A new poll reveals what messaging could be used as Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan gets ready to run for four more years in office.

But the pollster purports to be far away from Duval.

JacksonvilleStudies.com lists its address at a strip mall with a UPS store in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of northwest Washington, D.C., just blocks from Malcolm X Park.

Its phone number isn’t accepting inbound calls, and Deegan herself isn’t talking about the survey as of Thursday morning. So we don’t know if her “Duval for All” political committee is paying for the effort, or if the money is coming from elsewhere.

No disclaimer language was on the text message soliciting responses or the poll itself. We called “John,” whose phone in Astor, Florida, sent out the text message. But he didn’t answer and we were routed to what was called a “campaign voicemail.” Our call hasn’t been returned at this point.

The poll tests Deegan head-to-head against various potential Republican candidates, including House Speaker Pro Tempore Wyman Duggan, Duval County Elections Supervisor Jerry Holland and Jacksonville City Councilman Rory Diamond.

None of them have formally declared a run, though we have seen polling conducted on Holland’s behalf.

While it’s unclear who runs against Deegan in 2027, what is clear is those candidates will have to counter various positive messages, including some auditioned in this phone poll.

People responding to the poll are asked if they think the Jacksonville Journey Forward initiative is keeping them safer and improving lives, as well as whether Deegan is keeping promises, making things easier for small businesses, supporting first responders, and was using her “negotiating skills” in completing negotiations with the NFL Jaguars for stadium improvements.

Additionally, they are asked if they know Jacksonville has the lowest property taxes of any major city in the state, if she has improved downtown, if she has made progress on “affordable housing” and health insurance coverage, and if she is “approachable.”

The poll does not ask about a hologram of Deegan at the Jacksonville International Airport, a much-criticized airport greeting device that critics say shows her ego and self-promotion, suggesting the surveyors don’t believe this issue matters to voters despite Republican tubthumping.

The apparently pro-Deegan poll comes after the Tyson Group’s survey earlier this year showed Jacksonville voters would prefer a generic Republican to a generic Democrat in a ballot test stripped of meaningful markers like name recognition and the power of incumbency.

No serious candidate has filed to run against Deegan yet, and she has yet to open a campaign account.

But this poll shows that even this sleepy campaign cycle is about to stop hitting the snooze button and get going at last.

A pending ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the 1965 Voting Rights Act could trigger the Florida Legislature to conduct a mid-decade congressional redistricting effort, but it won’t require them to do so.

That was the opinion of Tallahassee election attorney Andy Bardos, who spoke Wednesday before a Florida House select committee charged with considering congressional redistricting, the second “educational and informative meeting” in the past week that did not allow public comment.

Denying that redistricting would have anything to do with partisan advantage, Gov. Ron DeSantis has maintained that Florida will be “forced to” redistrict once the high court rules in a case called Louisiana v. Callais, which could redefine Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act or declare it unconstitutional. The Justices have twice heard the case and are expected to rule sometime before next July.

“In terms of binding effect, it has binding effect on Louisiana,” Bardos told lawmakers. “Whether Florida chooses after Callais to keep its maps in place, await either the next cycle, or await litigation, or redraw its districts, that will be a judgment call made when we see the Callais decision.”

Bardos and committee Chair Mike Redondo, a Miami Republican, confirmed during the hearing that if the Legislature does in fact redo the congressional map sometime next year, it would do so based on U.S. census and voter information data they used previously when it did the decennial redistricting in 2022.

Court rulings

What has changed since then is the Florida Supreme Court’s ruling in July upholding the state’s 2022 congressional map, which had been legally challenged by voting rights groups such as Black Voters Matter after it was approved by the Legislature.

Those groups argued the map had violated the 2010 Fair Districts amendments when it redrew Florida’s 5th Congressional District. That seat stretched for more than 200 miles along the Florida-Georgia border to encompass Black populations in Florida’s old plantation belt from Gadsden to Duval counties.

One of those protections in the Fair Districts amendments prohibits lawmakers from drawing districts that “diminish (racial and language minorities’) ability to elect representatives of their choice.” The plaintiffs had argued that eliminating a district in which Black voters were electing their preferred candidate violated that provision.

The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the old District 5 seat was likely an illegal race-based gerrymander that failed to meet the equal-protection standards under the U.S. Constitution. “In the process of deciding that, the court articulated legal principles that had never before been set forth by a court in that way,” Bardos said.

The Fair District amendments also state that “no apportionment plan or individual district shall be drawn with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent,” which seemingly would contradict the stated goal of President Donald Trump, who said explicitly in July that he wanted Texas to create more House seats favorable to his party for the 2026 Midterm Elections. DeSantis said publicly weeks later that he thought Florida should do so, as well.

