It all has to do with the political war that is ongoing concerning redistricting. Florida is closely watching the battle in Texas, and many assume it will follow the Lone Star State’s lead.

Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez is creating a committee to look at drawing up new districts.

So, what you have now is Florida joining this political donnybrook sweeping the nation from New York to Texas to Indiana to California.

The UNF Public Opinion Research Lab has the pulse of voters and recently released its latest public opinion poll, which specifically focused on Republican voters in Florida.

Floridians go to the polls to elect a new governor on Nov. 3, 2026. Incumbent Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is term-limited and can’t run for a third time in a row.

For President Donald Trump, the Epstein case lingers.

It’s a case steeped in alleged conspiracy and political intrigue. There are reports of the powerful protecting the powerful.

Everything seems steeped in secrecy. That includes the president’s relationship with Epstein, whether or not there’s a client list, and the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death.

Trump wanted the case closed. He still does.

Frankly, research and hard data on political violence aren’t readily available, but a growing trend of threats against public officials can’t be ignored.

In 2024 alone, U.S. Capitol Police, who are like the Secret Service for Congress members, investigated more than 9,000 threats against lawmakers, marking an 83% increase from the year prior. That year, then-former President Donald Trump survived an attempt on his life at a rally in Pennsylvania and another alleged assassination attempt while golfing at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.

But the new reality is that voter registration rolls show that independent and third-party registration are on the rise.

In the past 25 years, the number of voters not affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican party has grown nearly 9%, according to Ballotpedia.

NBC News recently did an analysis of voter registration data. Its findings proved even more interesting. It found that as of this year, 32% of registered voters across dozens of states and territories chose not to affiliate with either of the major parties. That’s up 23% from 2000.

National exit polls support those numbers.

But they question at what cost.

The answer is that the cost will be to the tune of lost health care for 8.6 million Americans through Medicaid or Obamacare subsidies.

It raises a question that people are asking: Didn’t the Republicans wonder if those cuts would make life difficult for people who are aging, unemployed, working poor or disabled?

A new book, Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson, contains some bombshells and raises some fundamental questions that the Democrats must ask: Did Biden’s team deceive them, or did they deceive themselves? Were their eyes closed to reality?

The bottom line is that the book paints a portrait of a president whose faculties, both physical and mental, were “diminished.” And Tapper and Thompson say aides and advisers hid that from the public.

History was made that day when Robert Prevost emerged on the balcony and proclaimed to the thousands of people from around the world who had assembled below in St. Peter’s Square: “La pace sia con tutti voi.” Pope Leo XIV‘s first words were “Peace be with you all.”

Prevost‘s election was stunning news because no one thought an American would or could become Pope. Yet, this son of Chicago‘s South Side won the majority vote of the conclave.

They hoped to establish a dynasty. Then, a scandal tied to Hope Florida surfaced. Claims to the future of the Republican party are very much in question in Florida and nationally.

There are many Florida Republicans who were solidly in the couple’s corner not all that long ago, but they have turned on DeSantis. It has created roadblocks to his agenda.

His second term in office has moved at a dizzying pace, with Trump enacting executive orders and policies with a fury.

Intent on remaking the Executive Branch, he empowered Elon Musk to push aside civil servants and strike fear in the federal workforce.

He launched the largest deportation program in U.S. history.

The 18th-century wartime authority to speed deportations known as the Alien Enemies Act is back in the high court’s hands.

Less than two weeks after the Supreme Court allowed President Donald Trump to employ the controversial authority, the issue was literally rocketed back to the justices in a short fuse appeal.

The consequences are enormous. So what’s really at issue here?

On Capitol Hill, several younger freshmen senators are gaining prominence, and there are hints the party’s No. 2 leader may retire, although Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin has not officially tipped his hand on re-election plans.

Even so, there are several Democrats in the Prairie State exploring election campaigns to succeed Durbin.

And they don’t stop there.

They say the damage will be generational and raises concerns about the judiciary’s independence.

At the root of what’s going on is retribution.

Look at the headlines on an almost daily basis. There are documented cases of people with U.S. passports -- and no criminal background -- being arrested by immigration officials.

