Weekly political notes
By Jim Turner
The News Services of Florida
TALLAHASSEE — Democrats wasted little time painting this week’s exit of Farmers Insurance from the Florida market as a Republican failure to address the state’s insurance troubles.
With homeowners losing property-insurance policies or facing major rate increases, Democrats said Republicans continue to prioritize “culture war distractions.”
“Farmers Insurance leaving the state is a clear indication that nothing the Florida Republicans have done has solved the insurance crisis facing us,” House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, said in a statement.
But Republican state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis blamed “virtue signaling” by Farmers, which announced Tuesday it would end tens of thousands of residential, auto and umbrella policies in the state.
In a statement, Patronis criticized the company’s leaders for “playing politics” rather than “running a successful company.” Patronis highlighted that Farmers is a signatory to the United Nations’ Principles for Sustainable Insurance. A November 2022 Farmers news release said the principles are “an international framework for the global insurance industry to address environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities.”
Patronis said he has directed his staff members to put “their heads together” to hold the company accountable for the decision to exit the state and to determine if an investigation is warranted. He also surmised company officials will “get hauled before the Legislature to answer for their actions when the next legislative session begins.”
Patronis defended measures that the Republican-controlled Legislature has taken to try to address property-insurance problems. Among other things, lawmakers approved changes to limit lawsuits against insurers.
“The Florida Legislature worked in good faith to stabilize the insurance market — and attract capital back to Florida insurance companies,” Patronis said.
But Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, said in a Twitter post that the Republican solution to the insurance problem “is to call it woke.” And Democrats weren’t alone in questioning Patronis’ response to the Farmers decision.
“The approach of ‘The beatings will continue until morale improves’ is counterproductive,” tweeted former Sen. Jeff Brandes, a St. Petersburg Republican who has long been outspoken on insurance issues. “The more difficult it becomes for companies to leave, the greater their reluctance to invest more. Address the question of why are they leaving!”
Farmers, which will continue to offer policies in Florida through subsidiaries Foremost and Bristol West, said in a statement that its decision was needed to “effectively manage risk exposure.”
House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, echoed Patronis’ defense of insurance legislation that has also included helping make available reinsurance, which is crucial backup coverage for insurers.
“We understand the unfortunate decision to withdraw from the state was not based on the impacts of bipartisan reforms in recent years taken by the Legislature or the future of the state’s insurance market, but the company’s financials,” Renner tweeted. “While our reforms will take time to take effect, we put the right systems in place to strengthen our insurance market and provide Floridians with the access to coverage and peace of mind they need for their property.”
STILL TRUMPY
A majority of Floridians support the work of Gov. Ron DeSantis, but Republicans don’t appear ready to move on from former President Donald Trump.
A Florida Atlantic University and Mainstreet Research poll released Monday found 54 percent of Floridians strongly or somewhat approved of the way DeSantis is handling his job. And 50 percent had an unfavorable view of Trump.
But when asked to choose between Trump and President Joe Biden, voters picked Trump by a 49 percent to 39 percent margin. DeSantis also topped Biden by 49 percent to 36 percent.
Among registered Republicans, Trump had a big lead over DeSantis as they vie for the GOP presidential nomination. Trump received support from 50 percent of Republicans, while DeSantis got 30 percent and other candidates were in the single digits. The poll indicated 7 percent of GOP voters were undecided.
In a head-to-head matchup, Trump led DeSantis by a margin of 54 percent to 37 percent, according to the poll.
“The poll highlights Donald Trump’s quite durable support. He does especially well with white working-class voters, who have consistently formed a steadfast base for the former president,” FAU political-science professor Kevin Wagner said in a prepared statement. “This persistent support continues to bolster Trump’s strong and steady position within the party.”
The poll of 933 adults in Florida was conducted between June 27 and July 1. The overall poll had a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points, though the margins of error are higher for subgroups.
TWEET OF THE WEEK: “Rupert Murdoch tells people he hopes Gov Glenn Youngkin will enter the presidential race.” — New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT), referring to the Virginia Republican governor.
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