Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

Never forget that he train is barreling down on Trump, even as he dances on the tracks.

Joe Biden can go out like FDR, not by dying in office, but by crushing the fascists.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

“Let’s not pretend [Trump] wants to engage in high-minded discourse.”

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

The frogs are rarely mistaken.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

You are here: Home / Elections / 2022 Elections / Election Watch: Florida Primary Edition

Election Watch: Florida Primary Edition

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I think this was the first drawing I ever posted here. It illustrated a post that attempted to explain the Florida electorate in the context of the 2012 GOP primary. Not much has changed except The Villages is bigger and now merits its own regional designation that is distinct from Orlando, which could be labeled something like “MIGHT AS WELL BE INDIANA.”

But 10 years and change later, it’s primary election day in Florida again.

Things I’ll be watching for tonight:

  • Val Demings’ acceptance speech
  • How off that poll showing Fried beating Crist was (I voted for Fried, but I’ll believe it when I see it)
  • Whether MAGA cult weirdo Laura Loomer knocks off garden-variety corrupt Repub. Daniel Webster in the FL 11th.

On the latter point, if Loomer wins the GOP primary, she wins the general election. Period. Doesn’t matter how fucking nuts she is or how strong her resemblance to the love child of Elvira and Max Headroom. That’s the way the 11th rolls. Recent reports show her out-raising Webster and winning The Villages Trump-Hump Hookup Hoedown straw poll (not the real name of that organization, but I’m too lazy to look it up).

That said, when DeSantis tore up the map approved by his Republican sycophants in the Florida statehouse and redrew it himself to disenfranchise black people even more, he nudged the Florida 11th to the east a bit and dragged the coastal border of the 12th north, meaning we won’t be represented by either Loomer or Webster because now we’re in the 12th. Our rep will be a different garden-variety corrupt Republican.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

153Comments

  2. 2.

    RinaX

    Hey, I’ve got to defend Duval County (Jacksonville) a bit. We did go for Biden in the last election. Things are relatively sane in this corner of Florida. We mainly have run-of-the-mill corrupt Republicans, not the fanatical ones.

  3. 3.

    PaulWartenberg

    The map is about as apt as humanly possible, although I would put a purple strip of Broward County between the One Percent of Palm Beach and the Fuck Fidel part of Miami-Dade.

    I hope to GOD the school board elections all go Democratic.

  5. 5.

    Layer8Problem

    . . . how strong [Laura Loomer’s] resemblance to the love child of Elvira and Max Headroom.

    Hey!  I liked Max Headroom!  And I’m pretty sure Elvira’s regular people too.  They’re too good to breed a Loomer.

  7. 7.

    Old School

    Does “Purple Rain” suggest a mixture of red and blue? Or a world of never ending happiness, where you can always see the sun, day or night?

  8. 8.

    Mai Naem mobile

    You would never have believed  Floriduh had Lawton Chiles, Bob Graham and Bill Nelson representing it  not all that long ago. You really have some shitty shitty people representing you right now.

  9. 9.

    Betty Cracker

    @RinaX: Good point. Would you say Duval has become bluer over the past decade? I keep hoping our cities will get big enough to flip statewide elections.

  10. 10.

    David 🌈☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    Bravo, Betty!

    great map.

    Chuck Todd was born and raised in Miami and he says because there are so many transplants from NYC local residents consider Miami the 6th Borough of NYC (the others being Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island). Where would that fit in a Florida map?

  11. 11.

    NotMax

    OT.

    Is the cosmos attempting to tell me something about flying out of here this evening? 7+ hours blackout overnight in the neighborhood.

    :)

  14. 14.

    Anonymous At Work

    The Villages are SO not Indiana.  The Villages have both mild and spicy mayonnaise.

  16. 16.

    Anonymous At Work

    You will know Palm Beach by its signs:

    “We know you are a middle-aged white guy here to golf and go to strip clubs, so that’s what we advertise.”

  19. 19.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Florida judge says, um…. try again

    Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney 57m

    NEW: Judge Aileen Cannon’s first substantive step in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago lawsuit is to ask for multiple clarifictions and explanations about what he’s seeking — and on what legal basis he thinks she can act.

    I gather trump appointed her and they worked the angles to get the motion before her. He’s gonna be fuming

  20. 20.

    la caterina

    Love your drawing, Betty!  I’m thinking about sending Val some cash.  do you think it would help?