Native Americans from the Navajo Nation were arrested, along with some people from Puerto Rico.

People who were in the United States lawfully and didn’t pose a threat or a risk to public safety have been caught up in sweeps by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

The dragnets continue to target immigrant and minority communities. And the chilling headlines indicate many of the raids seem indiscriminate.

Some are wondering out loud: “Are the Dems broken beyond repair?”

Well, look at history and you’ll find out that politics is cyclical.

Time to convene the class? OK, here we go. Turn back the clock to the mid-90s. The Republican Party was not unlike the current-day GOP. They wandered as the walking wounded in a meandering political circle. Ideas? They didn’t have any.

Reverse discrimination

One of the cases being tackled has to do with reverse discrimination. At question is whether the U.S. Supreme Court will remove the additional “background circumstances” requirement.

Suing gun manufacturers

The second case up for discussion has to do with lawsuits against manufacturers and distributors of firearms.

The government of Mexico filed a $10 billion lawsuit against Smith & Wesson alleging that they are aiding and abetting Mexican cartels in obtaining firearms.

The question at hand: Can Mexico bring such a case?

Nuclear waste storage

The justices will also tackle a question about nuclear waste as the nation continues a frustrating search for storage sites.

Complicated politics have gotten in the way of addressing the problem since the advent of nuclear power in the last century.

The question at hand is whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should restart plans to temporarily store nuclear waste at sites in rural Texas and New Mexico.

But the reality is that within that push lies a dangerous fault line that opens further as Trump rushes to end the war.

Issues concerning both Ukrainian and European security mean a quick fix might not be possible. Not helping matters, officials from Kyiv and Europe are excluded from the peace talks.

Reports first surfaced in an NBC News exclusive report a couple of weeks ago when word got out that Republican donors in Palm Beach County openly discussed the prospect of Casey DeSantis succeeding her husband Ron in the governor’s office in Tallahassee. (By the way, did you know she used to work here at News4JAX?)

He is Elon Musk an unelected businessman who has spent the last couple of weeks with his allies tearing through Washington causing confusion and chaos in government agencies.

Among the questions begging to be asked: How can he wield that kind of power? How can he run roughshod over laws and programs set up by Congress?

There are obvious conflicts of interest. Why are they not being questioned?

There are indications that the tech billionaire is getting reminders from the White House that he still needs to report to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

In fact, President Donald Trump suggested just that publicly and aides have reported he said the same thing. Musk may not prefer it that way.

That said, he has wide latitude to slash spending and make changes to the way the federal government operates. And he is doing it at a rapid, even breakneck speed.

First, let’s revisit what’s happening with the social media site TikTok. On Jan. 20, the Supreme Court upheld the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary-Controlled Applications Act. It’s the law that requires Chinese government–controlled corporation Bytedance to divest TikTok or have the application barred from U.S.-based platforms

But President Donald Trump signed an executive order pausing the TikTok ban. It provided a liability shield to business partners of the popular video app.

What is interesting about the court’s decision is what the Supreme Court did not do.

But there are a myriad of questions about another focus of the president: What’s been dubbed his “Annexation Agenda.”

Trump, in the past, criticized U.S. military involvement in other countries, but he did a complete turnaround in recent weeks, pushing the idea that he wants to take over Greenland from Denmark, reclaim the Panama Canal and make Canada the 51st state.

And he didn’t rule out the use of military force to do so.

As one analyst put it, he’ll be “confronting the kinds of crises he has long been railing against.”

You’ve got the driver plowing a truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans.

The detonation of a Tesla Cybertruck in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.

Oh, and the breach of the U.S. Treasury Department. That was a major cybersecurity incident at the hands of what’s believed to be Chinese state-sponsored hackers.

Let’s start with George Bernard Shaw (quoting German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel):

“We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.”

Politically, 2024 had me and many others, quite frankly, taken aback.

It was a year that saw President Joe Biden drop his re-election bid after being forced out by top leaders of his own party. Vice President Kamala Harris swept in as the party’s nominee and stood her own in a debate with former President Donald Trump.

