At the same time, DeSantis\u2019 policymaking has been deeply polarizing. From education reforms focused on culture-war fights<\/a> and exerting influence over public universities<\/a>, to aggressive immigration enforcement initiatives<\/a> and high-profile clashes with Disney<\/a>, his agenda has sharpened the state\u2019s political divide.<\/p>\n He also exerted arguably the most power over the Legislature as any Governor in modern Florida history. But notably, entering his final year in office, that influence has waned.<\/p>\n Once viewed as a GOP rising star nationwide, his standing in the broader Republican electorate diminished after a decisive 2024 Presidential Primary loss. And he hasn\u2019t appeared to foster a successor to take over once he departs office (more on that later).<\/p>\n Of course, the Regular Session won\u2019t be the only chance for DeSantis to flex his policy muscle, with multiple Special Sessions apparently on the horizon (more on that later as well). This year will feature plenty of opportunities for DeSantis to either reassert his legacy \u2014 whether it be with property taxes, redistricting or elsewhere \u2014 or be stonewalled again by GOP lawmakers showing a renewed willingness to assert their authority.<\/p>\n As the gavel falls Tuesday, the focus will be on policy and process. But beneath it all run decisions that will help define how Florida remembers the DeSantis era.<\/p>\n Now, it\u2019s onto our weekly game of winners and losers.<\/p>\n Winners<\/p>\n Honorable mention: Miami Hurricanes.\u00a0The Miami Hurricanes have once again earned the chance to do something that has eluded the program for more than two decades: being crowned the top team in college football.<\/p>\n Nothing is a done deal yet, but Miami\u2019s path to the championship has been especially notable. They defeated Texas A&M in Round 1 after many \u2014 especially Notre Dame fans \u2014 argued the College Football Committee never should have let Miami in the Playoff in the first place.<\/p>\n Their Round 2 matchup featured a face-off with last year\u2019s champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes. Coincidentally, that\u2019s the same team Miami played in their last championship game, when the referees robbed the Hurricanes<\/a> of a second straight title on a ridiculous pass interference call on what should\u2019ve been the game\u2019s final play.<\/p>\n Consider that robbery avenged after the Hurricanes dominated a team many saw as the best in college football.<\/p>\n Cut to the semifinal matchup against a Cinderella team in Ole Miss in what turned out to be a classic<\/a>. The site of that game? The Fiesta Bowl, the site of that aforementioned robbery. The Canes once again were victorious.<\/p>\n Having excised all demons, Miami will now play for the title in a de facto home game, with the championship game having been scheduled at Hard Rock Stadium, where the Hurricanes play at home during the regular season.<\/p>\n For a program that once defined the sport\u2019s cutting edge, the moment carries weight well beyond a single postseason run. Miami\u2019s path to the title game capped a season in which the Hurricanes moved from \u201cimproving\u201d to \u201carrived,\u201d navigating a playoff field designed to reward consistency, depth and resilience rather than brand name alone. In a new CFP era with expanded access and little margin for error, Miami cleared every bar put in front of it.<\/p>\n The playoff run has also brought plenty of financial upside through revenue, television exposure and merchandising, while reinforcing the university\u2019s profile as a blue-blood program..<\/p>\n Miami has cycled through coaches and rebuilds since its last national title appearance. Advancing to the championship suggests the current approach \u2014 from roster construction to player development \u2014 is finally producing results that longtime fans have been waiting for.<\/p>\n Florida used to be the pinnacle of college football. Miami has a chance next week to cap off a miracle run and perhaps launch a new era of Sunshine State dominance. But for a team that wasn\u2019t even expected to qualify for the College Football Playoff, they\u2019re already playing with house money.<\/p>\n Almost (but not quite) the biggest winner: Charlie Crist.\u00a0Crist didn\u2019t announce an official comeback this week. He didn\u2019t hold a rally or roll out a policy platform. But the numbers did plenty of talking on his behalf.