  21. 21.

    RaflW

    Is New York state gonna be a debacle for House Dems? Charlie Pierce alluded to such late last night. 🫣

  23. 23.

    Lacuna Synecdoche

    @NotMax: ​

    Is the cosmos attempting to tell me something about flying out of here this evening? 7+ hours blackout overnight in the neighborhood.

    Maybe, but it’s hard to interpret – it could either mean “Stay!” or “Get out!”

    Or “Bwahahaha! Now you can’t leave!​​”​​

  28. 28.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @RaflW: from what I gather, it depends on which side of the low-simmering intraparty conflicts you’re on

  30. 30.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    @dmsilev:

    We can’t saw Florida off.

    But we can:

    • Encourage all wingnuts in swing states to move there
    • Conduct a rescue operation for sane Florida residents south of the panhandle where we evacuate them all to north Florida. Preferably, we resettle the refugees in places with great views, like they have at Chateau Cracker.
    • BUILD a WALL straight across from the Gulf to south of Jacksonville. We do this just in time for a massive, climate change fueled hurricane to plow through mid to south Florida

    Win Win! The MAGAs get their southern wall and we unswing the swingy states! Easy peasy!

  31. 31.

    RinaX

    @Betty Cracker: A little bluer in general. Define less fanatical, which translates to more sanity than you would expect from South Georgia. Our mayor had a hand in trying to help his cronies sell our public utility JEA to make millions, but OTHER REPUBLICANS helped unravel the whole scheme.

  35. 35.

    Another Scott

    This seems like a good summary of the elections today – BoltsMag.org:

    Two of the biggest states in the union, Florida and New York, are settling their congressional primaries on Tuesday. In dozens of safely red or safely blue districts where the general election is a formality, this will all but decide the next members of Congress. New York also hosts two special congressional elections that will be watched for tea leaves about November, including a strong pick-up opportunity for Republicans.

    And there is plenty to watch besides the battle for Congress, including Governor Ron DeSantis’s bid for an ideological takeover Florida of school boards, a runoff for Oklahoma prosecutor (Oklahoma held the first round of its primaries on June 28), and ideologically divided Democratic primaries for the Florida House.

    Here are 25 races that Bolts is watching on Aug. 23 in Florida, New York, and Oklahoma, as prepared by Daniel Nichanian. More may be added to our cheat sheet through Election Day.

    It will be interesting to see if there are pleasant surprises.

    Good luck BC, and all good people.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  36. 36.

    Baud

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Ah, so general complaining about the districts.

    Interestingly, if the GOP members of the Supreme Court do what is expected of them next year, the New York judge would not have been able to overturn the legislature’s original map.

  40. 40.

    Geminid

    @PaulWartenberg:

     

    @Villago Delenda Est: That sure is a clever way to say that a lot of Jewish people live someplace. But it’s a crude sterotype to say Jewish people in Florida are “Likud forever.” There are plenty of Jews in the U.S  who are not Likud supporters.

  41. 41.

    Jackie

    Betty Cracker: You didn’t mention watching Gaetz getting primaried. So, guess that’s not gonna happen, huh? So much for that fantasy.

  42. 42.

    Geminid

    So, polls in Florida close in 21 minutes (although people in line at 7pm still get to vote). We’ll have good information about the Crist-Fried in an hour I guess.

  43. 43.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Oz campaign sounds not at all desperate

    Robert Maguire @RobertMaguire_ · 2h

    “If John Fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life, then maybe he wouldn’t have had a major stroke” – Rachel Tripp, Oz’s senior communications advisor

    see link for double down

  45. 45.

    sab

    @David 🌈☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: I used to work with a young guy, native New Yorker, transplanted to Miami for middle and high school, then moved to Las Vegas afterwards.

    He was Italian American and Miami drove him nuts because he said he had to order pizzas in Spanish.

    I don’t remember even being aware of pizzas in the 1960s in Florida. But I was in the almost Alabama part just north of Cape  Canaveral Kennedy Canaveral.

  48. 48.

    sab

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: That fucking irks me so much. I have a congenital heart arrythmia that almost killed me until I had it fixed. Fetterman has Afib he neglected. Totally different thing from stroke clogged arteries from unhealthy diet or high cholesterol.

    Oz is a former cardiologist, and he is spreading misinformation just to score political points. It’s utterly disgusting and unprofessional.

