Note: Our writers are all active in campaigns in one form or another, so the timing of this column might be sporadic the next few days.
This Ron DeSantis advertisement is about the most offensive one to secular people we have seen in recent Florida history. The irony being, the GOP as our Kartik Krishnaiyer has repeatedly pointed out the GOP is now more dependent on the votes of non-church going Americans than at any point since the party was formed in the 1850’s. Reconciling this rhetoric with an increasingly secular party is difficult, but DeSantis seems to be able to thread the needle on any number of things with his meandering ideology and elevated performance artistry.
While DeSantis plays god’s messenger on earth, antisemitism is continuing run rampant throughout Florida. Pushed by some of the very same forces DeSantis counts on for his base of support, this growing, open hatred directed at Jewish-Americans has gone unchecked by DeSantis, despite the willingness of others in his party to push back on it. The past few days, thousands of anti-Semitic mailers were distributed in Pinellas County. DeSantis’ Democratic opponent Charlie Crist has made a strong statement once again calling the Governor out:
“Our state is witnessing a rise in anti-Semitism and yet again Governor Ron DeSantis refuses to lift a finger to stop it.
“Florida deserves a governor who will fight to put an end to hate and division, and condemn these vile acts. Make no mistake I will be that governor.
“Anti-Semitism should not have a home in the Sunshine State.”
Charlie Crist November 4, 2022
Democrats made minimal gains in Saturday’s Early Voting, picking up a net of about 7,000 votes in Broward County, 3,000 votes in Orange and minimizing losses elsewhere. However, during the week, numbers from counties like Pasco, Lee and Brevard were so bad for the Democrats, that they need a HUGE spike today in returned VBM’s and early votes from urban counties to have any chance at winning Tuesday’s statewide races. And the bottom line to this point has been, Miami-Dade, Hillsborough and Duval have all been huge problem areas for party turnout.
What is especially frustrating about Florida is that pre-Election Day voter turnout among self-identified Democrats is significantly higher in states like Georgia, Wisconsin and North Carolina than in Florida. The GOP is seeing bigger spikes in turnout in places like Ohio, Texas and even New York than in Florida. This having been said, the GOP doesn’t need a heavy turnout to win this election in Florida – the Democrats do, and thus far GOP turnout while being just average is much better than the anemic numbers from Democrats. So DeSantis likely goes into Election Day with a HUGE advantage, as do other GOP statewide candidates.
The Florida Squeeze 