There were few winners and too many losers in Florida politics over the past year as legislative dysfunction took over in Tallahassee and the state Supreme Court stepped in on redistricting.
After Rick Scott defeated Charlie Crist and the GOP majorities in the House expanded in the 2014 elections, Republicans should have been poised for a good year in Tallahassee. But the Senate and the House were at logger heads over the budget, mainly whether or not to accept federal dollars for Medicaid expansion. The governor and the House majority opposed Medicaid expansion while the Senate overwhelmingly supported it. As tensions grew between the chambers, the House adjourned early forcing Scott to call a special session to pass the budget.
While the $78 billion budget made it through the special session, legislative tensions continued. The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the Legislature violated voter approved amendments on redistricting in 2012, forcing more special sessions as new congressional and state Senate maps had to be drawn. Once again, the House and the Senate were at loggerheads, failing to agree on maps and letting the Supreme Court draw up new districts. The court turned to maps from the League of Women Voters for new congressional districts and are expected to do the same with the Senate.
But if Florida Democrats should benefit from the new maps, they didn’t exactly have a good year either. Alvin Brown had been one of the rising stars for the party but Jacksonville voters denied him a second term as mayor, turning to Lenny Curry, the former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF). Gwen Graham, another up-and-comer for Democrats, is political peril due to the new maps but, overall, the latest round of redistricting should help them pick up a seat or two in Congress. In the meantime, criticism is growing louder against Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the most high profile Florida Democrat, due to her leadership at the Democratic National Committee (DNC), due to the small number of presidential debates. Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley backers are also accusing Wasserman Schultz of stacking the deck in favor of her old ally Hillary Clinton. Some of the most established politicians in Florida--from Republican Dan Webster to Democrat Corrine Brown--also lost out in 2015 as redistricting makes it tougher for them to stay in Congress.
The unemployment continues to drop in Florida as tourism continues to set record numbers. But other parts of the economy haven’t been as strong and Florida citrus is in peril as the USDA forecast almost 30 percent less oranges than last year’s already reduced crop.
Still, there were some winners over the past year. Richard Corcoran, who is set to take over as speaker in November, showed he was up for the task as he led the fight against Medicaid expansion. Jacksonville Democrat Mia Jones also scored points as she took up the Senate’s banner in the House, even winning praise from her opponents for her skillful handling of the matter. Over in the other chamber, Joe Negron finally defeated Jack Latvala and has been designated as the next Senate president. But even as that contest ended, eyes now turn to the House where Eric Eisnaugle, who has expected to take over as House speaker for the 2020-2022 term, spent much of the year battling coup attempts and is still fighting for the gavel. Other winners included RPOF Chairman Blaise Ingoglia who scored a big success with the Sunshine Summit, hosting all of the major presidential candidates in Orlando back in November, and Charlie Crist who, after losses in 2010 and 2014, now is the favorite for an open congressional seat thanks to the new districts.
Still, there were far more losers than winners in Florida politics. After failing to find common ground on Medicaid expansion and redistricting, the GOP majorities in Tallahassee have to work together before they face voters in November. After a disastrous 2014 and some bad spots in 2015, the Democrats have to bounce back in Florida if they want to keep the White House and flip Marco Rubio’s Senate seat. With a lot at stake next year, both sides will be hoping for a better 2016 in the Sunshine State.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