Rebels forced Assad to flee and seek asylum in Moscow, marking a major turning point in the nation’s 14-year civil war and more than 50 years of his family’s brutal rule.

There are those who believe this will engender a major ripple effect. In fact, one GOP lawmaker thinks those ripple effects will be as profound as what was seen with the “fall of the Berlin Wall.”

President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, after promising he wouldn’t because he felt the Justice Department, his own Justice Department, treated his son unfairly.

He said, “raw politics” had “infected” Hunter Biden’s prosecution on gun and tax evasion offenses and “led to a miscarriage of justice.”

On the other side of the political spectrum, president-elect Donald Trump long maintained that his galaxy of legal woes — both the criminal and civil charges against him -- were politically motivated attacks orchestrated by his adversaries.

Then his re-election to a second term in the Oval Office led to cases against Trump being dismissed.

The promise will come, not through new legislation, not through structured policy change, but through Executive Order. Mr. Trump wants to send hundreds of thousands of people across the border with the stroke of the pen.

Will it be that simple?

There is little doubt that groups are ready to defend the rights of immigrants here in the United States and ready to mount a legal defense.

While the people in his administration work to prioritize the agenda and emphasize the things that might secure that legacy, they are mindful that Biden’s successor (who was also his predecessor) is lurking in the wings and come Jan. 20 will likely tear it all down.

There is little doubt that now that the election is over, the Biden administration doesn’t feel burdened by the constraints of a campaign, nor do they seem concerned by President-elect Donald Trump’s pending return to power.

They do, however, realize that everything they do may have little or no consequence after the inauguration.

The earthquake started with appointing the world’s richest man — his buddy Elon Musk — to head a new department. His job: gut government agencies and departments.

Musk will be joined by another Trump rabble-rouser, Vivek Ramaswamy, at what’s being called the “Department of Government Efficiency.” Yeah, the former GOP presidential candidate who posted on Musk’s “X” (formerly Twitter) “SHUT IT DOWN.”

And with the first female Chief of Staff in history by his side, a lot of people wonder if Susie Wiles, a political operative from Jacksonville, will have a profound impact on the tenor of a second Trump term.

President-elect Trump promises the largest deportation of immigrants in American history, sweeping new tariffs on imports, and freezing climate-related regulations. Also on the docket: remaking federal health agencies and making ideological changes to the education system.

Mr. Trump will get his chance to do those things, and he promises to keep his promises.

“We’re gonna fix everything about our country,” Trump says.

That’s why both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are actively working to court young voters, especially in key battleground states where polls consistently show the two in a neck-and-neck race.

The bottom line: Both Trump and Harris are fighting for every vote they can secure.

Makes you wonder why. The race to the White House is in the final stretch. And no one can argue that the contest between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is close.

Could he be laying the groundwork just in case he loses? Just asking.

All you must do is track the lies the former president keeps repeating. And, yes, they have been fact-checked. False claims like, “Harris can only win through cheating.” And “It was ‘unconstitutional’ for the Democrats to replace Biden with Harris.”

The goals are simple: to avoid a broader regional war in the Middle East and to avoid drawing the U.S. into the conflict at all costs.

On Path to the Polls this week, I’ll talk with Nancy Soderberg, a former UN Ambassador and expert on American foreign relations.

We know, it is no secret Jerusalem pledged its reprisal would be significant. What remains to be seen is if the Biden administration has any influence over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But the recent overturning of the “Chevron decision” by the U.S. Supreme Court should have as much relevance for Americans as the gasoline moniker.

Why?

Here’s the bottom line: The court struck down a tool for governing. Overturning the “Chevron decision” essentially gives federal agencies the authority to issue rules that aren’t clear.

Now, after more than 20 years, there is a push to place party labels on school board candidates. For more than two decades, Florida school board races have been non-partisan.

But if Amendment 1 passes on the November Ballot, it would again provide for the partisan election of district school board members.

For Harris, it is realizing honeymoons don’t last.

For Trump, it’s time for a campaign reboot. And most analysts will tell you — along with many within his own campaign — they don’t know how to get there.

