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Last Call for 12.2.25 – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida

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Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

The Florida Chamber’s 2026 Legislative Fly-In is set for Jan. 13-14 in Tallahassee, gathering business leaders, policymakers and state officials for two days of briefings as the 2026 Legislative Session gets underway.

The annual event typically serves as an early look at the political and economic issues likely to dominate the coming months, with sessions led by Chamber analysts, legislative leadership and members of the Florida Cabinet.

This year’s program adds a new name: Commerce Secretary J. Alex Kelly.

Kelly’s segment, announced Tuesday, will focus on the state’s strategy to expand the manufacturing sector, strengthen economic development tools, and “unlock the competitive advantages of Florida’s rural communities.”

The Fly-In agenda generally blends political forecasting with policy deep dives.

Last year’s program included updates on tax and budget policy, labor regulations, early learning, aerospace, insurance litigation trends, a briefing on leadership priorities from Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez and a keynote address from Gov. Ron DeSantis.

While a full agenda hasn’t been released, the Chamber said this year’s program will likewise “bring together the leaders who will define Florida’s next chapter of growth and competitiveness.”

Evening Reads

—“Inside Donald Trump’s push to make the White House ballroom as big as possible” via Luke Broadwater of The New York Times

—“Crypto won big in 2024. AI is angling to do the same in 2026” via Henry Burke of Rolling Stone

—“Department of War Crimes” via Rebecca Crosby and Noel Sims of Popular Information

—“DOGE isn’t dead. Here’s what its operatives are doing now” via Makena Kelly and Vittoria Elliott of WIRED

—“Former President of Honduras is freed from prison after Trump pardon” via William K. Rashbaum, Maggie Haberman, Kenneth P. Vogel and Jonah E. Bromwich of The New York Times

—“Why Republicans are sweating Tuesday’s Special Election in Trump country” via Dan Merica of The Washington Post

—“Plaintiffs from last Florida redistricting challenge say lawmakers shouldn’t open ‘Pandora’s box’ again” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics

—“Manatee protection may be eroded under Trump administration’s proposed changes to Endangered Species Act” via Patrick Connolly of the Orlando Sentinel

—“Four property tax bills advance to last House committee despite sustained worry over local shortfalls” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics

—“Fears of cuts to fire departments and emergency services plague Florida property tax proposals” via Liv Caputo of the Florida Phoenix

Quote of the Day

“When the maps don’t reflect our growth, the consequences are real.”

— Voter Nancy Batista, on a proposed mid-decade redraw of Florida’s congressional map.

Put it on the Tab

Look to your left, then look to your right. If you see one of these people at your happy hour haunt, flag down the bartender and put one of these on your tab. Recipes included, just in case the Cocktail Codex fell into the well.

It’s unclear whether the House State Affairs Committee should get a pat on the back or a Backfire, but they did greenlight four proposed constitutional amendments to overhaul Florida’s property tax framework.

Raise an L’Alliance to Florida Poly and The Skyway Organization for teaming up to spark new developments in advanced manufacturing, materials science, aerospace and workforce development.

The UFC is one Committee stop closer to celebrating specialty license plates with a round of Great Apricot Smackdowns.

Breakthrough Insights

Tune In

Gators face tough test at Duke

The defending national champion Florida Gators travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, to face fourth-ranked Duke tonight (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). 

Florida, ranked 10th in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll, has opened the season with five wins and a pair of losses, most recently, an 84-80 defeat by TCU. Tonight’s game is part of the ACC/SEC Challenge, a two-day event that pits teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference against teams from the Southeastern Conference. Other matchups in the event include North Carolina playing at Kentucky and Florida State hosting Georgia.

The Gators have struggled more than expected this season. With their starting frontcourt back, the backcourt has yet to coalesce fully. In games in which they have played their best, the combination of Xaivian Lee and Boogie Fland has led Florida to some impressive victories. 

Lee scored 20 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished four assists in the victory over Providence on Friday. Fland was a standout against Florida State, scoring a season-high 18 points in the win over the Seminoles.

However, the duo has been inconsistent, particularly in turnovers. They will have to take care of the ball against a highly-ranked team in a very difficult road environment.

Duke has opened the season with eight straight wins, including over ranked teams Kansas and Arkansas. Standout freshman Cameron Boozer leads the Blue Devils, scoring 22.9 points and grabbing 9.8 rebounds per game.

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Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.



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Miles Davis tapped to lead School Board organizing workshop at national LGBTQ conference

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Miles Davis is taking his Florida-focused organizing playbook to the national stage.

Davis, Policy Director at PRISM Florida and Director of Advocacy and Communications at SAVE, has been selected to present a workshop at the 2026 Creating Change Conference, the largest annual LGBTQ advocacy and movement-building convention.

It’s a major nod to his rising role in Florida’s LGBTQ policy landscape.

The National LGBTQ Task Force, which organizes the conference, announced that Davis will present his session, “School Board Organizing 101.” His proposal rose to the top of more than 550 submissions competing for roughly 140 slots, a press note said, making this year’s conference one of the most competitive program cycles in the event’s history.

