Winner and Loser of the Week in Florida politics — Week of 1.18.26

While listening to Bill Simmons’ latest podcast ahead of this weekend’s NFL conference championship games, guest Peter Schrager led the football discussion with an interesting question: What was the first conference championship game you remember watching?

It’s easier to remember the Super Bowls, which are outsized extravaganzas that even non-football fans routinely watch. But trying to peg the earliest conference championship game in my memory was a tougher task.

I landed on the Atlanta Falcons-Minnesota Vikings matchup for the chance to get to Super Bowl XXXIII. I was 11 at that point and my dad is a giant football fan, so I must have watched others. But that Falcons-Vikings game stuck because of a stunning miss by Gary Anderson, one of the best kickers ever, on a short field goal, leading to the collapse of an otherwise juggernaut Vikings team. (And of course, the Falcons got beat handily by the Broncos in the Super Bowl.)

But it took a while to land on that game. Meanwhile, Simmons and his guests rattled off distant memories left and right, and there was a through line on most of them: memories of a hometown team’s moment of glory on a big stage, the first that they got to witness.

And that’s when I realized why this was more of a struggle for yours truly: This is what happens when you grow up rooting for the Miami Dolphins.

Their last conference championship was following the 1992 season (I was 5). Their last playoff win was 2000 (shoutout to Jay Fiedler), the longest drought in the league. The Dolphins have not won 12 games in a season since 1990.

And in that 35-year span since, they’ve only won fewer than six games three times. And that’s really the biggest feature of this team: They’re never good enough to compete at the highest level, but they’re almost never bad enough to bottom out and land a franchise superstar. And on the rare occasions they are, they usually whiff (Dion Jordan and Tua Tagovailoa being the most glaring examples).

The Dolphins have recently cleaned house, bringing in a new GM, new head coach and more. Will things be different than the last several decades? Dolphins fans probably shouldn’t hold their breath absent some evidence on the field.

In the meantime, Dolphins fans just looking for some good football can only hope that this weekend gives us matchups as memorable as that Falcons-Vikings game — and do our best to not be salty that all four of these teams playing have won a championship within the last 13 years and have appeared in multiple Super Bowls within the last 14.

Must be nice. Unforgettable even.

Now, it’s onto our weekly game of winners and losers.

Winners

Honorable mention: Condo purchasers. Florida condo buyers have caught a rare break — at least on paper.

At a House Financial Services Committee hearing, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds secured a commitment from the Donald Trump administration to review a long-standing Fannie Mae policy that effectively requires condo buyers in Florida to put 25% down, far higher than the 10% down payment standard in most of the country.

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner said HUD would work with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to take another look at the rule.

The requirement dates back to 2008, when Florida sat at the center of the housing collapse and federal regulators imposed geography-specific restrictions on condo lending. Nearly two decades later, those rules still apply only to Florida, even as buyers in other states face more lax requirements.

Real estate and mortgage professionals have argued for years that the policy has outlived whatever justification it once had and now acts as a major drag on affordability, particularly in South Florida’s condo-heavy markets.

Nothing changes immediately. FHFA has not outlined when these changes might occur, and Trump has a history of overpromising.

But for buyers long boxed out by steep upfront costs, the administration’s willingness to reopen the issue is at least a sign that relief could be coming.

Almost (but not quite) the biggest winner: Laurel Lee. Lee is putting herself at the center of one of the ugliest byproducts of the AI boom — and doing it with an unusually broad coalition.

The Thonotosassa Republican is co-sponsoring the DEFIANCE Act, bipartisan legislation with Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York that would create real consequences for generating and distributing nonconsensual deepfake pornography.

Lee helped convene a Capitol Hill press conference that brought together figures who don’t usually share a stage: Paris Hilton, Republican U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and Ocasio-Cortez, all of whom have been targets of deepfake or nonconsensual sexual content.

The technology is already being used to harass, humiliate and extort women — including members of Congress. States have passed restrictions, but federal regulation is lacking. The DEFIANCE Act would change that by allowing victims to pursue restitution and damages against those who create and distribute the content.

As Lee pushes for federal guardrails, Florida lawmakers are also moving into increased AI regulation of their own. A Senate committee just advanced state Sen. Tom Leek’s AI bill of rights, which focuses on consumer transparency and protections for minors, while separate bills aim to regulate data centers fueling AI growth. Gov. Ron DeSantis has increasingly framed AI as a space that needs guardrails, even as Trump has warned states against heavy-handed regulation.

Lee’s effort threads that needle. The DEFIANCE Act isn’t about throttling innovation or regulating algorithms. It’s about clear harm that has already affected many victims Whether Congress ultimately delivers remains to be seen, but Lee has positioned herself as a serious player on an issue that’s only going to get more relevant as this technology grows.

The biggest winner: Tampa Bay sports fans. It was an encouraging week for fans of major league sports staying in Tampa Bay.

On the baseball front, the Rays’ long-running stadium saga finally produced something tangible — even if it’s very early and nonbinding. Hillsborough College’s Board of Trustees voted to approve a memorandum of understanding that allows negotiations to begin on a possible new Rays stadium and massive mixed-use redevelopment at the Dale Mabry campus.

No shovels, no site plan, no financing package — but for the first time under new ownership, there’s an agreed framework to talk seriously about a Tampa-based future.

Team CEO Ken Babby pitched the idea as a roughly 130-acre project combining a new ballpark with housing, retail, entertainment and an integrated college campus — an ambitious vision that still has a lot of unanswered questions. Trustees and local officials were careful to stress this is just a starting point, and critics raised real concerns about student displacement and housing costs.

