Sunburn, your morning jolt of Florida politics
Good Wednesday morning.
Ace Political is adding Abbie MacIver and Genevieve Collins to its team, expanding the consulting firm’s campaign, advocacy, and public affairs work in Florida and Texas.
MacIver, who will be based in Jacksonville, brings more than two decades of experience in Florida politics and policy. She has managed statewide and national initiatives for corporations and nonprofit organizations, overseen grassroots and get-out-the-vote efforts, and directed campaigns on both sides of statewide constitutional amendments.
She previously served as Chief of Staff to a Florida state Senator and as deputy Florida state director for Americans for Prosperity, where she oversaw policy and communications.
Collins will be based in Dallas. She spent five years leading AFP-Texas, where she worked on school choice, healthcare, and housing policy, as well as on campaigns supporting the organization’s endorsed candidates.
She was the 2020 Republican nominee for Texas’ 32nd Congressional District. Before entering politics and public policy, Collins spent more than a decade with Dallas-based education technology company Istation, eventually serving as Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Strategy.
The two will work alongside Chris Hudson, who previously spent a decade with Americans for Prosperity.
“Ace Political was built on the belief that effective advocacy requires strategic vision, political judgment, and real-world experience. Abbie and Genevieve bring all three,” Hudson said. “Together, we are building a stronger connection between Texas and Florida and expanding our ability to serve clients in two of the nation’s most consequential states — and across the country.”
— DAYS UNTIL —
General Election domestic ballot send window begins — 1; Tampa Tiger Bay hosts its ‘Candidate Forum: Florida Governor Series’ with David Jolly — 2; General Election domestic ballot send deadline — 8; ‘Digger,’ with Tom Cruise, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, premieres — 9; General Election voter registration deadline — 12; ‘The Social Reckoning,’ with Jeremy Strong, Jeremy Allen White and Mikey Madison, premieres — 16; Associated Industries of Florida one-on-one conversations with five top-of-ticket Republicans — 19; ‘VisionQuest’ premieres — 21; ‘The Diplomat’ season 4 premieres — 22; Optional General early voting begins — 26; ‘Six Kings Slam’ on Netflix — 28; Florida TaxWatch Fiscal Accountability Leadership Summit begins — 28; General Election ballot request deadline — 29; Mandatory General early voting begins — 31; General Election — 41; ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ premieres — 44; ‘Wild Horse Nine’ premieres — 44; Florida Automated Vehicles Summit — 49; ‘Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol’ starring Johnny Depp premieres — 51; ‘Paper Tiger’ starring Adam Driver premieres — 51; Joe Biden’s memoir, ‘Promise Me, America’ is released — 55; New legislator training sessions — 55; Senate convenes for general organization and selection of officers — 55; ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’ premieres — 58; ‘The Adventures of Cliff Booth,’ with Brad Pitt, directed by David Fincher and written by Quentin Tarantino, premieres — 63; ‘Madden’ premieres — 64; Committee Week #1 — 68; ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ premieres — 86; ‘Dune: Part 3,’ directed by Denis Villeneuve, premieres — 86; Committee Week #2 — 103; Committee Week #3 — 110; ‘Ahsoka’ season 2 premieres — 119; College Football Playoff national championship game in Las Vegas — 124; Committee Week #4 — 131; Grammys — 137; Committee Week #5 — 138; ‘Remain,’ directed by M. Night Shyamalan, premieres — 144; Super Bowl LXI — 144; Committee Week #6 — 145; Opening day of the 2027 Regular Legislative Session — 160; Tampa Mayoral Election — 160; ‘The Thomas Crown Affair,’ directed by and starring Michael B. Jordan premieres — 163; Oscars — 172; Jacksonville First Election — 181; Miami Marlins Opening Day/Home Opener — vs. New York Mets — 183; Tampa Bay Rays Opening Day/Home Opener — vs. Baltimore Orioles — 183; Democratic Mayors Association 2027 annual summit in Miami begins — 203; Jacksonville General Election — 237; ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ premieres — 247; ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’ premieres — 255; Citrus Series — Tampa Bay Rays at Miami Marlins — 296; ‘The Bluey Movie’ premieres — 317; ‘Miami Vice’ reboot premieres — 317; Citrus Series — Miami Marlins at Tampa Bay Rays — 352; ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ premieres — 450; 2028 South Carolina Presidential Primary — 486; College Football Playoff national championship game in New Orleans — 488; 2028 Nevada Presidential Primary — 496; 2028 New Hampshire Presidential Primary — 503; 2028 New Mexico Presidential Primary — 510; ‘The Batman Part II’ premieres — 513; 2028 Michigan Presidential Primary — 517; 2028 Virginia Presidential Primary — 524; Oscars — 529; ‘X-Men’ premieres — 590; ‘Lilo & Stitch 2’ premieres — 611; ‘Days of Thunder’ sequel with Cruise and Anne Hathaway premieres — 618; ‘Incredibles 3’ premieres — 632; 2028 Los Angeles Olympics Opening Ceremony — 660; ‘Ghost Rider’ premieres — 674; 2028 U.S. Presidential Election — 776; ‘Black Panther 3’ directed by Ryan Coogler premieres — 814; College Football Playoff national championship game in Tampa — 852; ‘Avatar 4’ premieres — 1,176; College Football Playoff national championship game in Miami — 1,216; ‘Avatar 5’ premieres — 1,907.
— TOP STORY —
“Most Florida colleges fall in new U.S. News rankings. One shows a huge gain” via Lucy Marques of the Tampa Bay Times — Although U.S. News & World Report has ranked Florida No. 1 for higher education for more than a decade, this year’s Best Colleges rankings show some significant losses — and one big gain.
Nearly every Florida public university fell in the rankings among public colleges and among all universities.
But Florida A&M University rose 13 spots among public universities, from No. 92 to No. 79. Florida A&M also rose 13 spots in the overall rankings, to No. 156. It dropped one spot among historically Black colleges and universities to No. 6, tying with Hampton University.
Florida Atlantic University rose one spot to No. 99 among public universities. Every other Florida public university listed fell.
The University of Florida dropped one spot to No. 8 in the public rankings after reaching the top five in recent years. This year, it tied with the University of Texas, the University of California, Davis, the University of California, Irvine, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Wisconsin.
It also fell four spots to No. 34 among all public and private universities, tying with the same public schools along with Boston University and Wake Forest University.
The University of South Florida fell three spots to No. 46 among public universities, tying with Auburn University, the University of Iowa and Florida International University, which kept its spot from last year.
Florida State University also fell three spots to No. 24, the University of Central Florida fell one spot to No. 58, and the University of North Florida fell six spots to No. 128.
— 2026 —
“Sabato’s ‘Crystal Ball’ sees David Jolly’s odds improving — and Byron Donalds is taking notice” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics — National outlets continue to suggest Democrat Jolly has a shot at being elected in November. And it sounds like Republican Donalds may be taking that sea change seriously. Sabato’s Crystal Ball has changed the Florida race from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican.” Sabato’s site says “the GOP is still favored … but close polling, a bad political environment, and possible exhaustion with long periods of Republican leadership may make (the race) fairly close.” Though Donalds said he was “very grateful” for President Donald Trump’s endorsement, he wanted “to make sure that the website reflected that this is my campaign for Governor to lead our state into the future.”
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