  50. 50.

    sab

    @Geminid: When I grew up near Daytona in the 1960s our newspaper publisher was Jewish from NYC and an actual socialist. I went to school with his son.

  51. 51.

    RaflW

    @Baud: I’d read elsewhere a while back that NY was one of the states that could lose Dems a House seat or two. Obvs NY lost in redistricting (we in MN thank you for your sacrifice) so someone has to lose a seat, but in a state that went Biden almost 61%, could it be structured differently? It seems like the Dems made a bungle (which, alas given NY’s Democratic machinery, seemed almost a given).

  56. 56.

    geg6

    @Geminid:

    Oh Jesus Christ.  Have they any idea how many veterans are in the Commonwealth?  No, of course they don’t.  They’re trying to lose.

  59. 59.

    Wombat Probability Cloud

    @Jackie: Also, I recall some news about Rebeka Jones potentially disqualified on a technicality, but don’t know the outcome. I hope she was able to challenge and resolve this.

  61. 61.

    sab

    @Scout211: Me,me, me on an Android mobile ( Nook.) Also had ome of those weird comments that don’t post then turn into posted ttriplicates ( complete with typos, to compound the embarrassment)

  62. 62.

    Geminid

    @RaflW: Politico had an article about the New York House races that said that six seats may be in play. I’m not sure how many are held by Democrats now.

    Albany Democrats put together a nifty gerrymander that they thought would gain Democrats 5 seats. Then the state’s Court of Appeals nixed it and had a special master draw a more neutral map.

    Illinois Democrats got away with a gerrymander that was as lopsided as New York’s, maybe more so.

  63. 63.

    dmsilev

    @different-church-lady:

    The third most Boston.com headline ever:

    My favorite was from the manhunt just after the Marathon bombing: “Businesses will be closed; select Dunkin Donuts to remain open to meet the needs of law enforcement.”

  64. 64.

    RaflW

    Woah

    Dave Wasserman @Redistrict

    I’ve seen enough: Charlie Crist (D) defeats Nikki Fried (D) in the #FLGOV Dem primary and will face Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in the fall.

    7:09 PM

    eta: I’m mostly just marveling that he made the call in 9 minutes. Ouch.

  66. 66.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    they… they named the school after him, then they banned the book he wrote when he was a hundred

    Jim Boyle @JimGBoyle

    At George Dawson Middle School an autobiography co-authored by George Dawson at 103 has been banned. Mr. Dawson was the grandson of a slave. He learned to read at 98. His book is an inspiration to all readers except it can’t be read at the school that bears his name.

    A book about the grandson of a slave who learned to read when he was 98 years old is currently under review for use in the school named after him in Southlake.
    The book, Life is So Good, tells the story of George Dawson’s life, from segregation and the civil rights movement to learning to read at 98. It’s one of about 10 under review by Carroll ISD.

    They won’t say what they find objectionable in the book. And, yeah, it’s that Southlake.

  70. 70.

    Scout211

    So it’s just sab and me having site problems? I’ve gotten two 522 notices and the site is super slow loading.

    No one else?

  72. 72.

    Layer8Problem

    @Dan B:  Oh, this is known to me.  Let me point out as well that Max Headroom is a data construct and has less potential for canoodling than an Emergency Medical Hologram.

  79. 79.

    Scout211

    @NotMax:

    Intermittently glitchy for hours today. Rife with 522 errors.

    Exactly!

    This is my 4th try at posting this comment, previous 3 tries got 522 error codes.

    iPad OS 15.6.1 on both safari and chrome

  83. 83.

    Feathers

    Spoke too soon. When I clicked the arrow to go to the new post got “Safari could not parse response.” When I tried to reload it was blank.

  85. 85.

    CaseyL

    @Scout211: Yes; it’s timed out once. But my computer can get slow all on its own (in dog years, it’s a dinosaur) so I blamed that rather than the site.

  86. 86.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: I think Crist might just win in November.  i can see the non-crazy republicans (both of them!) thinking that he’s a “safe” Democrat.  I think the Rs have gone too far on enough fronts that Crist could win this time in Florida.

  89. 89.

    Anonymous At Work

    @FlyingToaster: As long as it is not Cincinnati-style meat-soup.  And as a Texan, I reserve the right to change the heat level at will in anything called “chili”.