<\/p>\n A political committee tied to Crist reported raising more than $725,000<\/a> in just seven weeks \u2014 an amount that appears to be unprecedented at this stage of a municipal contest in St. Petersburg and one that instantly elevated his potential candidacy for Mayor.<\/p>\n The committee\u2019s report showed dozens of maxed-out checks and a donor list that looked far more like a statewide campaign than a municipal one. Labor groups, trial lawyers, longtime Democratic donors and Crist allies from across Florida all showed up early, and they showed up big.<\/p>\n In local races, money tends to trickle in slowly. Not here.<\/p>\n The fundraising answers lingering questions about Crist\u2019s post-Congress political viability. After losses at the gubernatorial level and years away from local office, skeptics wondered whether donor enthusiasm would follow him home.<\/p>\n This report suggests the network is intact \u2014 and eager. The early surge suggests Crist can tap networks far beyond the city limits once he chooses to move forward, giving him plenty of resources to take on an incumbent Mayor.<\/p>\n The biggest winner: Marco Rubio. Rubio and the rest of the Donald Trump administration are celebrating what could be one of the most consequential foreign policy developments in recent U.S. history: the United States carrying out a military operation in Caracas that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and his wife.<\/p>\n Rubio\u2019s role in shaping the U.S. response to Maduro long predates this week\u2019s events. The Florida Republican has spent more than a decade making Venezuela a focal point<\/a> of his foreign policy agenda<\/a>. As a Senator, Rubio was an early and persistent critic of the Maduro regime, accusing it of narcoterrorism, corruption and electoral fraud and pushing for escalating sanctions, asset freezes and economic pressure on Caracas.<\/p>\n In 2025, the U.S. government doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro\u2019s arrest to $50 million \u2014 the largest bounty ever placed on a foreign head of state \u2014 a move aligned with Rubio\u2019s \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d strategy.<\/p>\n Now Secretary of State, Rubio has articulated a three\u2011phase strategy<\/a> for Venezuela post-Maduro that begins with stabilization, moves through economic recovery and aims toward a political transition. Central to that plan is leveraging control over Venezuelan oil revenues \u2014 an idea Rubio emphasized in congressional briefings and press statements this week.<\/p>\n In the days since Maduro\u2019s capture, interim Venezuelan authorities have begun releasing political prisoners<\/a> and signaled tentative cooperation<\/a> with U.S. officials on diplomatic and oil\u2011sector matters, a dramatic shift from years of hostility.<\/p>\n There has been plenty of legitimate criticism of the U.S. conducting a military strike in a sovereign capital, particularly given Trump\u2019s years of public aversion to regime change and forever wars.<\/p>\n But the administration is banking on this being a success, and if it is, Rubio\u2019s fingerprints are all over it. His sustained focus on Venezuela helped shape the strategic framing and congressional briefing process behind the scenes, and this week\u2019s outcomes reflect a culmination of years of advocacy on the issue.<\/p>\n Losers<\/p>\n Dishonorable mention: Jay Collins.\u00a0The latest polling data of the 2026 Governor\u2019s race is making it increasingly clear that the Lieutenant Governor\u2019s prospects of gaining traction in the contest are sputtering.<\/p>\n A new Fabrizio, Lee & Associates survey lays out a GOP Primary contest<\/a> where U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds holds a commanding lead among likely Republican voters \u2014 not just ahead of the pack, but far ahead in nearly every hypothetical matchup. In polling that included Collins, Donalds led him by nearly 40 points, with Donalds posting 45% support to Collins\u2019 6%.<\/p>\n Recent snapshots of the gubernatorial Primary landscape show Donalds consistently dominating the field, while contenders such as Collins, Paul Renner and others have mostly remained mired in low single digits.<\/p>\n For Collins, the numbers are stark: Despite a high-profile television ad buy in late 2025 and periodic commentary aimed at distinguishing himself from Donalds on issues, the polling needle hasn\u2019t budged.