Top of Mind Florida

DeSantis, Donalds and Democrats | Florida's Road to November

EDITOR'S NOTE: Since this episode was recorded, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has suspended his campaign for governor following a prostate cancer diagnosis. DeSantis, Donalds and Democrats | Florida's Road to November — Florida's 2026 political season is wide open, and veteran broadcast journalist Michael Williams and Florida political analyst Brian Crowley break down everything moving right now. Debbie Wasserman Schultz draws fire for running in a majority-Black district reshaped by DeSantis redistricting. Byron Donalds leads the governor's race with $80 million and Trump's endorsement while David Jolly searches for a foothold with no-party voters. Paul Renner attacks Donalds and may be damaging himself more than his target. Jay Collins can't get his own governor to endorse him. And outgoing House Speaker Danny Perez earns rare praise for standing up to Ron DeSantis. August 18 primary. July 1 budget deadline. The road to November starts now. 🎙️ New episodes every Tuesday at 5 AM on all major audio podcast platforms.🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/top-of-mind-florida/id1818339119📡 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/top-of-mind-florida/id1818339119📡] RSS Feed: https://rss.com/podcasts/top-of-mind-florida/ [https://rss.com/podcasts/top-of-mind-florida/]

Victoria Doyle on Challenging Lois Frankel, Universal Health Care, Israel Policy, Citizens United

Democratic challenger Victoria Doyle joins veteran journalists Michael Williams and Brian Crowley to make her case for unseating incumbent Congresswoman Lois Frankel in Palm Beach County. Doyle, a retired federal intellectual property attorney living in Lake Worth Beach, argues Frankel has been largely passive and ineffective — passing just five laws in nearly 14 years in office. Doyle outlines her platform: universal health care through single-payer reform, suspending foreign aid to Israel under the Leahy Law, scrapping the Social Security payroll tax cap, a $25 minimum wage, and a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. Williams and Crowley push back hard on funding mechanisms, bipartisan math, and the real obstacles facing a progressive challenger in a redrawn district that could shift from CD-22 to CD-23 under Florida's new redistricting map.

Florida Property Taxes: You WILL Get What You Don't Pay For

Florida is in special session, and the centerpiece is a proposal to dramatically increase the homestead exemption — from $50,000 to (eventually) as much as $500,000. Governor DeSantis is pushing hard, but local governments across all 67 Florida counties are warning the impact on services could be devastating. Veteran broadcast journalist Michael Williams and Florida journalist/political analyst Brian Crowley examine the stakes with insight from Palm Beach County Administrator Joe Abruzzo, who says his county could face drastic cuts to a $609 million budget covering roads, libraries, parks, and more. Police and fire are exempt — but other public safety services may not be. Multiply that reality across every municipality and all 67 counties statewide and the scale of this debate comes into focus. They also look at the legislative math, the DeSantis-House Speaker standoff, and what Floridians in every corner of the state will need to decide if this reaches the November ballot. Plus: Top of Mind Florida wins the Florida Weekly Flamingo Award for Best New Podcast of 2026.

Florida Governor's Race 2026 | Byron Donalds, Jerry Demings, David Jolly & the Issues That Could Flip the State

Veteran journalists Michael Williams and Brian Crowley break down Florida's 2026 governor's race — Byron Donalds' commanding lead and a Fox News comment that could haunt him, Jay Collins' DeSantis problem, Paul Renner's uphill climb, and whether Democrats Jerry Demings or David Jolly can thread the needle in a red state. Plus: the U.S. Senate race, Ashley Moody vs. Alex Vindman, the stalled state budget, the property tax debate that went nowhere, and Brian's wild-card scenario — what happens if Ron DeSantis lands a cabinet seat?`

The Next Generation of Florida Journalism | CB Hanif & Mikala Graham

Who's going to cover the cities, school boards, and water plants that Florida's shrinking newsrooms have left behind? CB Hanif spent more than two decades at the Palm Beach Post — as editorial page editor, ombudsman, and columnist — before spending the last 11 years teaching multimedia journalism at Inlet Grove Community High School in Riviera Beach. His students cover real government meetings, write for the Stet News Community Voices team, and get paid for their work. One of those students is Mikala Graham, an 11th grader who caught the journalism bug and started covering Riviera Beach city government — including a water plant issue that directly affects her neighborhood. She shows up, takes notes, asks questions, and understands why it matters that someone from the community is in the room. Veteran broadcast journalist Michael Williams and Florida political analyst Brian Crowley explore what's lost when local reporting disappears, why TikTok isn't the enemy of good journalism, and what it looks like when the next generation actually gets it. 🌐 grovewatch.com [http://grovewatch.com] | stet.news [http://stet.news] 🎙️ New episodes every Tuesday at 4 PM on YouTube and 5 AM on all major audio podcast platforms. 📺 WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@TopOfMindFlorida [https://www.youtube.com/@TopOfMindFlorida] 🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/top-of-mind-florida/id1818339119 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/top-of-mind-florida/id1818339119] ▶️ RSS Feed / All Platforms: https://rss.com/podcasts/top-of-mind-florida/ [https://rss.com/podcasts/top-of-mind-florida/]