Last Call for 10.1.25 – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida

Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

Lawmakers and lobbyists may have thought this year’s marathon Session was an outlier. Gov. Ron DeSantis is warning otherwise.

Speaking at the Jacksonville International Airport, DeSantis said his priority of placing a property tax amendment on the ballot could stretch the 2026 calendar well beyond the traditional 60 days in Tallahassee. If lawmakers don’t approve it during the Regular Session, he said, they may be called back for a Special Session squarely in the middle of campaign season.^[1]

“We really have to get it passed and on the ballot, you know, prior to the Primary cycle being done in August,” DeSantis said. “I’m not saying we’re going to wait that long, but, you know, we could potentially have a Special Session on property tax right in the middle of the Republican Primary season in July or August.”

It’s the clearest sign yet that the Governor intends to use the final year of his term to keep pressure on the Legislature, even if another year of upended schedules. Beyond timing, he stressed that the wording of the ballot language could make or break the effort.

“We want to give you an opportunity to have something meaningful that’s going to help families here, that the Legislature can obviously sign off on, but then that the voters will approve,” DeSantis said.

“And it’s both an art and a science because you’ve got to make sure that the numbers work good, then you’ve also got to make sure that the voters, when they see it, that it’s something that is positive.”

The Governor said too many past amendments failed because they were written in “legislative, bureaucratic speak” that confused voters instead of convincing them. In his telling, the success of next year’s property tax amendment will hinge on clear language, voter-friendly framing and,  of course, a Legislature that complies with his wishes.

Evening Reads

—“Pentagon plans widespread random polygraphs, NDAs to stanch leaks” via Alex Horton, Tara Copp and Ellen Nakashima of The Washington Post^[2]

—”How Washington became a testing ground for ICE” via Hamed Aleaziz, Brent McDonald and Amogh Vaz of The New York Times^[3]

—“How Democrats backed themselves into a shutdown” via Russell Berman of The Atlantic^[4]

—”Federal workers are being told to blame Democrats for the shutdown” via Victoria Elliott of WIRED^[5]

—”Welcome to Portland, where Donald Trump’s fever dream is America’s new nightmare” via Tim Dickinson of Rolling Stone^[6]

—”How the government shutdown is affecting Florida” via Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics^[7]

—”Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex remains open despite federal government shutdown” via Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics^[8]

—“Florida Dem again files bill to create database to help in voter-rights restoration” via Mitch Perry of the Florida Phoenix^[9]

—”State trooper vs HOA: Tussle over parking patrol car overnight tests state law” via Jeffrey Schweers of the Orlando Sentinel^[10]

—”They’re the surprise of the year in college football — and their MVP is a 48-year-old lawyer” via Laine Higgins of The Wall Street Journal^[11]

Quote of the Day

“When they know the voters are watching, they tend to govern themselves accordingly.”

— Gov. Ron DeSantis, teasing a Special Session on property taxes ahead of the 2026 Primaries.

Put it on the Tab

Look to your left, then look to your right. If you see one of these people at your happy hour haunt, flag down the bartender and put one of these on your tab. Recipes included, just in case the Cocktail Codex fell into the well.

Gov. Ron DeSantis receives a ‘No Worries’ for his lack of concern about Alligator Alcatraz reimbursements amid the government shutdown.^[12][13]

There’s already a Mr. Worldwide from Florida, but Brian Ballard can borrow the cocktail recipe for a day following Ballard Partners’ announcement of a strategic partnership with Forward Global.^[14][15]

U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody is joining federal employees with a Furlough — also known as a Wright Flyer — by going without pay during the shutdown.^[16][17]

Breakthrough Insights

Tune In

Baseball postseason continues

The Major League Baseball playoffs continue with four series, including two American League series this evening.

The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees play game two of their series at Yankee Stadium (6 p.m. ET, ESPN). Boston took game one of the series last night, 3-1, behind the pitching of Garrett Crochet, who retired 17 consecutive batters in the Boston victory.

This is the sixth time the two franchises have met in the postseason. Before 1995, two teams from the same division could not make the postseason. That changed when Major League Baseball introduced the wild-card playoff system. The Yankees won the first two postseason meetings in 1999 and 2003, but the Red Sox won in 2004 and again in 2018. In 2021, Boston won a single-game wild-card game. 

Also tonight, the Los Angeles Dodgers host the Cincinnati Reds in game two of the series. The Dodgers took game one 10-5, powered by Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernandez, who each hit a pair of home runs.

The Wild Card series uses a best-of-three format, so by the end of the day, four teams could advance to the divisional round of the playoffs. The top two seeds in each league receive a bye. In the American League, the Toronto Blue Jays earned the top seed, with the Seattle Mariners also gaining a bye. The Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies were the top two teams in the National League.

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Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.