  92. 92.

    ian

    @RaflW:  That is the gist of Pierce’s argument, except for some inexplicable reason Pierce seems more upset about the incumbent candidates losing than the overall number change.  Weird take from him.

  95. 95.

    Scout211

    @Baud: No, she is ahead 85% to 6%. Not even close.  I have tried to post the results but the 522 error codes keep stopping me. It has been awhile since it was called

    I’m just happy for my sister in Orlando and BettyC., who are both fans of hers.

  96. 96.

    Immanentize

    @Baud: And my mother used to recognize me. And I used to be able to party all night long, like the PM of Finland.

  99. 99.

    Jackie

    @Immanentize: Or the Uncle Joe of Florida. Maybe, just like in 2020, Floridians will vote for the boring, safe alternative to the crazy, deranged mini-Trump. Knock on wood!

  102. 102.

    WaterGirl

    I have two questions.

    1. Is the site behaving better for those of you who are having problems?
    2. If you play Waffle and you do the weekly deluxe waffle and don’t win, does that end your current streak?  or is the Deluxe waffle kind of a bonus thing that can help you but not count against you?
  103. 103.

    JWR

    @NotMax:

    Rife with 522 errors

    I thought I was getting Internal Server: 500 messages, but whatever it was, I figured we were in for another “where’d everybody go this time?” situation. Earlier, I wasn’t getting to the site at all, versus now, where it’s just slow to load.

    Win10, Chrome, all up to date.

  104. 104.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @NotMax:

    I’ve had all kinds of problems, but they’re not limited to BJ, so have been assuming it’s an issue with either my device or my connectivity, not the site.

  105. 105.

    Geminid

    @DaveWasserman has called the FL 15th(?) CD Republican primary against loony Laura Loomer. He says Dan Webster will win by single digits. Loomer recentky bragged on trump’s social media site that she is “totally rabid.”

  108. 108.

    Scout211

    @WaterGirl: I thought the site was behaving better and was trying to post that but then the site froze and I got the 522 error code again. This happened twice. I switched to safari from chrome and it’s a little better. But still issues. Hopefully, this will post. Third try.

  112. 112.

    Another Scott

    An earlier story about the candidates in FL CD-10 – FloridaPolitics.com:

    By contrast, Frost burst onto the scene megaphone-loud, unabashedly progressive and full of youthful energy, making himself omnipresent at Democrats’ gatherings. He has all but swept progressives’ endorsements, and attracted more than $1 million in outside groups’ spending to back him. For his own campaign, Frost fired up one of the most robust congressional fundraising operations found anywhere in Florida.

    Frost has pushed all the Democratic issues with strong rhetoric, from gun control to labor unions, and from abortion access rights to the Green New Deal. His themes of bold, new and now emphasize his youthfulness to a young constituency. Schooled in the Democratic activists’ grassroots trenches, Frost declared himself to have been political leader for over 10 years, which would date to when he was 15.

    Grayson was once known as one of the liberal lions of Congress, formerly a popular guest on national, liberal cable talk shows. Now, he has reinvented himself as the wise old hand, whose successful congressional record — which ended in 2017 — of passing more legislation than anyone during his tenure shows he knows how to get things done in Washington better than his rivals. And he’s turned his focus largely to kitchen table issues — easing high taxes, high tolls and high rents — plus his agenda from 10 years ago.

    Various parts of the new CD 10 from downtown Orlando eastward to UCF were parts of Grayson’s old congressional districts. He knows those areas well, and he’s still well known. That’s not always positive for him. The old, blustery Grayson was never the easiest of political partners, and much of the local Democratic establishment turned on him long ago. Since his last election victory in 2014, he’s lost badly a couple of times.

    Frost reportedly won tonight. Grayson may have changed his stripes, but he should have changed them long ago. Here’s hoping that Frost – if he wants to stay relevant for more than a few terms – learns the right lessons.

    FloridaPolitics.com tonight:

    The win is the latest victory for Crist, 66, who has been running for political office in Florida for 30 years. For Fried, 44, it’s a setback in her early political career, which began with a narrow victory in the Agriculture Commissioner race in 2018.

    But the real test will come Nov. 8.

    Crist spent $13.7 million between his campaign and political committees combined to defeat a relative political newcomer with much less name ID. As of Aug. 18, he has about $1.5 million left. DeSantis has amassed a campaign war chest of more than $132.4 million between his campaign account and political committee combined.