Bardos went on to tell Rep. Kevin Chambliss, a Homestead Democrat, that the Florida Supreme Court ruling that the 2022 congressional map was constitutional “raises questions now about how does this articulation of additional principles effect other parts of the state which the court wasn’t focused on.”

This was the last meeting scheduled by the select committee until the 2026 Legislative Session begins on Jan. 13. However, both DeSantis and Senate President Ben Albritton have said they would prefer the Legislature wait to address the issue again in a Special Session after the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on the Louisiana v. Callais case — which, as Bardos said Wednesday, might not be for another six months.

No public comment allowed

Opponents of the proposed redistricting expressed outrage that the public wasn’t given time to speak during the hearing.

“The people of Florida deserve better than a rush job behind closed doors,” said Jessica Lowe-Minor, President of the League of Women Voters of Florida. “There’s no compelling reason to do redistricting at all right now, and it certainly shouldn’t be done when the public doesn’t have sufficient opportunities to engage and provide input.”

“When lawmakers show up in Tallahassee, they should be fighting for the hardworking people who sent them there,” added Amina Spahić, political director with Florida For All. “But, instead, we see them catering to the powerful interests and mega-donors who bankroll their campaigns.”

Noting that some of his constituents drove up from South Florida before learning that they would not be able to speak during Wednesday’s hearing, Chambliss asked Redondo if he could provide notice earlier if he planned to disallow public comment during future committee meetings.

Redondo responded that both hearings held so far involved only presentations, which he said typically do not allow for public comment. “When there’s some sort of legislative action being considered, that’s typically when we see public comment in normal meetings. But we’ll certainly try to notice the meetings as reasonably early as possible,” he said.

Republicans hold a 20-8 lead over Democrats in the state’s congressional delegation. Republican National Committee Chair and Sarasota Sen. Joe Gruters reposted an analysis of the situation around the country on Tuesday.

That analysis predicts that Florida Republicans would gain five seats if and when they go through with redistricting and voters follow through as the GOP expects them to in November 2026.

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Reporting by Mitch Perry. Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: [email protected].

Senate President Pro Tempore Jason Brodeur earned plaudits at the Governors Club, where U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster and Healthy Families Florida presented him with the 2025 Daniel Webster Leadership Award.

The recognition celebrates leaders whose work strengthens families and advances efforts to prevent child abuse and neglect.

The award commemorates Webster’s role in creating Healthy Families Florida during his time as Florida House Speaker in 1998, when he shepherded the program through the Legislature with support from then-Senate President Toni Jennings. After Gov. Jeb Bush signed it, the home visiting initiative grew into a nationally accredited model aimed at promoting healthy child development and family self-sufficiency.

Brodeur was selected for what the organization described as sustained work to improve outcomes for Florida children by championing evidence-based prevention programs. The program’s leaders noted that Healthy Families Florida now operates statewide and served more than 15,000 children last fiscal year.

“Senator Brodeur has put forth many policies that protect children and support families while emphasizing the importance of programs with measurable, positive outcomes that are proven to be effective, like Healthy Families,” Webster said. “Let’s all continue to focus on prevention as a way to help families thrive while using state resources efficiently.”

Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida President and CEO Jennifer Ohlsen praised Brodeur’s long-standing involvement.

“Senator Brodeur is the type of leader who has helped make Healthy Families Florida successful over the past 28 years. From his time in the House through his time in the Senate, he has been consistently focused on supporting Florida’s families,” she said.

“We are excited to congratulate the senator on this well-deserved honor.”

Healthy Families Florida Executive Director Rebekkah Sheetz highlighted the program’s reach and its track record.

“Senator Brodeur’s commitment to evidence-based, measurable prevention programs like ours continues to make a difference in the lives of children every day,” she said.

“Because of his support, and the support of his fellow lawmakers, Healthy Families Florida served over 15,000 children across the state last fiscal year. The results speak for themselves: 99% of children are free of abuse during and one year after completing the program.”

The ceremony also included remarks from Senate President Ben Albritton, 2024 Webster Award recipient state Sen. Gayle Harrell, DCF Secretary Taylor Hatch, and Brodeur himself, along with video messages from Webster, U.S. Rep. Aaron Bean, and a program participant from Healthy Families Seminole.

Brodeur thanked those who deliver the intervention and outreach that define the program’s work.

“I am honored to receive this award once again,” he said. “It is important that we strive for a stronger future for Florida’s children, and I’m proud of the progress we are making each year in the Senate. I promise to continue to serve the people of Florida including the families, home visitors, and site staff who make this program so special.”

Since its creation in 2009, the Daniel Webster Leadership Award has highlighted lawmakers, community advocates, and public safety officials who have shaped Florida’s child abuse prevention landscape, including past recipients such as Bean, state Sen. Doug Broxson and Harrell.