RealClearFlorida Articles

In a frantic attempt to preserve its monopoly over the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, attorneys for the union currently representing the district’s 24,000-plus teachers and support staff are relying on a strategy that has the potential to backfire and leave its members without workplace representation altogether. On March 18, United Teachers of Dade (UTD), using an argument that would invalidate its own petition, asked a hearing officer with Florida’s Public Employee Relations Commission (PERC) to reject a competing union’s bid to participate in a forthcoming...

Children growing up in foster care, sadly, often find it a confusing and tumultuous existence. On top of the difficult circumstances that lead to their separation from their families, they’re thrust into a new environment and a world of uncertainty. This is the unfortunate reality for the nearly 400,000 children in foster care in the United States today, but community collaboration can make a difference for these children.  Thirteen years ago, motivated by the belief that every child is valuable well beyond birth and regardless of their circumstances, we asked...

I know who my bosses are. They aren’t the special interests in Washington, it isn’t party leadership, it’s my voters in Florida. Earlier this month, I sat down with some of my bosses in Destin, Florida for a podcast they host in their driveway. I was there to be held accountable. Congress has yet to achieve the things voters are asking for like term limits and a balanced budget. That’s what this fight in Congress is all about. It’s about making sure the promises we’ve made to voters are fulfilled. The Speaker made promises to me and other lawmakers in...

After engaging with Florida lawmakers for several years, the Freedom Foundation played a key role in helping the state pass the country’s most muscular labor-reform bill since Wisconsin’s Act 10 in 2011. In the interim, several states have adopted portions of the Wisconsin model. Then the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME invalidated most government-employee membership forms and spurred new legislative opportunities. In response to Janus, many states have approved legislation codifying what a valid union membership form must include to be recognized...

The administration is aiding and abetting an invasion of the Southern border. Our rights are being stripped away. We are at war and the enemy is within. In response to this existential threat, we’re told that we need to entrust a congressman previously recognized as the “tech industry’s best friend” as our leader. That’s boneheaded. Kevin McCarthy is not the right leader for the moment. Fortunately, enough Republicans recognize that to stop him from being the next Speaker of the House. Five House Republicans, including myself, have announced that we will not vote...

“Why, after three decades of life as a New Yorker, did you move to Florida?” I’m often asked this question with a mix of wonder, as if I’d just traveled across Mongolia on horseback, tainted by Upper East Side disdain (“Did you retire early?” How was the hurricane?” etc.). For background, I first came to live in Manhattan in 1992, while the crack epidemic still raged. After Rudy Giuliani became mayor in 1994 quality of life in the city improved dramatically. Conditions continued to improve on sound policies through the Bloomberg era. However, after...

In 2020, President Donald Trump won Florida by a little over three points. It was the best showing for a Republican presidential candidate in Florida in 16 years. Trump outperformed the polls by four points and did better in Miami-Dade County with Hispanics than anyone expected. The 2020 results and Republican governor Ron DeSantis’s strong performance in office led many to see Florida as a budding red state, though it also seemed that this might be an overestimation. Now, however, in the aftermath of the 2022 midterms, Florida is clearly on its way to being a red state. After 2020,...

As the saying goes, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different result. If that’s true, then it is insane to expect Arizona to produce election results in a timely manner and free of controversy. Three months ago, Arizona’s administration of voting in the state primary election created chaos. Arizona let America down then, but many hoped that the state’s leaders would learn from that mistake and produce better results in November. No such luck: Arizona’s administration of the general election shows that its failed...

Despite Florida’s recent turn to the right, it still functions as a swing state. As a result, it has several competitive congressional seats this cycle. The congressional election results could decide who controls the state house – and these seats will matter beyond 2022, because some rising political stars are competing for them. While statewide races in Florida will draw most of the national attention, the congressional races should not be overlooked. Florida’s 13th congressional district is home to former governor and current Democratic gubernatorial nominee Charlie...

Charlie Crist is likely to lose by double digits in Florida’s gubernatorial election on Tuesday. For his trouble, he may land a job in the Biden administration, but his political career will essentially be over. That career has spanned more than 30 years, and it serves as a cautionary tale about political opportunism. Crist first ran for Florida’s state senate as a Republican in 1986 and lost in the run-off for the primary. In 1992, Crist won a state senate seat that Democrats had controlled for 128 years. His election helped shift control of the chamber. It also suggested...