Still, the vote marked a step forward for a franchise still in limbo after the last stadium deal fell through.

At the same time, hockey fans got something far more concrete. Hillsborough County Commissioners unanimously approved a deal extending the Tampa Bay Lightning’s lease at Benchmark International Arena through at least 2043. The county will commit $250 million in renovation funding from tourist development taxes, while Lightning ownership will put in at least $75 million of its own — with penalties if the team bolts early.

In the end, one team is locked in longer-term, and another has finally taken its first real step toward a possible Tampa home.

Losers

Dishonorable mention: Florida State Guard. A stunning Orlando Sentinel report this week detailed internal turmoil in the Florida State Guard and raised serious questions about the group’s leadership, spending and mission readiness.

And before we get into it, a quick refresher is in order. DeSantis revived the long-dormant force in 2022 to purportedly support disaster response and public safety issues.

But really, he wanted his own counterpart to the Florida National Guard during the administration of then-President Joe Biden, and as DeSantis was doing everything he could to look tough as he geared up a bid for President, which flamed out without a single delegate win.

Suffice it to say, this latest report is not instilling much confidence that the Florida State Guard is anywhere near capable of carrying out the Governor’s goals. And allegations of mismanagement now give critics fresh ammunition as the Governor seeks tens of millions more for the agency in the upcoming fiscal year.

What began as scattered complaints has snowballed into a wave of resignations, public accusations and blunt warnings from veteran service members who say the organization is unraveling from the inside. Senior officers, pilots and rank-and-file volunteers have departed in recent weeks, many alleging retaliation for speaking up about management decisions made by Executive Director Mark Thieme, the Guard’s third top leader since it was reactivated.

Among the most damaging claims are allegations from former and current Guard members who say Thieme ran up extensive flight hours and related costs in pursuit of a personal private pilot’s license, while also authorizing millions of dollars in aircraft purchases and parts that were poorly vetted or incompatible with the Guard’s existing surveillance equipment and mission needs.

The most high-profile departure came with the resignation of Command Sergeant Major Michael Pintacura, a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran who helped oversee the Guard’s Special Missions Unit. In his resignation letter, Pintacura cited a loss of confidence in leadership judgment and warned of a culture where informal pressure replaced disciplined planning and accountability. Other departures followed, including officers who say they were pushed out after refusing questionable orders.

Some of them even met with DeSantis Chief of Staff Jason Weida and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins — the latter of whom is now running for Governor — but say complaints fell on deaf ears.

Much like DeSantis’ failed presidential bid that this Guard was established, at least in terms of optics, to support, what was once seen by some as an entity of strength is now collapsing into sheer embarrassment.

Almost (but not quite) the biggest loser: James Fishback. For weeks, Fishback has denied any formal ties to DeSantis’ staff despite NBC News reporting to the contrary.

Well, that blew up in his face this week when the Governor’s Queen of the Trolls, Christina Pushaw, went public with a lengthy X post accusing Fishback of deception.

Pushaw wrote that she had given Fishback informal campaign advice for months but cut off contact, saying Fishback “deceived me, violated my trust” and began threatening to smear her. “I am afraid of James Fishback,” Pushaw added, warning he would “weaponize his platform” against her.

Fishback countered on X by posting screenshots of private messages in an effort to contradict her claims. In his statement, Fishback admitted Pushaw had acted as an “informal adviser” to his campaign for two months, which cut against his earlier denials. He blamed the blow-up on Pushaw’s reaction to Lt. Gov. Jay Collins entering the race for Governor, claiming she became “frustrated” when he refused to quit and endorse Collins.

And let’s not forget a court order this week requiring Fishback to turn over stock and other assets to settle a $229,000 judgment. That alone could’ve landed him in this spot before the drama with Pushaw.

This all is great fodder for a Real Housewives franchise, but Fishback is purportedly running to lead this state. He was forced to admit here straight up lying about his associations with Pushaw, which makes you wonder what else he has been lying about despite trying to frame himself as a straight-talking, tell-it-like-it-is outsider.

So much for that.

The biggest loser: Christina Pushaw.

As for Pushaw, this whole soap opera somehow looks even worse.

She too previously denied any association with Fishback, and she too has now admitted that was bunk, saying they “spoke frequently” and she “offered him advice on his gubernatorial campaign.”

Pushaw’s entire tenure has been marked by gaslighting and giving a middle finger to the media, so it’s not shocking that she would do the same re: Fishback until she couldn’t any longer.

What’s different here is the complete crashout and being forced to publicly admit that this entire situation was a complete embarrassment.

She publicly apologized to fellow Republicans for anything she said that may have “coarsened the primary.” She emphatically denied any romantic or paid relationship with Fishback, saying she “was never working for him” and “never received any form of compensation.” And Pushaw insisted no one in the Governor’s Office knew about her outreach.

But what credibility does she have given her track record and previous comments about Fishback that we now know weren’t true?

On top of that, Fishback released private messages where Pushaw asks him to delete all communications with her. As our own Jesse Scheckner wrote, that’s a potential violation of state law, and could be a felony.

We can’t know for sure whether a violation occurred without seeing more messages. But Republican Rep. Alex Andrade has made the case that Pushaw mentioned resigning from her government job already shows at least some of these messages were related to her public position and were not strictly campaign-related, which would exempt them from public records laws.

So in summary, Pushaw reinforced her reputation as unreliable (putting it kindly), burned bridges with Republican leaders disgusted with Fishback’s campaign, and potentially opened herself up to criminal violations.

If there was any doubt that Pushaw’s post-DeSantis employment prospects are grim, this episode put the final nail in that coffin.