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

First Shot

With Senate President Ben Albritton eager to move quickly on his “rural renaissance” agenda, the Florida Senate is lining up early floor action when the 2026 Legislative Session gavels in next month.

The 60-day Session is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Jan. 13, when Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers his annual State of the State address. According to a tentative calendar posted by the Senate, floor Sessions are also planned for Jan. 14 and Jan. 15.

Albritton has said he expects the Senate to take up his rural renaissance package during the opening week. The proposal, SB 250, sponsored by Tallahassee Republican Sen. Corey Simon, aims to boost health care access, education, transportation, and economic development in rural communities.

A similar Senate-backed package advanced during the 2025 Session but stalled after being sliced into multiple bills in the House.

Senate Committees expect to meet throughout the first two weeks of Session, with another floor Session tentatively set for Jan. 22. As of Monday morning, the House had not yet posted its initial schedule.

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The Senate is bringing back its Foodie Frolic series for the 2026 Legislative Session, continuing an initiative that blends culinary flair with workforce development.

Now entering its fourth year, the series was launched under former Senate President Kathleen Passidomo to spotlight career and technical education programs tied to real-world job opportunities. Past events have featured student chefs from institutions such as Florida State University, the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management, Keiser University, and Lively Technical College.

This year’s Foodie Frolics will place a special focus on Feeding Florida and its network of food banks, highlighting culinary workforce training, job placement, and disaster-response programs. Several events will showcase students working through Feeding Florida partners, with an emphasis on how food distribution efforts can double as pathways to employment.

The series kicks off on Opening Day, Jan. 13, with a luncheon for Senators and their families hosted by Feeding South Florida and the Treasure Coast Food Bank. Additional luncheons and receptions are scheduled throughout February, including events featuring Florida Gulf Coast University and a special recognition lunch honoring Senate spouses.

All events are set to take place at the Senate Portico, with exact times to be announced closer to each date.

Evening Reads

—“2025 was the year everything changed for the U.S. and China” via Joshua Keating of Vox

—”Donald Trump’s DNA dragnet: The law that turns us all into suspects” via Alex Ashley of Rolling Stone

—“CBS and CNN are being sacrificed to Trump” via Franklin Foer of The Atlantic

—”‘He was poisoned.’ Toxic fumes on planes blamed for deaths of pilots and crew” via Benjamin Katz of The Wall Street Journal

—”An exile of luxury and impunity for the fallen Syrian dictator” via Erika Solomon, Christiaan Triebert, Haley Willis and Ahmad Mhidi of The New York Times

—”They survived a Cybertruck crash. Then a fire killed them.” via Faiz Siddiqui and Artur Galocha of The Washington Post

—”OpenAI’s child exploitation reports increased sharply this year” via Maddy Varner of WIRED

—“‘It felt like an endless maze:’ An inside account of a Tallahassee economic development defeat” via Red Tape Florida

—“Tom Leek will carry AI bill of rights prioritized by Gov. Ron DeSantis” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics

—”Joe Gruters files kratom bill amid growing government scrutiny” via Jesse Mendoza of Florida Politics

Quote of the Day

“Ratioing? … That’s the new metric of having a spirit of power? No, it’s the metric of being an asshole. That’s what it is.”

— U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds at the Turning Point USA America Fest.

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.

Serve Sen. Joe Gruters a Silly Scandal for carrying a bill that would tighten regulations on the heavily scrutinized kratom.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings gets a Winter Wonderland for breaking records in the county’s 2025 toy drive.

The employees at Florida-based Heritage Insurance get a round of Angel’s Delight for spreading Christmas spirit to hundreds of needy kids and seniors.

Breakthrough Insights

Tune In

The Orlando Magic play their third straight road game as they travel to face the Golden State Warriors tonight (10 p.m. ET, FanDuel Sports Network-Florida).

Orlando (16-12) is coming off a 128-127 overtime victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday. Desmond Bane scored 32 points, including the game-winning layup to clinch the victory.

The Magic is tied with Toronto for fifth place in the Eastern Conference playoff standings. If the playoffs began tonight, Orlando would have an automatic bid to the Eastern Conference playoffs, but every game is essential. Orlando sits a game and a half ahead of the Miami Heat, who hold the seventh spot and would qualify for the play-in tournament.

Golden State (14-15) is in a similar situation. The Warriors are eighth in the Western Conference, which would place them in the play-in tournament if the season ended today.

Steph Curry continues to lead the Warriors in scoring (25.2 points per game), while former Miami Heat player Jimmy Butler also averages more than 20 points per game (23.5). No other player on the Warriors roster averages as many as 14 points per game.

After tonight‘s game, the Magic move up the coast to face the Portland Trailblazers tomorrow before returning home to Orlando to face the Charlotte Hornets on Friday.

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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.

Democrat Robin Peguero’s campaign to supplant Republican U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar next year just added an endorsement from the political arm of the Congressional Black Caucus.

The Congressional Black Caucus PAC (CBC PAC), which represents 62 members of the federal Legislature, said it’s backing Peguero, whom it described as “the commonsense leader we need in Congress.”

“Robin Peguero has dedicated his career to public service,” the group said in a statement, “from prosecuting homicides in Miami to investigating the violent insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on January 6.”

Peguero, a self-described Afro-Latino born to Dominican and Ecuadorian immigrant parents, also carries support from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ BOLD PAC. According to his campaign, only two sitting members of Congress hold endorsements from both CBC PAC and BOLD PAC.

The new nod joins others from Miami-Dade School Board member Joe Geller, Key Biscayne Council member Franklin Caplan, Coral Gables Commissioner Melissa Castro, Cutler Bay Council member B.J. Duncan, former U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala, former state Reps. Annie Betancourt and J.C. Planas, and ex-Key Biscayne Mayor Mike Davey, who withdrew from the race for Florida’s 27th Congressional District and immediately endorsed Peguero in August.

Peguero called CBC PAC’s support “an honor.”

“I’ve served and been mentored by a number of CBC members,” he said in a statement. “Now, I’m proud to have them in my corner in the fight for Miami’s working and middle-class families.”

A former federal homicide prosecutor born to immigrant parents from the Dominican Republic and Ecuador, Peguero’s government bona fides include a stint as an investigator for the congressional Jan. 6 Committee and work as Chief of Staff to U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey, a Maryland Democrat.

Today, he works as a novelist and professor at St. Thomas University College of Law.

Peguero will face at least two Primary opponents in Florida’s 27th Congressional District: accountant Alexander Fornino and entrepreneur Richard Lamondin.

Through the last reporting period that ended Sept. 30, Peguero raised $330,000, while Lamondin amassed $453,000 and Fornino collected $25,000.

Salazar, meanwhile, has amassed $681,000 since winning re-election to a third term last year by 21 percentage points. She also has more than $1.64 million in reserves, according to Federal Election Commission records.

CD 27 — one of three Florida districts that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has highlighted as “in play” — covers Miami, Coral Gables, Cutler Bay, Key Biscayne, Pinecrest, North Bay Village, South Miami, West Miami and several unincorporated areas.