Graham’s abortion shift — Scott, the NRA and OnMessage — Putin’s Florida GOP helpers — Who is America, Matt Gaetz? Presented by Facebook

By Marc Caputo ([email protected]; @MarcACaputo) and Matt Dixon ([email protected]; @Mdixon55), with Emily Goldberg ([email protected]; @ejgold94) and the staff of POLITICO Florida

Good Monday morning. The election is officially here. Well, not quite “here” here. But there, overseas, now that overseas absentee ballots are being sent ahead of the August 28 primary. For domestic voters, absentee ballots will start going out July 24 at the earliest. Also, today marks the first day that California billionaire Tom Steyer’s progressive NextGen group officially activates its 50 paid field staffers and 620 volunteers in Florida to organize full time for Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum’s campaign for governor (here’s the backstory on the endorsement). But Gwen Graham won’t let him get too far to her left …


MESSAGE PUSH — “Graham’s potential ‘game change’: abortion rights and gender,” by POLITICO’s Alexandra Glorioso: Gwen Graham is trying out a new pitch to voters as she tries to gain ground in the Democratic gubernatorial primary: She’s more qualified than her opponents to protect abortion rights because she’s the only woman running in the five-way race. “It’s time we have a changed world where women are equally represented in any conversation about our health care options,” Graham told reporters at an abortion rights event she held in Tallahassee on Friday. “The stakes were always high, but now they’re even higher to make sure that we elect a woman governor of Florida that’s going to fight for a woman’s right to control her own body.” Asked by POLITICO if she believed that she was more qualified than her male opponents to discuss the issue, Graham didn’t miss a beat: “Yes.” Read more

NEW FLORIDA PARLOR GAME — On Friday, when the federal government indicted a dozen Russians for hacking the DNC and DCCC, there of course was a Florida link. Or two. Or maybe three. This line kicked the Interwebs’ Rorschach of Hate Speculation Machine into high gear about Florida: “On or about August 15, 2016, the Conspirators, posing as Guccifer 2.0, received a request for stolen documents from a candidate for U.S. Congress. The Conspirators responded using the Guccifer 2.0 persona and sent the candidate stolen documents related to the candidate’s opponent.” Based on that, people who hate Rep. Matt Gaetz said it was probably Gaetz. People who hate Rep. Ron DeSantis said it was probably DeSantis. And people who hate Rep. Brian Mast said it was probably Mast. If anyone, it MIGHT be Mast as our story Friday shows ...

FLORIDA WHORE HOUSE — “Florida Republicans play starring roles in Russia hacking indictment,” by POLITICO’s Marc Caputo: Almost as soon as the indictment was released Friday, Florida Republicans, Democrats and even allies of Mast speculated that the congressman’s campaign was likely implicated — in great part because a former campaign consultant for Mast admitted last year to The Wall Street Journal and then to POLITICO that he used some of the hacked information in 2016. Mast, through a spokesman, denied a link. Regardless of Mast’s potential involvement, the indictment shines a new light on the depths of Russia’s election meddling as well as the weaponization of information in U.S. political campaigns. “Even prostitutes are embarrassed by how dirty political consultants are. It’s become a business that’s 100 percent zero-sum. It’s all about the results,” said Jacob Perry, a former consultant for Mast who worked on local issues in Florida’s 18th Congressional District, which sits on the northern edge of Southeast Florida. Read more

WHY FLORIDA? — Outside of the obvious answer to the “Why Florida?” question (Answer: Because it’s Florida), the likelihood of the mystery candidate hailing from the Sunshine State is due to the nature of the DCCC hack that surfaced in August of 2016: it concerned oppo research and other data concerning Democratic candidates in Florida. We wrote about it at the time.

NOT-SO PUNKED — Rep. Matt Gaetz told the Daily Beast that Sacha Baron Cohen may have duped him for the comedian’s new Showtime show “Who Is America?” But it could have been far worse. He could have been like Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) or Larry Pratt, executive director emeritus of Gun Owners of America. The other guys read from a script provided by Cohen and sounded as if they were endorsing a kid-arming program called Kinder-guardians hawked by Cohen posing as terrorism expert and Israeli Col. Erran Morad. Pratt comes across as the most clueless. But Gaetz didn’t appear to fall for it. Though he apparently failed to vet Cohen (as did the staff for Sen. Bernie Sanders, who appeared earlier in the show), Gaetz seemed to catch on that something was amiss:

Gaetz: “You want me to say on television that I support 3- and 4-year-olds with firearms? Is that what you’re asking me to do?”