    It used to be that the person with the most money almost always won (but correlation is not causation) and there are notable exceptions. Setting money on fire in campaigns is not productive, but how much money would Crist need to get out there now and fight hard for the next 76 days and win? $50M? $100M?? You have to figure that DeSantis plans to use a lot of that $132.4M on his presidential ambitions…

    Maybe Crist can hire that guy who did the first story above and praised Frost (the reporter was “Scott Powers”). It’s hard to get such positive coverage! ;-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  117. 117.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Another Scott:

    Grayson was once known as one of the liberal lions of Congress, formerly a popular guest on national, liberal cable talk shows. […]

    . The old, blustery Grayson was never the easiest of political partners, and much of the local Democratic establishment turned on him long ago. Since his last election victory in 2014, he’s lost badly a couple of times.

    calling Grayson a “liberal lion” would’ve made me do a choking spit take if I heard someone say it. The writer gets Grayson right in the later paragraph. Annoys me to see that phrase used to describe that blowhard.

  119. 119.

    Jackie

    @Another Scott: Here’s to hoping 3rd time’s the charm for Crist! And, that Independents join the Democrats in defeating the dictator wannabe!

    And, YAY for Gen Z, Frost!!!

  121. 121.

    Geminid

    The Florida Governor primary was not close. With 76% of the vote counted, Charlie Crist led Nikki Fried 60% to 35%.

    Crist came out swinging in his victory speech, calling DeSantis “a wannabe dictator.” Crist said of DeSantis: “All he cares about is the White House. He doesn’t care about your house.”

    From USA Today.

  124. 124.

    WaterGirl

    @Immanentize: Yes.  Even though your head knows it’s not personal, it’s surely heartbreaking.  It’s inconceivable that a mom could not know her own child, but there it is, and you are not alone in that.  big sigh.

  125. 125.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Geminid: Yes, I am well aware that the majority of American Jews have no use for Likud.  It’s just that the more conservative ones tend to congregate in places such as Paul mentioned.

  126. 126.

    Another Scott

    @Baud: Yeah, that was surprising.

    I cynically wonder, though, if it was like St. Bernard naming more post-offices than anyone, or something…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  130. 130.

    Shalimar

    @Another Scott: The only positive I see is that DeSantis’s $132 million is obviously for his presidential run.  He has been campaigning in other states for weak Republican candidates the last few weeks.  He hasn’t had an event in Florida that I know of.

  131. 131.

    Starfish

    RESULT: Do you remember Jared Smith, the Florida judge in Hillsbourgh County (Tampa) who tried to block a teenager from accessing abortion because her grades were too low? (https://t.co/yFz83yObrq)

    He was ousted tonight. He trails 52% to 48% with mail + all precincts reporting.
    — Taniel (@Taniel) August 24, 2022

  134. 134.

    piratedan

    @Geminid: was watching MSNBC and they were all stating that Charlie was a dead man walking and that DeSantis was unassailable.

     

    Maybe they’re right, but I kind of feel that the networks are still reluctant to gauge the true feeling of the country post Roe and Dobbs and are ignoring the big push in voter registration that is taking place with women and the younger voters.

    or maybe we’re just whistling past the graveyard, but I find it incredibly discouraging to find the one Network that is mostly aligned to be bipartisan shitting on a candidate not even an hour post him capturing the nomination.  These guys all seem to think that Florida is a lost cause based on their statements.

  135. 135.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Geminid:

    I totally get how flawed Crist is, but I confess I’ve always found him quite appealing, at least as a human person. Met him once or twice, briefly and casually, years ago at some regional Governors’ conference. He chatted with me for several minutes on first meeting, and a day or two later at another event recognised me and somehow alluded to our earlier meeting. Yes, good political skills and probably learned and finely honed, but for sure I came away with a positive impression.

    Betty C, I’m sorry your candidate of choice didn’t win the primary, but I do think Charlie, for all his baggage, has a genuine shot at taking down RDS. I hope so, anyhow, and will do my level best as an out-of-stater to help bring that about.

  136. 136.

    Another Scott

    I worked for @CharlieCrist in 2014 & spent a lotttt of time on the road with him – I dunno if he can beat DeSantis but I have no doubts as to how he’s going to spend the next 77 days: No one campaigns harder or spends more time genuinely trying to connect w/ what the voters want.

