By Kimberly Leonard

Good morning and welcome to Tuesday. 

A challenge to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ redistricting map heads to federal court in Tallahassee this morning, in a trial that could determine control of the U.S. House after the 2024 elections.

Various civil and voting rights organizations sued in federal court last year after Desantis sliced up a North Florida district held by former U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, a Black Democrat. Plaintiffs have accused DeSantis of “intentional racial discrimination” and argue that weakening Floridians’ voting power on the basis of race violates the 14th and 15th Amendments. The trial could last as long as eight days and will go before a three-judge panel.

Al Lawson. | AP Photo/Steve Cannon, File

Kathay Feng, a lawyer with Common Cause, a democracy advocacy organization and one of the groups suing, said that “someone isn’t signing a confession note” about what happened in terms of proving discriminatory intent, but she said that DeSantis “bullied” the Legislature and that he had “an intent to dismantle a Black opportunity district at all costs. The governor’s racial discrimination should be fully on display for the court to consider.”

One of the lingering questions about the dispute is whether the case could go before the Supreme Court, though DeSantis has previously denied he’s plotting a specific litigation strategy.

This case may not give DeSantis that path, especially if the state wins the first round. If DeSantis were to petition the Supreme Court, he’d likely want the justices to examine a wholly different question than the discrimination one being considered in federal court. Namely, DeSantis has vocally challenged the constitutionality of part of the Fair Districts Amendment passed by voters in 2010, which says districts can’t be drawn in a way that would “diminish” the ability of people of color to elect their chosen candidates. DeSantis argued that Lawson’s old seat was an illegal race-based gerrymander.

Another way to the Supreme Court could be through a separate challenge at the state level. A state judge ruled earlier this month that the redistricting plan violated Florida’s Fair Districts standards and ordered the Legislature to redraw the maps. That ruling is now in front of the 1st District Court of Appeals. It may eventually end up before the conservative-majority Florida Supreme Court and then be petitioned to the highest court of the land to question whether the Fair Districts standards violates the U.S. Constitution.

The timing of the various challenges is important given that the Legislature's session kicks off in January — giving lawmakers time to redraw the maps if ordered by the courts to do so. DeSantis strong-armed the Legislature in 2022 into accepting his redrawn maps, effectively helping Republicans win a slim majority in the U.S. House in 2022. The judges could also strike down the maps but leave them in place through the presidential election.

It’s not clear what the U.S. Supreme Court would do. It sent a positive signal to plaintiffs by striking down Alabama maps in June, but justices were facing a question about the Voting Rights Act, which is different from the question at the center of both the state and federal cases in Florida.

Alex Kelly, the governor’s acting chief of staff who helped draw the map, and state House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa) are among those expected to testify in the federal trial.

Lawson told Playbook he won’t attend the federal trial and hasn’t decided whether he’ll run again if the former district boundaries are reestablished. “This trial is not about me,” he said. “This is about people in the district having representation, which they never had before.”

“It's amazing that people would fight hard against representation, and that's what everybody should really want,” Lawson said. “You would hope that a governor would be the governor for all of the people.”

— Gary Fineout contributed reporting. 

— WHERE'S RON? Gov. DeSantis is expected to be fundraising in California this week as he prepares for the second GOP presidential debate.

What does DeSantis need to do in the next debate to reclaim his spot as former President Donald Trump’s top rival? Send us your thoughts at: [email protected]

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LETTER — The National Foundation for Gun Rights sent a letter to DeSantis, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and Florida legislative leaders urging them to repeal the state’s ban on the open carry of firearms during the next session. The group threatened to otherwise “explore all legal options.”

INVESTIGATION — “What is the Florida Shuffle of addiction treatment? How patients are lured here,” by Palm Beach Post’s Antigone Barton: “It is a phrase coined in the past decade as a growing toll of overdose deaths highlighted state failures to regulate the addiction treatment industry. In the Florida Shuffle, patients and their insurance policies that cover hours of supposed therapy and repeated laboratory drug tests, become commodities. Patients lose their value when they recover.”

MIGRANT RELOCATION CHANGE — “Records: Amended DeSantis migrant transport program won't make promises,” by Tallahassee Democrats’ Kate Cimini and Ana Goñi-Lessan: "Contractor shall ensure each participating individual understands and accepts that no goods or services, such as lodging accommodations, additional travel, or other arrangements will be provided by Contractor after arrival at the destination," the contracts state.

