Politics
Last Call for 10.1.26 – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
— First Shot —
Florida Democrats finally won a month.
The party posted a net gain of 29,633 active registered voters from September to October, edging out the Republican gain of 29,140. According to Decision Desk HQ’s Michael Pruser, it was the first time Democrats led since he began tracking Florida’s monthly registration changes in mid-2021.
The difference — 493 voters — hardly dents the GOP’s 1.55-million-voter statewide advantage. But after years of registration updates showing Democrats losing ground, a month moving in the other direction counts as progress. That it merits a press release says plenty about the hole the party is trying to climb out of.
“For years, Republicans have pointed to voter registration as proof that Florida belongs to them. This month, Florida voters sent a different message,” Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said.
“Floridians are tired of paying more for groceries, gas, housing, and insurance while Republicans in Tallahassee and Washington make life harder for working families.
“We’ve spent years rebuilding this party from the ground up. Our organizers are in communities year-round, our volunteers are knocking doors across this state, and Democrats are having real conversations with Floridians about what’s at stake. The momentum is real, and with Election Day just weeks away, we’re not taking our foot off the gas.”
Now, we wait to see how much they have left in the tank.
Small victories.
— Evening Reads —
—“The 37 wildest lines from Donald Trump’s bonkers 75(!)-minute Time Magazine interview” via Chris Cillizza’s Substack
—“The Baltic states prepare for war” via Isaac Stanley-Becker of The Atlantic
—“U.K. bookmakers that warned of rogue casinos profited from offshore gambling” via Rob Davies of The Guardian
—“The secrets of a U.S. spyware king” via Kim Zetter of WIRED
—“Four kids in one faith-healing family died. Authorities could do nothing.” via Audrey Dutton of ProPublica
—“Aaron Sorkin made a movie about her. She just hopes Mark Zuckerberg watches.” via Seija Rankin of The Hollywood Reporter
—“Residents wanted ‘real information’ on Project Tango. The land’s fraught history explains why” via Jake Shore of WLRN
—“Cook Political Report upgrades David Jolly’s November chances” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
—“Vince Nowicki seeks James Uthmeier’s opinion on scope of St. Pete’s $600M storm resilience bond” via Jesse Mendoza of Florida Politics
—“The restaurateur behind one of Hollywood’s favorite haunts makes his directorial debut” via Gary Baum of The Hollywood Reporter
— Quote of the Day —
“Four years ago people were not answering their doors. This time, if you knock and they’re kind of delayed in answering the door and you walk away, they’ll chase you down the driveway.”
— Hillsborough Commission candidate Stacy Hahn, on voter outreach this cycle.
— 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 on your tab. Recipes included, just in case the Cocktail Codex fell into the well.
JD Vance called a heckler a “Democrat plant,” so put a Green Thumb on his tab before he starts interrogating the garnish.
After winning the hoteliers’ endorsement for Orange County Commission, Patricia Rumph deserves a Hotel Nacional on the house, preferably without a resort fee.
Order Apalachicola Bay’s returning harvesters a Prairie Oyster, and assure the FWC that this round won’t count toward the season’s 2,560-bag limit.
— Breakthrough Insights —
— Tune In —
Lightning open season
The Tampa Bay Lightning drop the puck on the 2026-2027 NHL season tonight as they travel to New York to face the Rangers (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+).
The Lightning finished second in the Atlantic Division last season with 50 wins and 106 points. Tampa Bay’s season ended in the first round of the playoffs with a seventh-game defeat by the Montreal Canadiens.
Tampa Bay added veteran defenseman John Carlson and re-signed Janis Jerome Moser to an eight-year extension to bolster the backline, signed forward Ilya Mikheyev to a four-year deal, and added physical forward Jeffrey Viel on a five-year contract.
Nikita Kucherov is back after finishing second in the NHL in points last season with 130. Kucherov has finished in the top three in the league in points in each of the last four seasons, including winning the Art Ross Trophy in consecutive seasons, 2023–24 and 2024–25. He has won the award three times in his career.
The Rangers opened the season on Tuesday with a 3-0 road loss to the Boston Bruins, conceding all three goals in the final four minutes.
Last season, the Rangers finished eighth in the Metropolitan Division and missed the playoffs for the second straight season.
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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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