Cohen: “Yes.”

Gaetz: “Hmmm. Typically, members of Congress don’t just hear a story about a program and then indicate whether they support it or not.”

… THE TRAIL …

ONMESSAGE ONTARGET — “The Mystery Firm That Became the NRA’s Top Election Consultant: Since 2014, the gun rights group has paid millions of dollars to a little known contractor for ads in key Senate races. Did it break campaign finance laws in the process?” by The Trace's Mike Spies for POLITICO Magazine: In Florida, Governor Rick Scott is challenging Senator Bill Nelson, the Democratic incumbent. In his last gubernatorial campaign, Scott hired OnMessage. The NRA, the former employee says, tapped the firm for pro-Scott work. But in Florida campaign-finance records, which do not require filers to disclose the races in which money is spent, it’s Starboard that appears as a vendor. Scott’s chief political adviser is Curt Anderson, a partner at both OnMessage and Starboard, and Scott’s Senate campaign has signed up OnMessage as a contractor. The NRA, which bashed the gun control package Scott signed in March after the Parkland school shooting, has yet to wade into the race, but its federal agenda depends on preserving a Republican majority in the Senate. The Florida race is likely to be the most competitive, and most expensive, of 2018, making any edge for either candidate potentially decisive. Read more

CONTRACT LABOR — “Bill Nelson’s Campaign Avoiding Taxes, Health Care Costs on Campaign Staff,” by The Washington Free Bacon’s Brent Scher:“Democratic senator Bill Nelson (Fla.) has been avoiding common campaign expenses such as paying payroll tax and providing benefits such as health insurance by staffing his reelection effort solely through contractors, a rarely used and frowned-upon tactic. Nelson's filings with the Federal Election Commission so far this cycle contain no disbursements for payroll or salary, nor payments for payroll taxes that come along with having salaried workers. Also missing are any payments for health insurance, which campaigns provide to full-time employees.” Read more

BITTERSWEET — “Anti-sugar candidate takes his fight to sugar’s doorstep,” by the Tampa Bay Times’ Adam C. Smith: Read more

MARIO’S MONEY — Facing Democrat Mary Barzee Flores in his FL-25 reelection, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart reported raising $507,194 in the second quarter of 2018, bringing his cash on hand to $1,612,508.

… TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP …

PARTY OF TRUMP — “In Trump’s GOP, candidates battle to mimic the president best,” by the Tampa Bay Times’ Alex Leary: “Cris Dosev, a Congressional candidate in the Florida panhandle, likes to compare himself to President Donald Trump, telling audiences he's a businessman taking on the political establishment. ‘Thank you for the endorsement, Mr. Trump,’ he jokes. Problem is, Dosev’s running in the GOP primary against Rep. Matt Gaetz, who so avidly defends Trump on Fox News that he gets phone calls from the president. ‘I couldn’t possibly crawl up Mr. Trump's rear end any deeper than this guy has,’ Dosev said.” Read more

— @realDonaldTrump: “Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida is one of the finest and most talented people in Congress. Strong on Crime, the Border, Illegal Immigration, the 2nd Amendment, our great Military & Vets, Matt worked tirelessly on helping to get our Massive Tax Cuts. He has my Full Endorsement!”

SHOCK! — “FEMA admits shortcomings in 2017 hurricane response,” by USA Today’s Joel Shannon: FEMA “admitted Thursday that it drastically underestimated the devastation that Hurricane Maria was about to unleash on Puerto Rico in 2017, hampering the agency's ability to react to the worst natural disaster to ever hit the island. The findings are in FEMA’s after-action report summarizing the agency’s performance in 2017, a busy year that featured three catastrophic hurricanes. It follows widespread criticism of the agency’s handling of the 2017 hurricane season, particularly its response to hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico, knocking out power to virtually the entire U.S. territory of more than 3 million people.” Read more

STILL SEPARATED — “More than 2,500 immigrant kids are awaiting reunification with parents,” by CNN’s Tal Kopan and Catherine E. Shoichet: Read more