Over the last decade, Democrats built an enormous voting edge with women. Republicans have largely failed to cut into it. A few weeks ago, Florida Republican governor Ron DeSantis ran an ad featuring his wife, Casey, where she talked about how her husband has helped her through her cancer diagnosis. Some noted that the ad might matter less for DeSantis’s reelection campaign than for his likely presidential run. Casey DeSantis’s appeal to women can help Republicans across the nation close the gap with women in 2024. Democrats have capitalized on pro-choice issues by demonizing...

The University of Florida’s recent decision to hire Nebraska Republican senator Ben Sasse as its president spurred debate. Many on the Left predictably lamented having a Republican lead a major university. The Right was divided. Some praised Sasse for his previous university experience and independent voice. Others, including former president Donald Trump, criticized the pick, deeming Sasse a “RINO.” Still others speculated on the role of Florida governor Ron DeSantis in the move. DeSantis did not pick Sasse to be president of the University of Florida, however –...

A few years ago, while visiting the National Hurricane Center, I asked the staff to describe a worst-case weather scenario for Florida. They described a high-category hurricane stalling off the coast and pummeling the western side of the state with storm surge. In other words, they described Hurricane Ian. Over the course of that storm, Florida suffered as much as $50 billion in property damage. Whole communities were destroyed. Islands were cut off. And the death toll, now exceeding 100, continues to rise. It’s the worst natural disaster to hit Florida in almost a century. Much of what...

Florida has no shortage of political star power. While Gov. Ron DeSantis is receiving the most attention, many current and former Florida politicians loom large. One politician who is starting to receive more buzz is Francis Suarez, the Republican mayor of Miami. In the last month, Suarez has made the rounds on conservative media to position himself as a star in the making. His increased profile has fueled speculation about his future in Florida – and even nationally. But a closer look at Suarez’s record shows he should have no place in Republican politics, because he will sell...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s decision to send a plane of immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard sparked debate on a range of issues, including how the move would play out politically. Politico published a piece last week that claimed DeSantis’s relocation of immigrants would cost him in South Florida, where many Hispanics live. The piece quoted liberal sources who said DeSantis would come off looking like the tyrants many Hispanic voters fled. But a look at political developments over the last decade show Politico is misreading Hispanic voters. In 2008 and 2012, the Republican Party...

The midterm elections are only about two months away, but for many, it’s easy to look past them and start thinking about the 2024 presidential election. On the Republican side, the two most talked-about candidates are former president Donald Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis. Many Republicans would like a ticket with Trump as the presidential nominee and DeSantis as the vice presidential nominee, to avoid a divisive primary that could cost them the presidency. Some caution, however, that the 12th Amendment might prevent such a ticket, since it seems to suggest that two candidates...

Florida governor Ron DeSantis made headlines for agreeing to campaign for Republican candidates, including some controversial ones whom the Republican establishment has abandoned – Pennsylvania gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano, Arizona senatorial nominee Blake Masters, and Arizona gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake. Perhaps DeSantis is campaigning for these candidates to build support for his likely 2024 presidential bid. Even if that’s the case, DeSantis’s campaign efforts could help the Republican Party in 2022 and beyond. Lake and Mastriano matter because Arizona and...

After the 2000 election, much of the nation looked down on Florida for its chaotic, infamous recount. But Florida worked hard to reform its election system over the next 20 years. As a result, while many swing states faced scrutiny in 2020, Florida won praise for how it conducted elections in the face of a pandemic and record voter turnout. More than two decades after the recount, Florida has enacted many election reforms that other states should follow. And yet, Florida’s reforms are not above criticism – two, in particular, may have contributed to more voting problems in the...

The results of the Florida primaries, which will take place on August 23, will likely have a major impact on the midterms and on the political landscape.  Florida Republican governor Ron DeSantis will likely win reelection in November, but Democrats are seriously contesting the governorship. Democrats’ two major candidates are agriculture commissioner Nikki Fried and Congressman Charlie Crist, a former governor. Fried has faced ethical questions, has run an erratic campaign, and lags in the polls. Crist, who has been in politics for thirty years, has lost runs for statewide office...