This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

We’re giving them a tandem win now that Taddeo’s leaving the race. Democratic elections data analyst Matthew Isbell, however, gives the edge to Crist. “If Taddeo backs Crist it will give him a further boost,” he tells City & State. (Remember that Taddeo was Crist’s running mate in his failed 2014 bid for governor.) “Momentum seems to be clearly with Crist right now. Her dropping out is also a reflection of that. He’s polling way ahead.”

The Panama City Republican and House budget honcho was term-limited this year, but can’t quit the Capitol just yet. GOP state Sen. George Gainer declined to try for another term, citing health and other reasons, and Trumbull jumped in to replace him. A lovefest of endorsements quickly followed from outgoing Senate President Wilton Simpson, incoming President Kathleen Passidomo and state Sen. Ben Albritton, who is slated to lead the chamber after Passidomo. It’s good to be the heir apparent.

Oh, the dominoes that fell because Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams moved to Nassau County. He’s stepping down amid questions over whether his residency outside Duval violates the local charter. Gov. Ron DeSantis made Undersheriff Pat Ivey the interim sheriff and endorsed Waters, JSO’s chief of investigations, for the special election later this year. Waters already had raised over $1 million to succeed Williams, who had another year left in his final term. The guv’s thumbs -up iced the cake.

It was the tweet heard round Florida politics. Edwards, Nikki Fried’s campaign communications director, was sour that progressive Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani threw in with the Crist camp, referring to her as an “off brand AOC tampering in the dark art of disinformation.” (AOC refers to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive New York member of Congress.) Needless to say, he got relentlessly ratioed; author Jeff VanderMeer tweeted, “Sorry, but if you go after Anna Eskamani, you're dead to me.” Edwards deleted the tweet and apologized.

The state began laying the groundwork for the Medicaid program to deny coverage for certain treatments for transgender people. That could include sex-reassignment surgery, hormone therapy and, for younger patients, “puberty-blocking” medication. Advocacy groups are putting up a fight; Equality Florida Public Policy Director Jon Harris Maurer this week called it "a crusade to deny Floridians their freedom to access healthcare.” But the decision looks likely to stick. Adding insult to injury, June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month.

It’s one of the heaviest of heavy lifts. Despite a regular legislative session and two special sessions this year, Geller – a Democratic state representative from Aventura – is trying to convince fellow lawmakers to return to Tallahassee. He’s calling for yet another special session to address gun violence after Buffalo and Uvalde. But a poll of lawmakers by the Secretary of State’s office ends today, and the numbers so far suggest he doesn’t have the votes in Florida’s GOP-controlled Legislature.