… DATELINE TALLAHASSEE …

QUESTIONING SUCCESS — “Despite Success, Florida’s Only Needle Exchange Still Faces Pushback,” by Miami New Times’ Molly Minta: “Though heroin-related deaths in Miami-Dade reached an all-time high in 2016 and South Florida continued to lead the nation in new HIV diagnoses, there's some good news: Opioid deaths are decreasing, according to a study from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. One possible reason is the University of Miami’s syringe exchange program. Green-lit in December 2016, IDEA Exchange is the only legal exchange program operating in the state of Florida. ‘The fact that we’re here is effective,’ says Emelina Martinez, who has worked as an outreach coordinator for IDEA Exchange since it started. ‘We’d be more effective if we could work outside of Dade County, but the law prohibits us from doing so ... We have people who come in from the Keys, Tampa, Fort Myers, Naples, you name it. They’re coming in just to try to get needles.’” Read more

TRAIL BLAISE-R — “How One Man Owned The Libs And The Establishment — And Took Over The Florida Republican Party,” by Buzzfeed News’ Henry J. Gomez: “Blaise Ingoglia got so much shit for inviting Dinesh D’Souza to the Sunshine Summit. Not that the chair of the Republican Party of Florida should have expected any less. Giving D’Souza — the right-wing author, filmmaker, conspiracy theorist, and convicted criminal — a keynote speaking slot was sure to provoke outrage. That D’Souza recently had belittled survivors of a deadly Florida school shooting made it all the more visceral. The outrage came from Democrats and Republicans. Gov. Rick Scott, ostensibly an ally, but one with whom Ingoglia has a complicated relationship, made his disappointment clear.” Read more

HAMMER TIME — “NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer files suits over ‘hate and vitriol’ directed at her,” by News Service of Florida's Jim Turner: “The federal lawsuit said the conduct of the defendants — Lawrence ‘Lol’ Sorensen of California, Christopher Risica of Connecticut and Howard Weiss, and Patrick Sullivan, whose places of residence are unknown — has caused emotional distress, humiliation, shame, and embarrassment and raises concerns the attacks “can quickly escalate into actual violence.” ... he second lawsuit was filed later in the day in Leon County circuit court against Brian Fitzgerald, who is identified as a 66-year-old resident of Miami-Dade County. Each lawsuit seeks “in excess” of $1 million in damages.” Read more

… SLIME WATER …

OUR LYING EYES — “Commissioner: Lake Okeechobee not culprit in toxic algae discharges,” by WPBF’s Terri Parker: “Video taken from Sky Drone 25 shows bright green algae moving from Lake Okeechobee through the open dam and east toward the coast.For the first time in two weeks, the floodgates are open at the St. Lucie Lock and Dam, where water gushes and algae pools around the locks. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is releasing 1,800 cubic feet of water per second. That's 1.2 billion cubic feet per day. The discharges are being pushed one day on, one day off to lessen the impact of the algae-laden water hurtling toward the delicate estuaries.” Read more

SICK — “Toxins in algae at ‘dangerous’ levels, expert says,” by Palm Beach Post’s Kimberly Miller: “The decision Thursday to restart Lake Okeechobee releases after a temporary respite was expected, but it comes as toxicity levels in the algae are testing in amounts that one expert called ‘dangerous.’ An algae sample taken July 5 at the St. Lucie Lock near Phipps Park in Stuart was returned Tuesday with toxin levels of 154 micrograms per liter — 15 times higher than what the World Health Organization considers low risk. Earlier samples from the Caloosahatchee River in Lee County were even higher at 463 micrograms per liter and 308 micrograms per liter. Anything over 20 micrograms per liter is considered a ‘high risk for acute health effects.’” Read more

NOW WHAT COULD THAT TAX MONEY FUND? — “South Florida Water Management District plans to roll back tax rate,” by TC Palm: “For the eighth consecutive year, the South Florida Water Management District board approved a proposal Thursday to cut the agency’s property tax rate for the fiscal year that starts in October. The board will make a final decision on the tax rate in September, after public hearings on the proposal in September. This year a homeowner in most of the district’s 16 counties, including Martin and St. Lucie, with a house assessed at $150,000 and a $50,000 homestead exemption, paid $31 in property taxes to the district.” Read more

