Gonz\u00e1lez, a former City Manager who sued to block a controversial postponement of Miami\u2019s election, has secured the endorsement of Gov. Ron DeSantis<\/a> and other<\/a> major Republicans<\/a>. Meanwhile, Xavier Suarez \u2014 a former Mayor and father of the outgoing executive \u2014 is running, as is Joe Carollo.<\/p>\n The backdrop to all this is a high-stakes procedural tug-of-war: in June, Miami\u2019s Commission voted 3-2 to postpone the elections to 2026 (aligning them with even-year contests). That move was struck down by a court as unconstitutional, forcing the November 2025 vote to proceed.<\/p>\n Orlando also offers a politically consequential set of contests. The city\u2019s 2025 General Election will fill three City Council seats in Districts 1, 3, and 5.<\/p>\n In District 1, City Commissioner Jim Gray leads a crowded field that includes Tom Keen, Sunshine Linda-Marie Grund, and Manny Acosta. But much of the spotlight<\/a> is on Gray, the incumbent, and Keen, a former state lawmaker.<\/p>\n District 3 is drawing attention as well. Incumbent Robert Stuart is retiring after two decades. That means a true open-seat scramble featuring five candidates, though Mears Transportation executive Roger Chapin is setting the fundraising pace<\/a> in that contest.<\/p>\n In District 5, Shan Rose is the incumbent and has already pulled ahead in fundraising<\/a> over challenger Regina Hill \u2014 though a third candidate, Lawanna Gelzer, injected fresh energy by self-funding a $25,000 launch. Hill, of course, was removed from this seat after being accused of taking advantage of an elderly constituent, putting fireworks behind this showdown.<\/p>\n Keep your eyes out for comprehensive coverage from our team as Election Day closes in.<\/p>\n Now, it\u2019s onto our weekly game of winners and losers.<\/p>\n Winners<\/p>\n Honorable mention: Former Congressmen from St. Pete. Two names very familiar to St. Pete residents made headlines this week as they reasserted themselves. And though they\u2019re former adversaries, both could be looking to deliver wins for Democrats next year.<\/p>\n Former Republican U.S. Rep. David Jolly, now a Democrat running for Governor, reported more than $2 million raised<\/a> for his 2026 gubernatorial campaign, continuing to strengthen his candidacy in the Democratic Primary. For a party that hasn\u2019t won a Governor\u2019s race in more than 30 years, Jolly\u2019s haul is the first sign that at least one candidate is taking the infrastructure challenge seriously.<\/p>\n Even assuming he locks up the nomination, Jolly is still the underdog in a state that has grown increasingly red. But Jolly is betting on his more moderate past appealing to voters, and so far, donors have responded.<\/p>\n Former U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, meanwhile, is floating a political comeback of his own \u2014 this time back home in St. Petersburg, where he\u2019s considering a run for Mayor<\/a>.<\/p>\n The move would pit him against incumbent Ken Welch, another well-known Democrat, in what could become one of the most high-profile local races in the state. St. Pete City Council member Brandi Gabbard, also a Democrat, is in the race as well.<\/p>\n Crist still has strong name recognition and deep ties in the city, but after losing to DeSantis in 2022, his viability in another campaign will hinge on whether voters see his return as a homecoming or a retread. But he\u2019ll be running in much more Democrat-friendly territory, in St. Pete, than will Jolly.<\/p>\n Funnily enough, it was Crist who bounced Jolly from Congress in 2016, after Crist had made the conversion from Republican to Democrat that Jolly underwent years later. Will they be able to convert a voter base becoming ever more GOP-friendly to their respective causes?<\/p>\n Almost (but not quite) the biggest winner: Florida House. This week, the Florida House broke through the haze of property tax talk and introduced a fully fleshed-out property tax package<\/a> that would put choice directly to the voters.<\/p>\n The proposals are structured as constitutional amendments (by way of joint resolutions) rather than legislative changes. That means if the Legislature approves them, they would go straight to the 2026 ballot for voter approval.<\/p>\n How to reshape property taxes across the state is a thorny issue. DeSantis has been vocal about wanting a full repeal. But local officials warn that would cripple their revenue base and threaten vital services.<\/p>\n The House appears to have threaded the needle politically. Every proposal explicitly protects law enforcement funding and exempts school property taxes from any cuts. That avoids immediate attacks that would frame the proposals as jeopardizing cops or education.<\/p>\n There is, however, a caveat: none of the bills include implementing language. That means if voters approve the amendments, legislators would still have to wrestle with the details during a future Session. That\u2019s risky, because implementation is where the real fights happen. But in terms of seeing a quick change in the state, it\u2019s a way to avoid the plans getting caught up in the muck and stalling out.<\/p>\n The House is offering clear choices to Florida\u2019s voters: pick one, several, or none of these proposed cuts. Whether voters should be trusted with such a monumental reform to government revenues is another matter. But voters have pushed for direct choices on myriad hot-button issues in years past. Now, they\u2019ll be able to weigh in on how their property tax bills will be tallied up, if at all.