Winner and Loser of the Week in Florida politics — Week of 2.1.26

Super Bowl Sunday is bittersweet.

It’s a fun night for even non-football fans and is the biggest sporting event — and TV event — of the year. We (hopefully) get a memorable game, a halftime show that half the country loves and the other half hate-posts about for one reason or another, and, of course, more prop bets than you know what to do with.

And then … no regular season football for almost seven months.

But this year, the sports gods are making things a little easier. The NBA season has been incredibly fun, including a hyperactive trade deadline this past week. The Winter Olympics officially kicked off Friday, give plenty of U.S. athletes — including several from Florida — the chance to shine on the world stage. And this Summer, during the typical dregs of the sports calendar, North America — including Miami — is hosting the World Cup.

Tampa Bay Rays fans will have plenty of drama to monitor as well outside of the MLB regular season. Talks about a new stadium are moving, and fans are holding out hope that the rug doesn’t get pulled out from under them yet again.

Will any of this satisfy the most die-hard football fans? Likely not. But it should be enough of a distraction to make the time between kickoffs go a bit faster.

In the meantime, we’ll hopefully be blessed with a matchup equaling the last time the Seahawks and Patriots met in the Super Bowl.

Just please, don’t let the Patriots win again and allow them to start their second (!!) dynasty in the span since the Dolphins last won a single playoff game.

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

Winners

Honorable mention: Evan Power. Florida’s Attorney General is the latest big-name Republican to endorse Power’s campaign in Florida’s 2nd Congressional District.

In a Friday statement, Uthmeier framed Power as the candidate best positioned to secure victory and represent conservative values in CD 2.

“Evan Power is a proven grassroots leader who helped build the strongest conservative movement in the country,” Uthmeier said. “I’m proud to endorse him for Congress and confident he’ll stand by President Trump to keep fighting for Florida’s values in Washington.”

Uthmeier’s backing adds significant heft to Power’s bid, not only because of Uthmeier’s statewide profile as Florida’s top law enforcement official, but also because Uthmeier is in the rare position of earning public praise from both President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis. That could be a real boon for Power as he runs in a competitive Primary.

And Power has already been tapping into broad support from members of Congress for his bid. U.S. Reps. Aaron Bean, Vern Buchanan, Kat Cammack, Randy Fine and Anna Paulina Luna are all supporting Power, giving him an early edge among his potential future colleagues.

Establishing these networks early can be decisive in a comtested Primary, and can help keep out other candidates who may otherwise consider throwing their hats into the ring.

With the race being open following incumbent U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn’s decision to step aside, CD 2 is suddenly one of the most watched GOP Primaries in the state. And Power is flexing his muscle early.

Almost (but not quite) the biggest winner: Casey DeSantis. … Is Casey DeSantis 2026 still alive after all?

The First Lady has been rumored for months as a potential candidate to succeed her husband in the Governor’s mansion, but lingering questions around the Hope Florida initiative have clouded that possibility.

The program, once championed as her signature initiative, has been under a cloud amid questions about $10 million from a Medicaid settlement reportedly being funneled to the Hope Florida Foundation before being rerouted for political purposes.

Then came an update this week, when reports surfaced that federal prosecutors are not pursuing charges related to the matter.

It’s not the end of the story, as a state-level probe continues. So will the political attacks. But it does narrow the potential repercussions.

Still, we and others have said repeatedly that in the face of U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds emerging as a front-runner, with plenty of cash and support from Trump, the only conceivable way someone challenges him is with full-throated support from the Governor, the only Republican leader whose standing among Florida voters can come close to rivaling Trump’s.

And Ron DeSantis has been conspicuously silent regarding his support in the race. He won’t endorse his own Lieutenant Governor. When former House Speaker Paul Renner, with whom DeSantis had a good relationship, entered the race, DeSantis called it “ill-advised.”

Has he been keeping his powder dry all this time just in case Casey DeSantis gained enough political momentum to mount a run after all?

And is now that time?

(Well, maybe not. But at least her reputation will be a bit cleaner for when her husband becomes President of the University of Florida.)

The biggest winner: James Uthmeier. Two high-profile developments broke in Uthmeier’s favor this week, both carrying real political and legal weight.

First, there’s marijuana. Smart & Safe Florida, the well-funded political committee backed by the cannabis industry, was aiming for another shot at the ballot after its 2024 legalization amendment fell short of the 60% threshold.

This time, the group hoped to qualify a revised proposal for the 2026 election. Uthmeier, however, made no secret of his opposition.

When the dust settled, Smart & Safe Florida’s effort stalled out, failing to register enough signatures necessary to land on the 2026 ballot, cutting off what could have been one of the most expensive and contentious ballot fights in state history.

Smart & Safe Florida is still attempting to fight the decision in court. But given Florida’s legal climate, particularly at the Supreme Court, we wouldn’t count on that effort succeeding.

Then there’s the Hope Florida update. Uthmeier’s name has hovered around the controversy, as he chaired a political committee that ended up with the money while serving as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Chief of Staff. (Ironically, that committee opposed the 2024 version of the recreational pot amendment.)