    — Amanda Litman (@amandalitman) August 24, 2022

    FWIW.

    That was 8 years ago, and it obviously wasn’t enough a few times back then… :-/

    I assume Crist realizes that’s what it’s going to take – he needs to fight for every vote and not take anything for granted.

    (via nycsouthpaw)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  137. 137.

    Hoppi

    @WaterGirl: I made a last visit to my deaf grandma after she had a bad stroke.  She held my hand and kept repeating “oh my baby, oh my baby”.

    I think I must have smelled like my dad (who had earlier died).   She then died within days, I hope with a final closure.

  141. 141.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: Two questionsI have: will trump try to undercut DeSantis? And if he does, will it make a difference?

    I think trump will want to.

  142. 142.

    Jackie

    @piratedan: I’m seriously hoping everyone votes for their uterus, or voting for someone’s uterus they love.

    Seriously, this should be the Year of the Uterus!

  144. 144.

    Geminid

    @Another Scott: I wasn’t really trying to correct you. But there is an idea out there that all Crist does is lose, and I wanted to remind people in general of his Congressional wins.

    And I especially value Democrats who flip and hold seats, like Crist, Lauren Underwood, Sharice Davids and others. That takes both talent and hard work.

  145. 145.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: Crist may also appeal to Independents. Florida is like Arizona in that Republicans outnumber Democrats. In 2020 both Arizona parties did well mobilizing their base, but Joe Biden and Mark Kelly carried a majority of the Independents and won.

  146. 146.

    Steeplejack

    @WaterGirl:

    I did the weekly Waffle for the first time a day or two ago, and it did not affect my daily streak. I did not “win”—get any stars—but it let me do the last two moves I needed to complete the puzzle.

  147. 147.

    quarks

    As a Florida voter, I’ll also jump on the crazy train and say that Crist has a chance to win this. Not a great chance, but I think those discounting him are also ignoring how many Florida voters are angry about the current teacher shortage, the homeowner’s insurance crisis, and various other issues.

  149. 149.

    Another Scott

    @quarks: Thanks for the report!

    To be clear, I think Crist has a chance too, and a good chance if he has enough resources.  “Enough” is the question – how much is enough without setting intermodal containers of cash on fire?

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  150. 150.

    Gvg

    I think my mother voted for Nikki Fried but she didn’t say anything more when I explained I picked Crist. I felt he had a better shot at the actual election ala Biden and appealing to the center and normies. I felt burned after the last governors race when the exciting new guy lost narrowly and then kind of fell apart afterwards which I think people noticed sort of like Edwards in a way. There just is too much at stake. And frankly Crist has paid a high price already for not going along with his former Republican buddies as they got more extreme and he got off that wagon a lot sooner than say Liz Cheney.

    Nikki kind of bugged me on a few issues but not enough to not have voted for her in the General. I just don’t think she is quite as smart as I’d like. The people running to replace her are rather pathetic to dreadful both parties. That office didn’t get good choices this time.

    School board was where I really tried to weed out. Mom helped there. Look out for any sign of home schooling for starters. Also code words about bring parents back into schools….

  151. 151.

    WaterGirl

    @Steeplejack: Do you have to get stars to win?  I thought you just needed to complete the puzzle in the allotted number of moves.

    I got this tonight with 0 starts left but all the words completed.

    Election Watch: Florida Primary Edition

    This is my first week, but two nights ago I finished with so many stars left that it lit up like a billboard and flashed for a really long time.

  152. 152.

    Steeplejack

    @WaterGirl:

    You get stars if you complete the puzzle before you get to “0 swaps remaining.” I don’t even know what constitutes “winning.” I have completed some puzzles right at the “0 swaps left” boundary. But, as I said, on the weekly one I still needed two more swaps after “0 swaps remaining” to complete the puzzle. It let me do that, so . . . But I guess in the daily puzzle it would break a streak? Whatevs. I enjoy doing it.

    ETA: You get stars for using fewer than the allocated number of swaps.

  153. 153.

    WaterGirl

    @Steeplejack: hmm.  I have concluded that since I got “PHEW”, “wowee” and “that was nail biting”, that completing with zero or more starts left is winning.  Sort of pass-fail, and it’s a pass.

    And of course stars is is your measure of your ability to not take all the moves that are available to you.

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