Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis maintains an 11-point lead over his Democratic challenger, Charlie Crist, as he grapples with the impact of Hurricane Ian.
The Mason-Dixon poll, which Florida Politics obtained, surveyed 800 registered and likely voters and found that 52% of them backed DeSantis, compared to 41% for Crist. The double digit lead puts the current Florida governor well outside of the survey’s +/- 3.5% margin of error.
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The fiancé of Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried – Jake Bergmann – was distracted when on September 15, 2021 he drove his 2019 Ram 1500 Longhorn across the center-line of a two-lane road in northeast Tallahassee, destroying a neighbor’s $1,500 brick mailbox, according to a traffic crash report obtained by The Florida Capital Star.
The report indicated that debris from the crash was scattered west to east approximately 30 yards and the Ram truck was inoperable and towed from the scene. The photo of the vehicle after the incident shows massive damage to the front of the truck and, consistent with the police report, indicates that the air bags in the front seat were deployed.
The Florida Capital Star obtained documents related to the disposition of the truck which indicate that the vehicle was valued at $56,753 with a repair cost of $44,392.
The law enforcement official at the scene did not issue a ticket, charge or sanction Bergmann, the former CEO of Surterra Wellness.
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For the second time in less than two years Nikki Fried – the current Florida Agriculture Commissioner and gubernatorial candidate – has amended her 2018 financial disclosure form filed with the Florida Commission on Ethics.
The latest amendment, filed on May 28, 2021, comes just days before she officially announced she would be running for governor.
The amendment relates to her gross income in part D of the form. Fried changed the amount of income she received from Igniting Florida to $351,480.
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Governor Ron DeSantis’ political committee, Friends of Ron DeSantis, in 2021, has raised over $23 million, and nearly $14 million of the total was raised during April alone. During April, the campaign received primarily two large sums of money, one was for over $5 million from Chicago-based hedge funder Kenneth Griffin, and the other was a $2.8 million donation from the Republican Governors’ Association. Griffin was one of DeSantis’ primary contributors to his 2018 gubernatorial run.
DeSantis has not formally filed the paperwork to run for reelection in 2022, but the account is ramping up donations, indicating a DeSantis campaign is likely imminent.
Over 30 contributions came in totaling over $50,000, 139 contributions over $25,000, and 86 contributions of $100 to $500.
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During Tuesday’s broadcast of The Gill Report – live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville – conservative political commentator and Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill praised Florida Governor Candidate Ron DeSantis for his current ad appealing to the public in a more human than political way. DeSantis’s wife narrates the advertisement accompanied by their children who appear along with their father DeSantis. He continued: I mentioned in the last segment that there is a great new television commercial airing in Florida for Ron DeSantis whose running for Governor. A conservative Republican he’s been endorsed by President Trump. Well they have a spot that is well featuring his wife Casey talking about Ron DeSantis and their kids and that he’s so much more than just a Trump supporter and he shows it in the way he plays with his kids, reads with his kids, and teachers them. CASEY DeSANTIS: Everyone knows my husband Ron DeSantis is endorsed by President Trump but he’s also an amazing dad. Ron loves playing with the kids. Build the wall. He reads stories, then Mr. Trump says your fired! I love that part. He’s teaching Madison to talk. Make America great again. People say Ron’s…
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