ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — This week in politics…just one month before the midterms, President Joe Biden, a Democrat and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican found common ground while surveying hurricane-ravaged southwest Florida.
Biden said DeSantis’ response to Hurricane Ian has been “remarkable.”
“We have very different political philosophies, but we’ve worked hand in glove,” President Biden told reporters.
“We were very fortunate to have good coordination with the White House and FEMA from the very beginning of this,” said DeSantis.
DeSantis, a potential presidential candidate in 2024, is up for reelection next month and the latest poll has him with a commanding lead over Democratic Challenger and ex-governor Charlie Crist.
Polls are just projections and the only poll that matters is on November 8th, but — Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, (rated A- by FiveThirtyEight) surveyed 800 likely voters last week. The results have DeSantis with an 11% advantage over Crist, with a 3.5% margin of error.
A scheduled debate between the two has been postponed. Crist’s campaign has been using their bus to collect goods for people impacted by Hurricane Ian.
Shaky market on worse footing: In the meantime, the number of insurance claims filed in the wake of Hurricane Ian continues to climb, as of Friday morning there are more than 335,000.
This is a cause for concern, because of the state's ongoing property insurance crisis. This year, six insurers have gone out of business, more are on the verge of being insolvent and the state-backed Citizens continue taking on more and more policies.
State Senator Jeff Brandes (R-Pinellas County) has been vocal about the need for reform and says the governor should create a task force to address the ongoing issue and hold another special session ahead of the new year.
“As challenging as Ian is, it's the perfect catalyst for this conversation because it allows us to, to have a framework to discuss this on,” Brandes told 10 Tampa Bay.
There needed to be certain policy decisions that the state legislature shifted towards. Unfortunately, during the special session, they chose one of them, but not all of them. And, frankly, they need all of them. The simple truth is, we’re on this unsustainable trajectory,” Brandes added.
Vote-by-mail ballots are being sent out ahead of next month’s election, more than 300,000 were requested in Hillsborough County alone. On Thursday, election officials there sent out pallets of ballots and tested voting equipment.
If you want a vote-by-mail ballot to be sent to you, you have until October 29th to request one. To find more important deadlines check out our helpful voter guide.