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November 11, 2022

Governor Ron DeSantis won a second term in a landslide victory against Democratic challenger, Congressman Charlie Crist, in Tuesday’s election.
The candidates held election night events near each other -- with DeSantis in Tampa and Crist in St. Petersburg. WUSF's Cathy Carter was with Crist's supporters, where the mood was somber. On the other side of the bay, Stephanie Colombini was at the Tampa Convention Center, where DeSantis celebrated in front of a crowd of hundreds of supporters, telling them he's "only begun to fight."

Tuesday was a good night for Democrats nationally—even with Republican gains, the party didn’t lose as badly as many had anticipated. But in Florida, the Blue team took a drubbing, losing every statewide race, and so many state house and senate seats that Republicans will have a legislative super-majority; meaning, the party has enough votes to pass whatever laws and budget proposals it wants. Lynn Hatter reports the losses aren’t new to Florida Democrats—who’ve been out of power for more than two decades; but this year’s losses are especially devastating.

A Republican will soon represent a historically Democratic Senate district in North Florida. G-O-P political newcomer Corey Simon defeated incumbent Loranne Ausley by a comfortable six-point margin Tuesday in a district that leans Blue. As Valerie Crowder reports, Republican voters across the district turned out in greater numbers than Democrats and North Florida isn’t the only place that happened.

When the state of Florida arrested 20 people this summer over allegedly casting illegal ballots in the 2020 election, the news made a huge impact in other states. WLRN’s Danny Rivero spoke with Nicole Lewis and Alexandra Arriaga [ahh-ree-AHH-guh] with the Marshall Project about their latest story — looking into the ripple effects of those arrests.

With the cost of housing in Florida pricing many out, some elected officials have considered putting rent controls in place. But concerns about whether such a measure would withstand a lawsuit helped keep a referendum off the ballot in St. Petersburg. And recently, a ballot initiative approved in Orange County was ruled unconstitutional by an appeals court. So, why is it so hard to enact rent control measures in Florida? WUSF's Gabriella Paul asked Suzanne Hollander, an attorney and professor of real-estate law at Florida International University.

Hurricane Nicole made landfall in Vero Beach in the wee hours Thursday morning. It quickly weakened and pushed upward through Central and North Florida as a tropical storm. It’s only the second time a hurricane has hit Florida in November. The first one came in 1985 with Hurricane Kate. WMFE’s Amy Green talked with University of Central Florida hurricane expert Kelly Stevens about late season hurricanes.