Winner of the week
Rick Scott. Floridians are impressed with the governor’s leadership during Hurricane Irma, polls released last week by Mason-Dixon and the University of North Florida showed. They also showed him virtually tied with Democratic U>S. Sen. Bill Nelson if the race were held today, with a strikingly high percentage of voters knowing little about Florida’s most senior Democrat.
Loser of the week 1
Jeff Clemens. Florida’s top Democratic state senator resigned after Politico exposed his romantic relationship with a lobbyist. Everybody knows legislative affairs is a popular career in Tallahassee, but that doesn’t mean legislators should take that job title literally.
Loser of the week 2
Rick Kriseman. Lots of unwelcome headlines for Pete’s mayor as his neck and neck reelection campaign against Rick Baker heads to a close: His administration was late informing the public about millions partially treated sewage flushed down injection wells during Hurricane Irma; The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission found evidence of dozens of felonies related to sewage discharges by his administration; Baker is doing all he can to remind voters Kriseman’s chief of staff was once accused of propositioning a 14-year-old; And the Rays have zeroed in on a stadium site in Tampa.