FazzNoth Posted August 19, 2022 Posted August 19, 2022 First Read is your briefing from “Meet the Press” and the NBC Political Unit on the day’s most important political stories and why they matter. If it’s Friday ... A Judge says he’s inclined to unseal parts of Mar-a-Lago search affidavit. ...Fox News polls show Democrats up in Arizona Senate and Wisconsin Senate. ... Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell admits GOP might not flip the Senate, citing candidate quality. ... NBC’s Antonia Hylton interviews Democrat Cheri Beasley in North Carolina Senate. ... And 73% of second year college Democrats don’t want Biden to run in 2024, poll finds. The Sunshine State has dropped from the top spot of America’s most consequential battleground states, due in large part to the GOP’s continued statewide success in the state since Barack Obama’s victory there in 2012. But Florida returns to the spotlight when it and New York hold primaries on Tuesday. You have Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis along with his 2024 possibilities running for re-election. And we’ll find out which Democrat (either Charlie Crist or Nikki Fried) will take him on in November. So far, DeSantis has found success wading in the Trump Era waters, picking social fights that energize the Republican base, but also touting his economic stewardship during Covid (see this TV ad, for example). You also have Sen. Marco Rubio’s, R-Fla., Senate showdown with Democrat Val Demings, though there’s not really any primary action in that race. And you have controversial Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., getting a primary challenge; you have several open congressional seats (due to redistricting and retirements); and you have Democrats trying to make a comeback in South Florida’s 27th District. One of the conundrums of Florida politics over the last 10 years is how both Republicans and Democrats have been treating it more and more like a ruby-red state when, in fact, the races there are almost always close. (And we have a strong feeling that both the state's gubernatorial and senate races will be within 5 points in November.) The other thing to watch: Do national Democrats and especially the folks over at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. begin paying more attention to Florida’s gubernatorial race in the fall, given the potential 2024 implications? Data Download: The number of the day is … $28 million That’s how much the McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund is booking in TV and radio ad time for the fall to help boost Republican author J.D. Vance in Ohio’s Senate race. It’s a signal the calvary is coming to help Vance, who made it through his primary thanks to the help of an endorsement from former President Donald Trump and major financial backing from venture capitalist Peter Thiel. But since then, he’s been outspent by an overwhelming figure Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan has spent $18.6 million on ads since the primary, compared to just $382,000 from Vance and another $1.6 million spent on coordinated ads from Vance and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The combined Democratic effort has regularly hit $700,000 or more a week, while the combined GOP spend didn’t eclipse $20,000 per week until August. https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/first-read/desantis-key-primaries-florida-returns-political-spotlight-tuesday-rcna43879
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