<\/p>\n In a crowded GOP primary where Donalds has the Trump endorsement, sizable early fundraising and sustained public support, Collins faces a steep uphill climb just to break out of the single-digits. At this stage of the race, Collins\u2019 potential run for Governor is looking less and less wise.<\/p>\n Almost (but not quite) the biggest loser: Miccosukee Tribe.\u00a0Congress failed to override<\/a> Trump\u2019s veto of a bill designed to provide flood protections and land status clarification for the tribe\u2019s Osceola Camp area in the Everglades.<\/p>\n The legislation at the center of the fight, the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act, was a bipartisan measure introduced by U.S. Rep. Carlos Gim\u00e9nez that had cleared both the House and Senate without opposition. The bill would have formally expanded the Miccosukee Reserved Area to include Osceola Camp, which has long been home to tribal members.<\/p>\n But late last month, Trump used his veto power \u2014 one of his first vetoes of his second term \u2014 to reject the measure, casting it as an unnecessary taxpayer burden and linking it to the Tribe\u2019s opposition to Alligator Alcatraz<\/a> in the Everglades. In his veto message, the President argued the Tribe \u201chas actively sought to obstruct reasonable immigration policies\u201d and that federal support for the project wasn\u2019t warranted.<\/p>\n When lawmakers attempted to override that veto Thursday, they fell short of the two-thirds majority required in the House. The vote to uphold Trump\u2019s decision fell at 236-188, with enough GOP members siding with the President to prevent the override.<\/p>\n The biggest loser: Post-Session vacation plans. If anyone was hoping to pencil in a quiet Spring getaway once the Legislature gavels out, this week delivered a reality check.<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s Regular Session hasn\u2019t even convened yet \u2014 it begins Tuesday and is scheduled to run until March 13 \u2014 but the calendar is already filling up beyond Sine Die. Gov. Ron DeSantis has formally called one Special Session for April<\/a> to take up redistricting, and he has openly floated another<\/a> focused on property tax changes.<\/p>\n The April Special Session is locked in. Lawmakers will be called back to Tallahassee to redraw congressional maps after an expected major decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. That alone would be enough to complicate travel plans for legislators, staffers, lobbyists and the press corps who typically treat March as the finish line. But DeSantis\u2019 comments about a possible property tax Special Session suggest the April return trip may not be the last.<\/p>\n Property taxes are a politically heavy lift, one that would require significant debate, bill drafting and negotiation. If the Governor follows through, that means another round of committee-style work, floor sessions and late nights \u2014 all after lawmakers have already logged the usual grind of 60 days \u2014 or more<\/a>.<\/p>\n Multiple Special Sessions will compress the expected downtime this year or erase it altogether. And don\u2019t forget about the August Primary and Midterm Elections come November.<\/p>\n DeSantis has shown a willingness to use Special Sessions as an extension of his governing strategy, keeping lawmakers engaged \u2014 and available \u2014 to advance priorities on his timetable.<\/p>\n That may be useful for a Governor trying to maintain momentum and fight off lame-duck status. But for anyone hoping March would mark the end of long days, crowded calendars and burning hotel points in Tallahassee, you might want to keep the suitcase handy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Florida\u2019s 2026 Legislative Session opens Tuesday under the unmistakable shadow of Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 final full year in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39649,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3347,28,30,29,5187,8877,5079,53342,57780],"class_list":{"0":"post-114023","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-charlie-crist","9":"tag-florida","10":"tag-florida-headlines","11":"tag-florida-news","12":"tag-jay-collins","13":"tag-marco-rubio","14":"tag-miami-hurricanes","15":"tag-miccosukee-tribe","16":"tag-special-sessions"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114023\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Florida-Politics_728x100-1.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/FCG-CS-Award-2025-FL-Politics-Ads-728-x-90-px.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n