But like the First Lady, Uthmeier appears to be in the clear, at least when it comes to federal charges.

Taken together, the developments amount to a banner week. Uthmeier not only helped derail a major ballot initiative he opposed, but also sidestepped potential fallout from one of the state’s most talked-about controversies.

Losers

Dishonorable mention: James Fishback. While speaking to students at the University of Central Florida, Fishback’s comments about one of Judaism’s most sacred sites — the Western Wall in Jerusalem — were widely condemned as insensitive at best and antisemitic at worst.

Video from the event shows Fishback dismissing visiting the Western Wall as something he wouldn’t do while discussing where he’d focus his efforts if elected. “If you’re going to visit another country, you should be helping people, creating jobs, facilitating trade, not kissing a stupid wall.”

Now before the end of that sentence, Fishback was making a completely fair point: Politicians should focus on America first. Sound familiar? His supporters, then, would say any criticisms about antisemitism are unfair.

But then why not just stick to the original point? Why be so insulting toward others’ religious beliefs?

The answer to those questions is easy: Fishback’s entire campaign is a vehicle for him to say outrageous stuff to get attention (mission acconmlished here, we suppose). It’s not a real effort to have debates over policy. And that he has repeatedly crossed the line in egregious ways means he gets no benefit of the doubt here.

It’s not just pro-Jewish watchdogs or pearl-clutching media members labeling Fishback’s comments as offensive. Leo Terrell, senior counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division under President Donald Trump, excoriated Fishback over the remarks.

“James Fishback just made my blood boil. This should make your blood boil too,” Terrell wrote.

“He said he would not kiss a ‘stupid wall’ in relation to the Kotel, the holiest site to the Jewish people. Imagine if he called the most sacred site for Muslims, Christians or literally any other religious group stupid. For the record, visiting the Kotel and our allies in Israel was the highlight of my career! We must ALL call this out!”

In an increasingly crowded Primary where candidates are striving to prove they can unite voters in a General Election and build broad appeal, Fishback’s controversial comments did the opposite: They continued to narrow his reach and opened him up to much-deserved hammering from both sides of the aisle.

Almost (but not quite) the biggest loser: Iguanas. If this section of the column is for those whose stock is figuratively falling, then literally plummeting out of trees is a surefire way to land here.

The thuds were back this week, as a record-setting cold snap hit iguanas especially hard, with the animals once again tumbling out of trees across the state.

For cold-blooded creatures like iguanas — whose internal body temperature mirrors the environment — this wasn’t just a mild inconvenience; it was a full-on freeze frame. When temperatures slide below roughly 50 degrees, iguanas begin to slow down. When temperatures drop further, their muscles can no longer hold on to branches, sending them “freeze” falling.

The state saw thousands of “cold-stunned” iguanas amid this past week’s freeze. Wildlife officials reported around 8,000 of these lizards were collected at designated Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission drop-off locations, thanks to a temporary executive order that waived requirements for handling iguanas during the unusual weather. Some were transferred to licensed handlers, while others were humanely euthanized.

Not all “cold-stunned” iguanas are necessarily gone for good. Most of the reptiles aren’t dead — they’re merely in a state of torpor, essentially a cold-weather stupor that saps their muscle control. After temperatures rebound, many thaw out and scurry off once again.

Iguanas have gotten a chilly reception from most Floridians since they began invading the state. So while most residents aren’t looking to swap climates with the north, a cold snap here and there isn’t all bad.

The biggest loser: Farmers. Having some fun at iguanas’ expense aside, the cold snap also had real dire effects for Floridians, and the nation.

Florida farmers land here through no fault of their own, courtesy of the rare Winter weather that has battered crops across the state and set the stage for higher prices at the grocery store.

It wasn’t just this past week. An initial freeze hit just after Christmas, followed by another in mid-January, then the most recent extended cold snap. By last weekend, temperatures plunged to levels few Florida growers ever plan for, dipping into the single digits in some parts of the state. For agriculture built around warmth and predictability, that kind of cold is devastating. The University of Florida has already warned that repeated exposure to freezing temperatures can cause “significant losses and damages,” and it’s now surveying growers to determine just how bad the damage is statewide.

Early reports aren’t encouraging. Squash growers affiliated with Markon Cooperative are facing the possibility of losing more than half their crop. Bell pepper producers are bracing for losses approaching 50%. Tomato growers report damage in multiple fields and are still tallying the fallout. Some farmers resorted to the desperate but necessary tactic of irrigating fields and intentionally freezing crops to shield them from worse harm — a costly, last-ditch effort that underscores how extreme conditions became.

South Florida growers are already sounding the alarm. In Homestead, nearly 20% of one tomato crop at Kern Carpenter Nursery was wiped out in a single freeze. In Palm Beach County, a sweet corn farmer lost about 300 acres — roughly a third of his harvest — and predicts prices could double. Others say consumers will feel it soon and unmistakably.

The cold will pass soon. The losses won’t. And it’s especially unfortunate given farmers’ other recent struggles.