His workshop will be scheduled during the Jan. 21-24 gathering in Washington, D.C.

Davis said his selection caps a strong year for PRISM Florida, where he helped shepherd the organization’s first-ever bill (HB 331) into the Legislature. The measure, sponsored by Tampa Democratic Rep. Dianne Hart, would restore local oversight over reproductive health and HIV/AIDS instruction, undoing changes enacted under a 2023 expansion to Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” law, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics.

Davis’ workshop draws directly from that work and aims to train LGBTQ youth, families and advocates in how local boards operate, how public comment can shape decisions and how communities can mobilize around issues like book access, inclusive classrooms and student safety.

“School boards are where the real battles over student safety, book access, and inclusive classrooms are happening,” Davis said. “I’m honored to bring this training to Creating Change and help our community build the skills to show up, speak out, and win — especially as PRISM advances legislation like HB 331 that returns power to our local communities.”

Davis’ profile has grown in recent years, during which he jumped from working on the campaigns and legislative teams of lawmakers like Hart and Miami Gardens Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones to working in key roles for organizations like America Votes, PRISM and SAVE.

The National LGBTQ Task Force, founded in 1973, is one of the nation’s oldest LGBTQ advocacy organizations. It focuses on advancing civil rights through federal policy work, grassroots engagement and leadership development.

Its Creating Change Conference draws thousands for four days of training and strategy-building yearly, a press note said.



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Kevin Steele seeks insight from conservative leaders at Rick Scott-led summit

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State Rep. Kevin Steele’s campaign for Chief Financial Officer already enjoys political support from U.S. Sen. Rick Scott. The Dade City Republican attended a summit headlined by the Senator to also gain some policy insight and mentoring.

Steele was among the attendees for the Rescuing the American Dream summit held on Thursday in Washington, D.C. He said it was a quest for knowledge that drew him to Capitol Hill to hear the discussion.

“The way you do things better in the future is by learning from people who have already accomplished something,” Steele told Florida Politics at the event.

Scott gave a shoutout to Steele from the stage. The Governor already endorsed Steele, who is challenging the appointed Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia in 2026. At the summit, Scott both promoted conservative successes in the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term and laid out visions on issues from health care reform to cryptocurrency.

Steele called the panel discussions “amazing” and instructive on tackling affordability issues in Florida.

“If we don’t start addressing those things head first, we’re going to fall behind,” Steele said. “I think we’ve lost several million jobs in the state of Florida over the past six or seven years. Learning from Rick Scott and how to bring jobs back to the state is a good thing. And I think that we need to start tackling some of the big, big things that we need to attack.”

That includes addressing property insurance premiums head on and evaluating the property tax situation.

While he will be challenging a Republican incumbent in a Primary, Steele voiced caution at comparing his philosophy too directly with Ingoglia, a former Republican Party of Florida Chair with a history of animus with Scott.

But he did suggest Ingoglia’s recent scrutinizing of local governments may be starting at the wrong place when it comes to cutting spending.

“We need to start focusing on state down, instead of going to a county and pointing out flaws there,” Steele said. “There’s a lot of issues at the state level that we can address, some of which we are, some of which I’ve submitted different bills to address. I think that there’s a lot of waste and abuse at the state level that we can focus on.”



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Darren Soto refuses to call for Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick’s resignation

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U.S. Rep. Darren Soto is refusing to say whether indicted U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick should vacate her seat in Congress.

Video obtained by Florida Politics shows Soto being confronted on Capitol Hill. “Will you call on Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick to resign?” the videographer asks.

Initially, Soto remains silent, but the questioner suggests that silence shows “support” for someone who “stole $5 million in health care funds for the most vulnerable.” The Kissimmee Democrat then responds but continues walking away from the camera. He then conflates a censure motion against U.S. Rep. Cory Mills, a New Smyrna Beach Republican, and Cherfilus-McCormick, a Miramar Democrat.

“Both Mills and Cherfilus-McCormick, both will have due process. Thank you,” Soto said.

Both Cherfilus-McCormick and Mills remain the subjects of ongoing House Ethics Committee investigations. But only Cherfilus-McCormick now faces criminal prosecution for alleged financial crimes.

A grand jury in November indicted Cherfilus-McCormick on charges she stole $5 million in disaster relief funds to finance her 2021 congressional campaign.

The indictment alleges that Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, secured funding intended for a COVID vaccine distribution program, but when overpayments were made, she routed the spending through several accounts that later donated the funds as campaign contributions.

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said pursuant to House rules that Cherfilus-McCormick had to give up her ranking status on the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. Local Democrats have started to issue calls for the Miramar Democrat’s resignation. But there have been no calls from Democratic members of Congress.

U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, a Sarasota Republican, has said if she won’t resign, he will move for her expulsion.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), which lists Soto as a target in 2026, slammed Soto’s unwillingness to criticize a fellow Democrat.

“Darren Soto’s refusal to call on Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick to resign is unacceptable,” said NRCC spokesperson Maureen O’Toole. “Floridians deserve a representative who fights for them, not his taxpayer-thieving colleague.”



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