Bill Nelson returns to Winner/Loser of the week in Florida politics

Winner of the week

Bill Nelson. Last summer, in the heat of a bitter re-election fight against then-Gov. Rick Scott, Sen. Nelson warned that Russian operatives had “penetrated” some of Florida’s voter registration systems. He didn’t add much detail, saying it was classified. Scott made it a turning point in the election, even suggesting Nelson made the whole thing up. Flash forward to Gov. Ron DeSantis saying this month that he had been briefed on that breach — but couldn’t share which counties had been the target — and it looks like we owe Nelson this honor. While Nelson seemed to say that Russians were meddling in 2018 as well, which has yet to be corroborated, we now know he was right about 2016.

Loser of the week

Drivers who text. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a tougher texting-while-driving ban Friday, and it’s about time. Florida lags the country in dealing with a problem that causes thousands of accidents yearly. Currently, police officers can only cite drivers as a secondary offense, which is hardly a deterrent. Not even 1,700 tickets were issued last year. Starting July 1, officers can stop drivers for texting while they’re behind the wheel of a moving car. Too many are. Put down your phone.