RPOF Newsletter

At 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, the Surfside community and first responders marked the transition from rescue to recovery with a moment of silence. Please keep the Surfside community in your prayers. Please join Floridians and those around the country in continuing to pray for the victims, families, friends and first responders.

Governor DeSantis has been in Surfside almost every day since the tragedy happened, working with state and federal emergency personnel. There is so much work to be done to get closure for families. And then there will be a deep look at what went wrong to ensure it never happens again.

Florida Update

We were fortunate that Tropical Storm Elsa was not a worse storm. Early reports suggest damage was minimal, but the state was prepared because we Floridiana know better than anyone to take these storms seriously.

Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order 21-150 declaring a state of emergency for 15 counties that were in the path of Tropical Storm Elsa. Read his order here: https://www.flgov.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Executive-Order-21-150.pdf

For more information on the storm and help, visit https://www.floridadisaster.org/info/

Updates on the Florida Department of Emergency Management’s resources for Elsa recovery can be found here: https://www.floridadisaster.org/news-media/news/20210706-the-state-of-florida-issues-tropical-storm-elsa-updates/

––––

Republicans from around Florida were at the Sarasota County Fairgrounds in record numbers for President Trump’s Save America rally on July 3, to celebrate the birth of our nation.

The President delivered on the themes of patriotism and freedom.

Attending leaders included Congressmen Greg Steube, Vern Buchanan, Byron Donalds, Mike Waltz and other elected officials including RPOF Chairman Joe Gruters and Vice Chairman Christian Ziegler. While originally scheduled to speak, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called President Trump to let him know that he regretted not being able to attend due to the Surfside tragedy and what was at the time Hurricane Elsa which was threatening Florida. President Trump agreed with Governor DeSantis’ decision and asked the crowd to join him in a moment of silence to remember the victims of the Surfside tragedy.

––––

Florida’s monthly revenues continue to soar past expectations, driven by a strong state economy and an increase in tourism-industry tax collections, according to a new report from the Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research.

The May general-revenue collections were $3.6 billion, just roaring past expectations for the month by $573.8 million, or 18.9 percent.

“Most remarkable, almost 72 percent of the total gain for May came from sales tax GR (general revenue),” the report said. “For context, May 2020 was the lowest sales tax collection month during the entire pandemic.”

The May numbers marked the 10th consecutive month of exceeding revenue expectations as Florida recovers rapidly from the economic fallout of the response to COVID-19.

Read more here: https://thecapitolist.com/state-revenues-beat-expectations-in-may/

Florida Politics’ Joe Henderson: Gov. DeSantis gets an ‘A’ for leadership in a crisis

The political news site Florida Politics is no right-wing outfit by any stretch. But even they see the strength in Governor DeSantis’ leadership in multiple crisis:

“I think most people would agree the last couple of weeks in Florida scored high on the stress meter, what with the Surfside calamity and Tropical Storm Elsa. In times like this, politics should go out the window while leaders step up and, well, lead. That’s how we judge them.

“We don’t grade these things on the curve, though. The difference between success and failure can hinge on the choice of a word, good or bad. With that in mind, whatever your political leaning, if you’re scoring fairly, then Gov. Ron DeSantis gets an “A” for his handling of this twin crisis.

“He thankfully kept politics out of the mix at the condo collapse and struck a welcomed bipartisan tone with President Joe Biden. He worked well with federal relief efforts and was the compassionate, focused Governor all Floridians needed him to be.

“DeSantis quickly responded when Elsa started heading for Florida.”

Read the rest here: https://floridapolitics.com/archives/439635-joe-henderson-gov-desantis-gets-an-a-for-leadership-in-a-crisis/

Social Media Highlights

REMEMBER: @FloridaGOP and retweet and share. The Republican message must be spread around the state and you are integral to making that happen.

PAID FOR BY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF FLORIDA. NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE’S COMMITTEE. WWW.FLORIDA.GOP