… PENINSULA AND BEYOND …

CROOKED CORRECTIONS — “As staffer laughed, boy was sexually assaulted at Florida juvenile program, deputies say,” by Miami Herald’s Howard Cohen: “The Walton Academy for Growth and Change is supposed to provide a ‘secure residential treatment program for males, ages 13 to 18,’ according to law enforcement in the Florida Panhandle town. But the DeFuniak Springs facility, which is run by a company called Rite of Passage for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, was the site of a sexual attack and battery on a 15-year-old boy on July 5. The incident led to an investigation and the arrests of four juveniles and one adult employee, who was accused of facilitating the assault.” Read more

‘MOOLI’ MILLAN — “Miami judge who used an obscure racial slur resigns from the bench,” by Miami Herald’s David Ovalle: “The Miami judge who called a black defendant a racial slur has resigned after he faced a forced removal from the bench. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Stephen Millan submitted his letter of resignation this week, more than one month after the Florida Supreme Court rejected a proposed 30-day suspension and a $5,000 fine for the misconduct. According to a report released earlier this year by the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, Millan was in his chambers talking with a defense lawyer in 2016 when he called the criminal-court defendant a ‘moolie.’” Read more

… ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN …

— “Miami likes to build sports stadiums. And it likes to tear them down,” by Miami Herald’s David Smiley: Read more

— “Jet skis have corroded the MacArthur Causeway. That’s bad news for your commute,” by Miami Herald’s Kyra Gurney: Read more

— “Living shorelines rise in popularity among Northwest Florida homeowners,” by Pensacola News Journal’s John Upton: Read more

— “He said he was ‘going to burn down the building with all the f------ Jews,’ Miami Beach cops say,” by Miami Herald’s Howard Cohen: Read more

— “Romano: The best politician in Tampa Bay is not a politician,” by the Tampa Bay Times’ John Romano: Read more

— “Miami Cops Keep Arresting Homeless People for Sitting on Crates,” by Miami New Times’ Meg O’Connor: Read more

— “With Gov. Scott and legislature in denial, tiny town adapts on its own to climate change,” by Miami Herald’s Amy Green: Read more

— “Deputies were at a party when Fort Lauderdale airport shooting began, says widow's lawsuit,” by Sun Sentinel’s Tonya Alanez: Read more

TAMPA MAN — “Race-baiting Tony Daniel charged with battery after clash over one of his signs,” by the Tampa Bay Times’ Bre Badham: “It was not an uncommon sight for Tampa residents. Local provocateur Tony Daniel was standing on a street corner Friday, megaphone and racist sign in hand. But then a woman slapped his sign, police say, and Daniel hit her in the face with his electronic megaphone. Another woman joined the brawl, which spilled into the street. When it was over, Daniel, 60, was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon — the megaphone — and booked into the Hillsborough County Jail.” Read more

KEYS TEACHER — “Her husband wouldn’t buy her cocaine. So she hit him in the face with her phone, cops say,” by Miami Herald’s David Goodhue: “An Islamorada woman hit her husband in the face with her cellphone when he refused to buy cocaine for her, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.A neighbor of Aileen Soto, 43, said he saw her throw the phone at her husband after he told her, “It’s Thursday night. I have to work tomorrow. I’m not buying you cocaine,” according to Deputy Jason Farr’s report. Deputies were called to the Airstream Lane home around 5 p.m. Thursday.” Read more

FOR MORE political and policy news, check out Politico Florida’s home page: http://politi.co/1jkJUyL. And please follow our staff @mdixon55, @sbustosFL,@aglorios, @dducassi, @ArekSarkissian and @bruceritchie on Twitter.

SUBSCRIBE to the Playbook family: POLITICO Playbook http://politi.co/2lQswbh ... New York Playbook http://politi.co/1ON8bqW ... New Jersey Playbook http://politi.co/1HLKltF ... Massachusetts Playbook http://politi.co/1Nhtq5v … Illinois Playbook http://politi.co/1N7u5sb ... California Playbook http://politi.co/2bLvcPl ... Brussels Playbook http://politi.co/2xzZRrI ... London Playbook http://politi.co/2kIhzsb … All our political and policy tipsheets http://politi.co/1M75UbX

-Want to make an impact? POLITICO Florida has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Sunshine State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness amongst this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: [email protected].

Follow us on Twitter Gary Fineout @fineout

Follow Us