Politics
Last Call for 8.6.26 – 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 —
State Sen. Shevrin Jones holds the advantage in the Democratic Primary for Florida’s 24th Congressional District, though more than a quarter of likely voters remain undecided less than two weeks before Election Day, according to a new St. Pete Polls survey commissioned by Florida Politics.
The poll found Jones leading with 33.1% support, followed by Oliver Gilbert III at 23.4% and Kendrick Meek at 17.5%. Another 26% of likely Democratic Primary voters remain undecided.
Among voters who have already cast ballots, Jones expands his advantage to 37.3%, while Gilbert improves to 31.3% and Meek trails at 10.8%. Among those still planning to vote, however, nearly 29% remain undecided, leaving room for movement in the race’s final stretch.
The survey, conducted Aug. 5-6, questioned 262 likely Democratic Primary voters and carries a 6.1 percentage-point margin of error.
The poll comes as Gilbert’s campaign released a new TV ad while accusing a cryptocurrency-backed outside group of spending nearly $1 million to defeat him.
Gilbert’s campaign said Protect Progress has spent nearly $1 million on television advertising attacking his candidacy. The campaign noted the organization receives most of its funding from Fairshake, a cryptocurrency industry super PAC backed by companies including Coinbase and Ripple, and argued the spending reflects opposition from interests aligned with President Donald Trump.
“The same billionaires who supported Donald Trump are now spending nearly a million dollars to attack me,” Gilbert said in a statement. “I know why. They know I am going to stand up to Trump, and they will do anything to stop that.”
Gilbert also pointed to an endorsement from U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, who said she supports his campaign because of his record serving the community.
— Evening Reads —
—“Senate panel votes to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress” via Dan Diamond and Anna Liss-Roy of The Washington Post
—“Women’s share of top military promotions falls as Hegseth blocks nominees” via C.J. Robinson of The Washington Post
—”Mike Johnson would prefer not to” via David A. Graham of The Atlantic
—”The rise of the $100 hot dog” via Adam Chandler of The Wall Street Journal
—”OpenAI didn’t notice its AI agents using a message board to plan their hacking spree” via Lily Hay Newman of WIRED
—”The FOMO of not seeing The Odyssey in 70 mm IMAX” via Alex Abad-Santos of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
—“Questions raised as Florida seeks to build detention facilities south of I-4” via Cristobal Reyez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
—”Amendment 3 rewrite is already underway, Gov. Ron DeSantis says” via Christine Sexton of the Florida Phoenix
—”‘Completely false’: Byron Donalds campaign blasts James Fishback’s ‘baseless and defamatory sideshow’” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
—”Is the city of Orlando trying to delay Mayor elections to 2028?” via Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics
— Quote of the Day —
“To me, bipartisanship isn’t an option, it’s a necessity.”
— Democratic U.S Senate candidate Alex Vindman
— 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.
Byron Donalds is serving James Fishback’s a Sideshow Sidecar for accusing him of being investigated for a crime.
Despite one candidate believing there was a chance Ron DeSantis may endorse him, the Governor confirmed he’ll remain a Quiet Professional.
Send Meg Weinberger a Door Knock for making the case for her re-election by going house to house within her Palm Beach Gardens District.
— Breakthrough Insights —
— Tune In —
Florida golfers chasing spots in FedEx Cup playoffs
The chase for the FedEx Cup continues this weekend with the final round of the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, CBS).
Jupiter resident Denny McCarthy fired an opening round 6-under 64, one stroke behind first round leader Beau Hossler. Another Jupiter resident, Bud Cauley, shot 5-under in the opening round, the same score as Ponte Vedra Beach resident Billy Horschel.
McCarthy is 64th in the FedEx Cup standings, meaning that he needs a good finish to remain in the top 70 and keep his championship dreams alive at next week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Cauley ranks 26th in the standings. The top 30 players at the end of the season qualify for the Tour Championship and a chance at the $10 million first-place prize.
Horschel has some work to do. Ranked 92nd in the standings, he will likely have to win the tournament to reach the top 70.
After the St. Jude Championship, the next tournament is the BMW Championship (Aug. 20-23 at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis) for the top 50 in the standings before the field is narrowed to 30 for the Tour Championship (Aug 26-30 at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta).
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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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