WIN FOR DESANTIS — “Federal judge refuses to block union dues deduction ban in Florida,” by News Service of Florida’s Jim Saunders: The DeSantis-backed law forces most public employee unions to mail in checks for their dues rather than have them automatically deducted from their paychecks. Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker determined that the unions had other ways to easily collect dues.

GAMBLING — “Florida warns fantasy sports firms they may be ‘conducting illegal lottery,’” by News Service of Florida’s Dara Kam: “Florida gambling regulators last week sent cease-and-desist letters to three daily fantasy-sports operators accused of offering potentially illegal mobile betting games and threatened legal action if the sites don’t immediately stop. Emails obtained by The News Service of Florida indicate that the Florida Gaming Control Commission’s crackdown also places season-long fantasy sports games in the crosshairs, just as the football season picks up.”

FLEEING FLORIDA — “'I didn't just quit my job, I quit the state.' Book ban row drove out Escambia library boss,” by Pensacola News Journal’s Brittany Misencik: “Not only did [Michelle White] feel she could no longer serve in the district, but there was no longer a place for her in the state due to the restrictive legislation, prompting her to relocate her family to Colorado to pursue a role of a children’s librarian, leaving the school setting altogether."

SUNSHINE SHOWDOWN — DeSantis and Trump are both set to speak at the Republican Party of Florida’s Freedom Summit in Kissimmee, Florida, on Nov. 4. They will “make their pitch at the same event, on the same day in Florida for the first time during the Presidential campaign!” RPOF Chairman Christian Ziegler wrote on X. The event is happening just days before the GOP presidential debate in Miami and ahead of a dinner Trump is hosting at Mar-a-Lago for RPOF executive committee members.

This combination of photos shows California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaking in Sacramento, Calif., on June 24, 2022, left, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaking in Sioux Center, Iowa, May 13, 2023. | AP Photo

MARK YOUR CALENDARS — DeSantis is set to debate California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Nov. 30 at 9 p.m. EST in Georgia, Fox News Channel announced. Sean Hannity will moderate the 90-minute debate, which is not expected to have an audience given the parameters Newsom agreed to.

HARRIS RETURNS TO FLORIDA — Vice President Kamala Harris will is visiting Florida International University in Miami for a moderated conversation as part of her “Fight for Our Freedoms” college tour to attract young voters. The visit coincides with a Miami Shores fundraiser Playbook scooped last week.

WILL HE DUMP ON TRUMP? — “DeSantis supporter says 2nd GOP presidential debate is the time to go ‘on the offense’ vs. Trump,” by Florida Phoenix’s Mitch Perry: “If you were to talk to the folks on the ground, I think most people are looking for him to start going on the offense against Donald Trump,” says New Hampshire state House Republican leader Jason Osborne, who endorsed DeSantis for president in May. “They’ve been watching this constant barrage coming from Trump towards Gov. DeSantis over the last several months and they’re ready for him to fight back.”

REFLECTING BACK — “How DeSantis' early missteps hobbled his US presidential bid,” by Reuters’ Gram Slattery, James Oliphant and Nathan Layne: “Eight advisers, allies, donors, individuals involved in his fundraising efforts or people close to DeSantis told Reuters the governor placed too much emphasis on finishing Florida's legislative session without appearing to be running for president. In hindsight, such a distinction likely did not matter to voters, those people said, and left DeSantis vulnerable to attacks from Trump, as he refused to personally defend himself from the former president's broadsides.”

SEN. JONES GOES TO WASHINGTON — Sen. Shevrin Jones (D-Miami Gardens) attended a meeting at the White House Monday with the Board of Advisors to discuss investment in Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

BIRTHDAYS: Brittany Davis Wise, interim assistant vice president for communications for the University of Florida ... Jessica Bakeman, director of enterprise journalism at WLRN ... Former Daytona Beach News-Journal columnist Pamela Hasterok

WEEKEND WEDDING — Harrison Fields, a senior adviser and comms director to Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), and Caitlin McCoy, a senior director for digital at Plus Communications, got married in Arlington, Va. Both are from Wellington, Fla., and graduated from Florida State University. SPOTTED: Byron and Erika Donalds, Chris Georgia, Alexandria Smith, Karoline Leavitt, Chad Gilmartin, Jalen Drummond, Rebekah Gudeman, and Mason and Caroline Champion.

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