It wouldn’t be a real Florida election without a wild card or two, so now the 2024 election features the surprising possibility of Democrats becoming overconfident.<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://link.govexec.com/click/34940740.5994/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ292ZXhlYy5jb20vIg/59949e192ddf9c236bbdef27B86c52414*3E*3Cimg*20src=__;JSUl!!KOmxaIYkRmNA0A!X-mkDHEXdhNj4LoaypNN5O6qr1nsr_y1Qu4FNvUt3lUWWfjnix8sHNypbBkmQPDZLGcpceD0RWWj31ZNkcFmteUB3TSunSPWRg$" https://link.newsserviceflorida.com/img/59949e192ddf9c236bbdef27kswg4.4mi/b262a11f.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a> View this email in your browser <https://link.newsserviceflorida.com/view/59949e192ddf9c236bbdef27kswg4.4mi/84c51f9a> Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried <https://link.newsserviceflorida.com/click/34940740.5994/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubmV3c3NlcnZpY2VmbG9yaWRhLmNvbS9jYXBpdG9sX2NvbHVtbl9ieV9iaWxsX2NvdHRlcmVsbC9iaWxsLWNvdHRlcmVsbC1kZW1vY3JhdHMtY2FuLXQtY291bnQtb24tYWJvcnRpb24tbWVhc3VyZS1mb3ItcmV2aXZhbC9hcnRpY2xlXzc4NDY0MGYyLWYzNWMtMTFlZS1hZWRlLTliMzRiMGEzNDQxNS5odG1s/59949e192ddf9c236bbdef27D4cb5e68e> Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried and other Democrats hope to get a boost from abortion issues. / Tom Urban Tuesday, April 09, 2024 | 07:00 AM EDT Bill Cotterell: Democrats Can’t Count on Abortion Measure for Revival It wouldn’t be a real Florida election without a wild card or two, so now the 2024 election features the surprising possibility of Democrats becoming overconfident. This is a party in a 25-year slump. The party that holds no statewide office and, by the Nov. 5 election, will probably be outnumbered by 1 million voters in registration. The party that usually raises $1 for each $2 or $3 raised by Republicans. But on April Fools’ Day, the Florida Supreme Court handed the Democrats not one but two political gifts. By a 6-1 vote, the justices upheld a law forbidding abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy — which triggered a revised statute lowering the limit to six weeks. At the same time, justices voted 4-3 to allow a November referendum on a proposed constitutional amendment that would basically tell the state that abortion is a matter for women and their doctors to decide. The high court also gave a green light to another proposed constitutional amendment, which would allow recreational use of marijuana. That might help Democrats more than the GOP at the polls. But abortion is the big referendum this year. <https://link.newsserviceflorida.com/click/34940740.5994/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubmV3c3NlcnZpY2VmbG9yaWRhLmNvbS9iaWxsLWNvdHRlcmVsbC1qdXN0aWNlcy1wb25kZXItZmlyc3QtYW1lbmRtZW50LW5ldy13b3JsZC9hcnRpY2xlX2IyYjA0MTIyLWQ4MDItMTFlZS1iMDQyLTk3MzEzYTc5NjlkMy5odG1s/59949e192ddf9c236bbdef27C92d71328>Read the rest of Bill Cotterell’s latest Capitol Column <https://link.newsserviceflorida.com/click/34940740.5994/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubmV3c3NlcnZpY2VmbG9yaWRhLmNvbS9jYXBpdG9sX2NvbHVtbl9ieV9iaWxsX2NvdHRlcmVsbC9iaWxsLWNvdHRlcmVsbC1kZW1vY3JhdHMtY2FuLXQtY291bnQtb24tYWJvcnRpb24tbWVhc3VyZS1mb3ItcmV2aXZhbC9hcnRpY2xlXzc4NDY0MGYyLWYzNWMtMTFlZS1hZWRlLTliMzRiMGEzNDQxNS5odG1s/59949e192ddf9c236bbdef27E4cb5e68e>. A message from News Service Florida Become a News Service of Florida subscriber today for breaking news alerts straight from the Capitol. Join fellow professionals and civic leaders and get instant access to the News Service of Florida’s essential reporting on government, policy and politics in the Sunshine State. Request a 10-Day Trial <https://link.newsserviceflorida.com/click/34940740.5994/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubmV3c3NlcnZpY2VmbG9yaWRhLmNvbS90cmlhbHMv/59949e192ddf9c236bbdef27C57ead6dc>. News Service Florida <https://link.newsserviceflorida.com/click/34940740.5994/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubmV3c3NlcnZpY2VmbG9yaWRhLmNvbS8/59949e192ddf9c236bbdef27Cfb3ea179> Copyright © 2024 GovExec, All rights <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://reserved.You__;!!KOmxaIYkRmNA0A!X-mkDHEXdhNj4LoaypNN5O6qr1nsr_y1Qu4FNvUt3lUWWfjnix8sHNypbBkmQPDZLGcpceD0RWWj31ZNkcFmteUB3TRCxsw0vg$">reserved.You</a> are receiving this email because you have subscribed to First Read Emails from City & State FL.Our mailing address is:520 E. Jefferson St. Tallahassee, FL 32301 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences <https://link.newsserviceflorida.com/oc/59949e192ddf9c236bbdef27kswg4.4mi/e258b63b¶m=csfl> or unsubscribe from this list <https://link.newsserviceflorida.com/oc/59949e192ddf9c236bbdef27kswg4.4mi/e258b63b¶m=csfl> . ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the CHARLES-S-CHESTNUT list, click the following link: http://listserv.alachuacounty.us/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=CHARLES-S-CHESTNUT