<\/p>\n The biggest winner: Jim Boyd. The Senate Republican Caucus unanimously chose Boyd<\/a>, a veteran lawmaker from Bradenton and current Senate Majority Leader, to succeed Ben Albritton.<\/p>\n Boyd\u2019s message at the designation ceremony leaned into disciplined governance: fiscal restraint, accountability, pro-growth economics, protecting parental rights and defending law enforcement.<\/p>\n The Legislature recently has been navigating tensions with the executive branch, looming budget pressures, and hot-button cultural fights. Boyd steps into a leadership transition at a moment when the Senate will have to manage those pressures and build alliances to push things through.<\/p>\n Boyd\u2019s ascent is the culmination of decades in public service and methodical relationship-building. A former insurance executive and House member before joining the Senate in 2020, he has carved out a reputation as a calm, policy-minded operator who rarely seeks headlines but consistently delivers on priorities.<\/p>\n For now, Boyd\u2019s quiet rise makes him one of the most powerful figures in Florida politics heading into the next election cycle.<\/p>\n Losers<\/p>\n Dishonorable mention: Jay Collins. A new St. Pete Polls survey<\/a> released this week shows Collins polling at just 4% in the GOP Primary \u2014 well behind Byron Donalds\u2019 commanding lead of 39%. Meanwhile, his fellow contender Paul Renner sits at just 3%.<\/p>\n In short: We\u2019re about 10 months from GOP Primary ballots being counted, and Collins still registers as a political nonfactor as he continues holding off on formally entering the race.<\/p>\n If that weren\u2019t enough, Collins is being undercut from his own former colleagues in the Legislature. This week, 63 Republican House members \u2014 more than half of sitting Republican House members \u2014 lined up behind Donalds<\/a> rather than Collins.<\/p>\n It\u2019s yet another example of Team DeSantis waffling until the party apparatus has already made clear they prefer an alternative. We saw the same thing in the 2024 Presidential Primary, where DeSantis thought getting state-level support somehow would overcome members of Congress and the public at large moving back to Trump while DeSantis sat on the sidelines. Apparently, they haven\u2019t learned their lesson.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the \u201cFlorida Governor\u2019s Dinner\u201d where DeSantis had an opportunity to speak alongside Collins and CFO Blaise Ingoglia in Fort Walton Beach as Republican executive committee members from four North Florida counties are set to gather to raise money. Instead, DeSantis is flying out west to attend the Florida State football game against Stanford.<\/p>\n That\u2019s quite a ringing endorsement of his potential hand-picked successor.<\/p>\n The 2026 gubernatorial Primary has long taken shape, and Collins appears stuck on the outside looking in.<\/p>\n Almost (but not quite) the biggest loser: South Florida Dems. Members of South Florida\u2019s Democratic delegation may soon find themselves on the chopping block \u2014 not because of scandal or sluggish fundraising, but because of what\u2019s coming out of Tallahassee and Washington.<\/p>\n Florida Democrats are bracing for a potential mid-decade redistricting push that DeSantis has been pushing for as a way to grow the Republican majority<\/a> in the delegation.<\/p>\n On top of that, this week\u2019s U.S. Supreme Court hearing in Louisiana v. Callais could lead to several minority opportunity districts being dismantled. The case could weaken key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, the same ones that have long protected districts drawn to give minority voters a chance to elect their preferred candidates.<\/p>\n DeSantis has already singled out Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick\u2019s district as a likely target, calling it \u201calmost certain\u201d to be redrawn if the court sides with his view. That puts Cherfilus-McCormick, and possibly Frederica Wilson, directly in the crosshairs of a potential GOP power grab.<\/p>\n Republicans see opportunity. Club for Growth has reportedly set aside funding for a Florida ad campaign supporting new maps that could add \u201cthree additional Republican seats.\u201d And with a newly formed House select committee on redistricting already in place, the machinery for a mid-decade remap is ready to roll the moment the Supreme Court gives the green light.<\/p>\n Democrats are lawyering up. Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried has hired new counsel focused solely on redistricting and is warning that DeSantis could use the federal ruling to challenge the state\u2019s Fair Districts Amendment, the voter-approved ban on partisan gerrymandering. But their options are limited if the Florida Supreme Court, which already sided with DeSantis on prior map disputes, continues to defer to him.<\/p>\n Between the looming court decision, a Governor eager to reshape the map, and national conservative groups ready to bankroll it, South Florida Democrats could soon find themselves fighting for political survival.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s not clear the party will have the resources<\/a> to fight back.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Floridian-Partners-Ad-1_728x90.jpg\")
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