A new poll by Kaplan Strategies has Congressman Matt Gaetz as an early favorite to win the GOP nomination for Florida governor in two years, followed closely by Rep. Byron Donalds and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.
The poll of 1,151 registered, likely Republican voters revealed Gaetz as the early frontrunner with 16% support, closely followed by Donalds at 13%, and Moody at 10%. With a significant 51% of voters still undecided, the race remains wide open for emerging candidates.
- Nearly two-thirds – 63% – identified as MAGA Republicans, with 82% having a favorable view oof former Presiden Donald Trump.
Reality Check: It’s very early to predict the Florida governor. The poll is a testimony to Matt Gaetz’s high name recognition. The majority of Republicans are undecided.
Andrade Goes Do Slavery Rabbit Hole
My cellphone blew up over the weekend with texts and shares of State Rep. Alex Andrade (R-Pensacola) pointing out during a House floor debate that some slaves were paid.
Florida state Rep. Alex Andrade forcefully argued the point that some slaves were paid during a discussion of an anti-CRT bill the House passed on Friday.
See video: https://t.co/rJ5Kz0eeLp pic.twitter.com/O4LvgDhwJi
— Rolling Stone Politics (@RSPolitics) March 1, 2024
“There is only one way to teach about slavery in Florida, and that is that it was evil,” Andrade said. “But if we can’t have an honest discussion and say that some slaves were paid for their work, and were able to actually get a portion of payment that slave owners received for their labor, then we’re afraid of teaching accurate history.”
He continued, “If you were not aware that some slaves received payment — not payment that was good, not payment that was valid, not payment that was moral — but if we can’t even have that discussion in this room, what hope do we have to teach and actually agree on facts? What hope do we have?”
It didn’t take Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried to call out Andrade:
“Florida Republicans are hell-bent on teaching our children that slavery wasn’t bad. Rep. Andrade’s comments today are just the latest example of the GOP’s obsession with whitewashing history — we all remember last year’s national backlash at updated standards that require teachers to talk about so-called ‘personal benefits’ gained by slaves.
“Slavery was a horrific evil. This shouldn’t be a bold statement, and Florida’s teachers should be able to teach that in the classroom. Florida Republicans’ continued attempts to teach our children otherwise is immoral and outrageous, and every Republican elected in Florida should be put on record answering for Andrade’s comments — any answer that tries to justify or whitewash the evils of slavery should be considered disqualifying for office.”
Why?
Rolling Stone reported that Andrade sent them an email explaining that he made the comments “one line in a 200+ page document that was being distorted by Democrats on the floor.” The state lawmaker provided a link to a page from the National Humanities Center.
The NHC page highlights that a few slaves were able to buy their freedom from money paid them for their skills. However, the page also points out, “Opportunities for most enslaved African Americans to attain freedom were few to none.”
One local reader wrote me:
“How about the slaves that were raped, or the young girls who were molested and had children that the slave owner never claimed how about the free labor, how about men who had to watch the slave owner have sex with their wives and still say, ‘Yes sir, mister.’ What a sad time in our history; I am so disappointed in Alex.”
Andrade Doubles Down
Andrade took to Twitter to defend his statements and attack his critics.
How DARE we teach children accurate history… https://t.co/qjf34ZbGMk
— Alex Andrade (@RAlexAndradeFL) March 2, 2024
There’s more.
Update:
State Rep. Alex Andrade shared the beginning of his speech on slavery that got cut out of video shown on Twitter and reported by Rolling Stone.
- Before the clip, the lawmaker said, “Members, no one is saying that slavery benefited or was good or had any positive side effects. “
Read more.
