucus. He decided “absolutely yes” after taking the recommendations from his colleagues into very serious consideration in talks with his wife and young family, he told Florida Politics.
Rep.
Ben Diamond is currently lined up to lead the caucus during the 2023-24 term. However, the St. Petersburg Democrat
announced Monday morning that he would run to succeed U.S. Rep.
Charlie Crist as the Congressman makes his third bid for Governor.
Florida s Crist becomes first prominent Democrat to challenge DeSantis
Updated
TALLAHASSEE Rep. Charlie Crist, the former Florida governor who wound up leaving the Republican Party amid the tea party backlash aimed at Barack Obama, became the first prominent Democrat in the state to announce a bid to knock off incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis.
But Crist’s Tuesday announcement replete with a gospel choir and flags fluttering in the wind nearly got overshadowed by rival Democrats also planning their own challenges.
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who held a press conference to call on DeSantis to veto a long line of bills, all but guaranteed Tuesday that she is running for governor. And Rep. Val Demings put out a biographical video on her social media account that appeared tailor-made for an expected bid.