Politics
Last Call for 8.5.26 – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
— First Shot —
With Florida’s voter registration books now closed for the Aug. 18 Primary Election, the state’s active voter rolls stand at 13.48 million, cementing Republicans’ continued dominance in voter registration while locking in the electorate that will choose nominees in congressional, legislative and local races later this month.
The latest figures from the Florida Division of Elections, reflecting the July 20 book closing, show Republicans with 5.6 million active registered voters, compared to 4.06 million Democrats. Another 3.32 million voters are registered with no party affiliation, while roughly 496,000 are affiliated with a minor political party.
That leaves Republicans with a statewide registration advantage of roughly 1.54 million voters, a slight increase from the margin reported ahead of the registration deadline and another marker in the party’s steady climb over the past several election cycles.
The overall registration picture changed little between the May and July book closings, as expected. Once the registration deadline passes, the numbers largely settle in until after Election Day, barring routine voter roll maintenance and other administrative updates.
Republicans now account for roughly 41.5% of Florida’s active electorate, while Democrats make up about 30.1%. No-party-affiliation voters represent nearly one in four registered Floridians, though many will be spectators this month because Florida’s closed Primary system generally limits participation in partisan contests to voters registered with the respective political party.
Democrats continue to hold registration advantages in just eight counties: Alachua, Broward, Duval, Gadsden, Leon, Orange, Osceola and Palm Beach. Republicans have erased Democratic registration advantages in Hillsborough and Miami-Dade in recent years as the state’s post-pandemic realignment that has transformed Florida from the nation’s premier swing state into a GOP stronghold continues.
With registration now closed, the next major milestone is voting itself. The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is Aug. 6, followed by mandatory early voting from Aug. 8 through Aug. 15, with counties permitted to offer additional early voting days before voters head to the polls on Aug. 18.
— Evening Reads —
—“China’s AI is surging across Africa. That should worry Silicon Valley.” via Paul Mozur, Adam Satariano and Aaron Krolik of The New York Times
—“This federal judge ruled against Donald Trump. Then the threats began.” via Joanna Slater of The Washington Post
—”A vote on leaving Canada is the gamble of a lifetime for Alberta’s leader” via Amanda Coletta of The Wall Street Journal
—”Liberals are now fighting a two-front war” via Jonathan Chait of The Atlantic
—”What to make of Michigan” via Nate Silver of the Silver Bulletin
—”Four of Google’s top AI brains are leaving — and launching their own AI startup” via Steven Levy of WIRED
—“TPS ends for 350,000 Haitians: Federal judge lifts stay after Supreme Court ruling” via Jacqueline Charles and Jay Weaver of the Miami Herald
—“How progressive are Florida Democrats? Alex Vindman, Angie Nixon Senate race offers a test” via Mitch Perry of the Florida Phoenix
—“‘Responsible parent’ David Jolly defends decision to move to Pennsylvania during pandemic” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
—”Democrats warn of ‘misleading’ ballot slates being sent to Miami-Dade voters” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics
— Quote of the Day —
“When we’re in election time, that is just – it’s legally wrong, it’s ethically wrong, it’s morally wrong.”
— First Amendment attorney Corey Silverstein, on the shadowy group of companies behind a series of Michael Carbonara takedown requests.
— 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.
Hillsborough may be serving Pause Buttons to Big Tech if the push for a data center moratorium goes through.
The anti-Amendment 3 push is approaching Critical Mass with elected Dems now joining a coalition that includes GOP Sheriffs and countless other public worker associations.
We’d recommend a Fahrenheit 151 for the pro-censorship cabal of companies behind Michael Carbonara’s bogus DMCA accounts, but they’d probably just tell Google they are entitled to act on behalf of the Bradbury estate.
— Breakthrough Insights —
— Tune In —
Orlando City opens play in League Cup tonight
Orlando City hosts Mexican side CF Monterrey in group stage play in the Leagues Cup (7:30 p.m. ET, Apple TV).
Orlando City sits in 10th place in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, which would leave them outside of the playoffs if the season ended today, so the League Cup competition offers the Lions the best chance to earn some hardware this season.
The other group stage matches for Orlando City include matches against Club Leon on Aug. 8 and Atletico de San Luis on Aug. 12. All group stage matches are scheduled for Inter&Co Stadium.
Orlando City participated in the Leagues Cup in 2023-2025. Last season, they finished in fourth place after being knocked out of the semifinals by in-state rivals Inter Miami. Miami lost to the Seattle Sounders in the final. Columbus Crew won the competition in 2024, and Inter Miami won a thriller 10-9 on penalties after playing Nashville SC to a 1-1 draw in regulation.
During this MLS season, Martin Ojeda has led Orlando with 11 goals while Ivan Angulo added seven assists.
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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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