Florida’s 3rd District House Race Winner

Miami Herald readers this week raised concerns over Miami-Dade's "Better Bus Network" overhaul, which eliminated most bus routes serving North Miami, North Miami Beach, Biscayne Park and the Omni area, leaving only Route 9 in place. Residents say they now face walks of up to a mile to reach transit, even as roughly 1,000 new apartment units are under construction nearby, raising questions about how car-less residents will reach jobs, groceries and medical care.

The same letters section also featured reader reactions on unrelated topics, including a call for Congress to pass the Recycled Materials Attribution Act to standardize recycling claims as Miami-Dade landfills near capacity, criticism of federal deportation policy and immigration enforcement funding, debate over the definition of socialism, reactions to Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar's Vatican visit, praise for the Miami Herald's Epstein investigation coverage, and a proposal for genetic eligibility testing in women's professional basketball.

President Trump's move to boost foreign beef imports, including a temporary suspension of tariffs on 300,000 metric tons of imported lean beef trimmings through around Thanksgiving, aimed at lowering consumer prices, is drawing sharp criticism from Florida's cattle industry and Republican officials ahead of the 2026 midterms. Rep. Kat Cammack, the only Florida Republican on the House Agriculture Committee, warned the policy risks disengaging ranchers and farmers even if it doesn't push them to vote Democrat.

Prices at Florida's Okeechobee Livestock Market have reportedly dropped roughly $500 per head, about a 30 percent decline, hitting during September, the peak season for bringing calves to market. Industry leaders, including the Florida Cattlemen's Association and the Florida Association of Livestock Markets, say the timing has disrupted long-term planning. Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson also raised concerns about food safety, citing reduced FDA inspections of foreign facilities. The episode highlights tension between affordability goals and protecting domestic agriculture, with potential political fallout for Republicans in cattle-producing states.

Many Republicans facing tough November races are avoiding next week's GOP midterm convention in Dallas, the first held by a major party in over four decades. A POLITICO survey found roughly 45 of more than 70 GOP candidates and members contacted are skipping or undecided, citing scheduling conflicts, high attendance fees, and reluctance to appear alongside President Donald Trump, who is set to headline with Vice President JD Vance. Top leaders including Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune plan to attend, along with 2028 hopefuls like Sen. Ted Cruz.

Separately, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is weighing disciplinary action against Reps. Jared Golden and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez after the two Democrats helped Republicans pass a procedural rule, prompting a referral to the caucus's rules panel. Other pending items include a bipartisan bill policing lawmaker misconduct, a possible September floor vote on Russia sanctions legislation, and an unresolved GOP split over regulating data centers ahead of the midterms.

Florida's two marquee 2026 statewide races present unusual racial pairings, and candidates are handling the dynamic very differently. In the Senate race, Democrat Angie Nixon, a progressive from Jacksonville, faces Republican Ashley Moody, the former state attorney general appointed to the seat Marco Rubio vacated. In the governor's race, Republican Byron Donalds, who could become Florida's first Black governor, is running against David Jolly, a former Republican turned Democrat with strong Black voter support.

Analysts say Donalds has mostly avoided Black-specific outreach and race-focused messaging, emphasizing the economy and school choice instead, reflecting a common strategy for Black conservative candidates wary of alienating their base. Despite recent efforts to court Black voters, polling shows Jolly holding a commanding lead among Black voters. Nixon, by contrast, has leaned into discussing race directly while also courting white working-class voters with economic messaging, trailing Moody in current polling but with strategists calling her a credible underdog capable of winning with strong turnout.

Donalds has continued to draw national attention on other issues, recently criticizing far-left Florida Democrats who have called to abolish ICE amid the broader immigration debate.

More than 650 people have signed a petition calling for the removal of the president and vice president of the Marion County Youth Football League in Ocala, Florida. Parents say the leadership has fostered "hate and division" and want new role models put in place for children in the program.

Several parents told local media they have withdrawn their children from the league following disputes with its leaders. One parent, Kenneth Carr, a former coach, said he was barred from coaching after league officials accused him of using a Facebook post — meant to honor his son, who was killed in a 2022 shooting — to recruit players, an intent he denies. Another parent said his son was removed from a team after a fight he claims his child was not involved in, and is weighing legal action. The league has not responded to requests for comment on the petition or the parents' concerns.

A 119-year-old building in Ocala, Florida's historic district — the first brick-and-mortar school ever built in Marion County — faces an uncertain future as the Marion County School District considers selling the property. The structure, which once served as the district's headquarters and later housed Central Elementary School, has sat vacant for four years after closing over facility and environmental concerns, including reported black mold. It has not been renovated since 1967.

Community members, including former Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn, are urging officials to slow down before making a decision, citing the city's history of losing historic landmarks to demolition in the 1960s. The Historic Ocala Preservation Society says the building is significant to the county's heritage and warns the window to save it may be limited. The property is not currently listed for sale and no buyers have come forward, but a public meeting is planned to let residents weigh in on its future.

With about four weeks until Election Day, Florida's 13th congressional district remains one of the cycle's most closely watched races. Recent polling from Fox News and Inside Elections shows the seat shifting from "likely Republican" to "leaning Republican," signaling a tighter contest than previously expected.

Republican incumbent Anna Paulina Luna, who has held the seat since 2022, is campaigning on an anti-corruption record, citing her push to release Epstein-related files and efforts to ban congressional insider trading. Democratic challenger Leela Gray, a retired brigadier general, argues Luna's trading-ban proposal is incomplete and is calling for a broader ban on stock trading, prediction-market betting, and donor-linked investments across all three branches of government. Gray has accused Luna of conflicts of interest tied to a donor's oil company, while Luna has countered that Gray has downplayed her own financial ties to pharmaceutical and banking interests. Both campaigns deny the other's claims as voters prepare to decide the race.

Mike Beltran secured the Republican nomination for Florida's 14th Congressional District, defeating state Republican Kevin Steele and other primary contenders. Beltran, a former Florida House member, will now face longtime Democratic incumbent Kathy Castor in November's general election.

Beltran celebrated the primary win with supporters in Tampa, crediting a grassroots campaign and his record as a state representative for the victory. He said the campaign now shifts focus entirely to the general election matchup against Castor, a fixture in Hillsborough County's congressional delegation. The race adds another closely watched contest to Florida's House lineup as both parties look toward November, with control of individual seats carrying broader implications for the overall balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives.