1. Who has the most enthusiasm and momentum in the governor’s race? Gillum or Trump? Ron DeSantis has turned out to be a nothing burger, with the charisma of a hard-boiled egg. This race is Andrew Gillum vs. Donald Trump. The outcome will have an impact on Trump’s public image of invincibility and how the president approaches the 2020 election.
2. Will Rick Scott’s campaign strategy work again? Rick Scott won the governor’s race by out spending his opponent, but it’s how he has spent in money that’s made a difference. The Scott strategy is to 1) Define his opponent early – Nelson is old, out of touch, and ineffective; 2) Then humanize and soften Scott’s image – lots of pictures with grandchildren and wife; and 3) Close spending tons of money the weekend before the election demonizing his opponent — Scott spent over $10 million to have ads run continuously during the college football games. Will it work for a third time? Or has Gillum’s momentum helped pushed Nelson to victory?
3. How much does it take to be elected Pensacola’s mayor? Over $436,806 has been spent by the two candidates facing each other today. Another $140K has been spent by a PAC. It’s old Pensacola vs. downtown crowd; Hayward’s legacy vs. change.
4. How much has Commissioner Doug Underhill pissed off Republicans in District 2? Underhill won his primary by a little over 200 votes and has done little or nothing to attract the McMillan camp to his side. Are Republicans so upset that they will vote for an unknown Democratic newcomer, Scott Trotter?
5. How much political juice does Sheriff David Morgan have? The sheriff has backed Brian Spencer for mayor and Underhill for county commission. If both candidates win, we can expect the sheriff to weigh in on the three county commission races in 2020. He still might do it regardless of the outcomes today.
