Platforms And Priorities In The Florida Governor’s Race

>> THE ROLE OF TARIFFS WILL HAVE A ROLE IN THE UPCOMING MIDTERM ELECTIONS. ACCORDING TO NPR POLLING AVERAGES SHOW IT IS BECOMING POSSIBLE THAT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY TAKES CONTROL OF THE U.S. HOUSE. A RECENT UPDATE OF A NUMBER OF POLITICAL POLLS COMPILED BY STATISTICIAN NATE SILVER SHOWS THAT THE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE FOR FLORIDA GOVERNOR BYRON DONALDS HAS A 3.8% LEAD OVER DEMOCRAT DAVID JOLLY. THIS IS A CONSENSUS FROM MULTIPLE NATIONAL POLLS AND INDICATE FLORIDA'S GOVERNOR'S RACE COULD BE TIGHTER THAN EXPECTED. FOR MORE ON THE UPCOMING GENERAL ELECTION, I AM JOINED BY SANDY PARKER, THE COLLIER COUNTY RESIDENT BEHIND US SPARKER'S SOAPBOX, WHICH IS A NON-PARTISAN INFORMATION RESOURCE FOR VOTERS. HOW DID YOU START CREATING THIS IMPORTANT SOURCE? >> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. JENNIFER. I'VE BEEN DOING SPARKERS SOAPBOX SINCE 2010. IT'S GROWN A LOT SINCE THEN. BUT IT'S REALLY JUST ABOUT HELPING PEOPLE BE INFORMED VOTERS. I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT FLORIDA OR COLLIER COUNTY WHEN I MOVED HERE AND AND I'M FINDING THAT AS PEOPLE MOVE HERE FROM OTHER STATES ARE LOOKING FOR A WAY TO BE INFORMED. AND I LIKE TO BE ABLE TO FILL THAT NEED. >> FREE AND NON-PARTISAN. ABSOLUTELY FREE AND NON-PARTISAN. >> ALL RIGHT. SO YOU'RE GOING TO FILL US IN. >> ON THE GUBERNATORIAL RACE, IT'S OBVIOUSLY HEATING UP. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT >> THE MAJOR CANDIDATES, RIGHT? SO THE REPUBLICAN IS A CURRENT CONGRESSMAN, BYRON DONALDS. HE'S BEING CHALLENGED BY DEMOCRAT DAVID JOLLY. THEY BOTH HAVE VERY INTERESTING BACKGROUNDS. THEY'VE BOTH BEEN INVOLVED IN THE POLITICAL WORLD FOR SOME TIME. OF COURSE, BYRON DONALDS WAS FIRST ELECTED TO THE FLORIDA HOUSE IN 2016 REPRESENTING EASTERN COLLIER COUNTY AND HENDRY. HE THEN WAS ELECTED TO CONGRESS IN 2020 AND HE'S NOW SERVING HIS 3RD TERM. >> AND HE HAS BEEN ENDORSED BY PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP. HE HAS BEEN ENDORSED BY PRESIDENT TRUMP. IN FACT. >> PRESIDENT TRUMP ENDORSED HIM BEFORE HE ACTUALLY OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCE THAT HE WAS GOING TO RUN FOR GOVERNOR. AND HOW DO YOU SEE THAT IMPACTING VOTERS? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION BECAUSE AS WE HAVE BEEN HEARING IN THE NEWS, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S APPROVAL RATINGS HAVE FALLEN. AND I THINK WE'RE HEARING THAT'S A QUESTION ABOUT RACES ALL OVER. NOT ONLY FLORIDA BUT AROUND THE COUNTRY. WHAT IMPACT IS THE TRUMP ENDORSEMENT GOING TO HAVE ON CANDIDATES? SO WE ARE WE JUST HAVE TO SEE HOW THAT PLAYS IN FLORIDA. >> AND DEMOCRATS ARE BEHIND FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE DAVID JOLLY. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT MR. JOLLY. >> SO DAVID JOLLEY IS INTERESTING BECAUSE HE WAS A REPUBLICAN. HE WAS ELECTED TO CONGRESS TO SERVICE A REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE TAMPA BAY AREA BACK IN 2014, HE LOST HIS BID FOR REELECTION IN 2016 TO REMEMBER THEN DEMOCRAT CHARLIE CRIST. AND SO AT THAT POINT, JOLLY LEFT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND BECAME AN INDEPENDENT. HE SORT OF EVOLVED SINCE THAT. AND HOW DO YOU THINK HIM SWITCHING PARTIES? HOW DOES THAT IMPACT VOTERS? IT'LL BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT EFFECT THAT HAS BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN READING THAT MANY REPUBLICAN VOTERS HAVE BECOME DISENCHANTED. AND THE NUMBER OF NO PARKING ON PARTY AFFILIATION. VOTERS HAS ACTUALLY CONTINUED TO GROW, WHICH MIGHT BE ANOTHER SIGN OF THAT. SO I THINK THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR JOLLY IS NOT GOING TO BE HE'S HAVING SWITCH PARTIES SO MUCH AS IT'S GOING TO BE THE MONEY. >> WHAT DO YOU FORESEE IS JUST THE THE KEY ISSUES THAT VOTERS CAN EXPECT TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT REGARDING THIS RACE? DATA CENTERS ARE CERTAINLY YEAH, TOP OF MIND FOR SO MANY. >> DATA CENTERS IS A BIG ISSUE INITIALLY. BYRON DONALDS CAME OUT VERY MUCH IN SUPPORT OF DATA CENTERS. HE SAW THAT AS SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE VERY GOOD FOR THE STATE. AND HE SAID, YOU KNOW, DATA CENTERS ARE THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THIS IN OUR I IS GOING TO BE IN OUR FUTURE. WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THAT. FLORIDA SHOULD BE IN THE LEAD SINCE THEN. AS YOU KNOW, THE MOOD OF THE COUNTRY HAS BEEN CHANGING QUITE CONSIDERABLY. IT'S A LOT OF WHAT THEY CALL THAT NIMBY MENTALITY. PEOPLE DON'T WANT DATA CENTERS IN THEIR BACKYARD AND RECENTLY, I THINK THAT CONGRESSMAN DONALDS HAS SAID HE IS GOING TO TAKE A LOOK AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS. SO WE'LL HAVE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS THERE AS WELL. >> IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU'D LIKE VOTERS TO KNOW ABOUT? THESE 2 CANDIDATES? >> WELL, I THINK THAT PEOPLE SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS. THAT MONEY HAS TO REALLY COME TO PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN OUR RACES. FLORIDA IS A HUGE STATE. THESE ARE STATEWIDE ELECTIONS AND IT'S VERY EXPENSIVE TO BUY TV TIME RADIO TIME. SOCIAL MEDIA TIME. CONGRESSMAN DONALDS HAS RAISED THROUGH A FRIENDS OF BYRON DONALDS PACK TO 100 MILLION DOLLARS OF WHICH 50 MILLION IS STILL STILL LEFT TO BE SPENT. WHEREAS JOLLY HAS RAISED 2 MILLION ON HIS OWN AND UPLIFT. THERE'S A POLITICAL COMMITTEE THAT'S RAISED ABOUT 4 MILLION FOR HIM. DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A MILLION LEFT. SO THAT HUGE DISPARITY IN MONEY AVAILABLE. 50 MILLION DOLLARS THAT THE DONALDS CAMPAIGN HAS TO SPEND IS JUST HUGE. >> ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY. SANDY, THANK YOU. >> FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CANDIDATES AND BALLOT MEASURES. YOU CAN CHECK OUT SANDY'S WEBSITE AT SPARKERS DASH SOAPBOX DOT COM.