Now Walz is on Vice President Kamala Harris' ticket as her running mate. The question is: Is Walz the ticket the Democrats need to win the White House? Can he deliver the swing vote Harris needs?

How’s that for getting your attention for this week’s “Path to the Polls”?

Lowry wrote: “For donors, pundits and elected Democrats to attempt to undo this choice is frankly undemocratic. It looks even less democratic when it is factored in that a small handful of people — Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, James Clyburn and a couple of others — are the ones who have the true power perhaps to force Biden from the race.”

How’s that for getting your attention for this week’s “Path to the Polls”?

Lowry wrote: “For donors, pundits and elected Democrats to attempt to undo this choice is frankly undemocratic. It looks even less democratic when it is factored in that a small handful of people — Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, James Clyburn and a couple of others — are the ones who have the true power perhaps to force Biden from the race.”

It is the first assassination attempt in the United States against a current or former president in 43 years.

The reaction from leaders in both political parties, initially, was consistent. President Joe Biden was resolute after the incident in Butler County, Pennsylvania, that shook a nation to its core, saying, “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.”

And Trump said he is rewriting his convention speech to take advantage of the moment to draw the country together.

The court ruled presidents are immune from prosecution for their official acts. It has already prompted the postponement of sentencing for his business fraud case in New York. That was supposed to happen this Thursday but was rescheduled for September at the earliest.

The ruling also has an immediate impact on the federal election case in Washington. It threw a proverbial monkey wrench in the bid to put Trump on trial for what the special counsel calls a criminal conspiracy to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory.

In a 6-3 ruling, the justices said that former presidents are shielded from prosecution for official acts but do not have immunity for unofficial acts.

The justices certainly took their time deciding the case, despite what many critics said was an urgent need to bring Trump to trial before the November election. The ruling makes it nearly impossible for a trial to be held before voters decide whether to send Trump back to the White House.

While the actual choice remains a mystery, some insiders say a Rust Belt Republican is the best choice.

They believe Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance may be the one to flip votes away from President Joe Biden in key battleground states, including the Rust Belt, where Biden needs to win voter support if he’s going to be re-elected.

But what about Florida Sen. Marco Rubio? Interesting question here. Could the one-time rival be the V.P. choice? Can he and Trump run on the same ticket? The 12th Amendment may prove to be a headache when it comes to a Trump-Rubio ticket because both are Florida residents, and the amendment stipulates that electors can’t vote for presidential and vice-presidential candidates who both reside in the elector’s state — at least one of them must live in another state.

And they appear motivated to facilitate change and ready to have their voices heard.

A national poll released by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School indicates that among that age group, 18- to 29-year-olds, more than half say they will definitely vote in the upcoming presidential election.

Talk with them and you’ll find that these young voters are focused more on the issues than on the candidates.

The trial is inextricably intertwined with the nation’s future and the former president’s bid to reclaim the White House. The panel of jurors has to decide if the prosecution missed anything in the case and if the defense was effective in poking holes in testimony from the star witness Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer.

For the jury to convict Trump, the prosecution needs to prove that he knew he falsified the records and that he did it for political gain. But even then there are questions about whether the jury needs to be unanimous on what “predicate” crime he committed.

The latest poll from the Public Opinion Research Lab at the University of North Florida provides some interesting insight into the psyche of voters into questions such as: Would a criminal conviction against Donald Trump change voters’ minds or would they continue to support the former president? Should states decide abortion policy and is the abortion issue a big determining factor in November?

It also examined other hot-button issues on voters’ minds. No doubt immigration has been a big topic in Florida, especially given some of the moves by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Polls show President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump running close in Florida, which might play a more crucial role than many think in the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.

The fact is roughly 6% of voters in the swing states will be “the deciders” in the 2024 presidential election.

The latest poll from the Public Opinion Research Lab at the University of North Florida provides some interesting insight into the psyche of voters into questions such as: Would a criminal conviction against Donald Trump change voters’ minds or would they continue to support the former president? Should states decide abortion policy and is the abortion issue a big determining factor in November?

The justices in the nation’s highest court heard oral arguments over whether former President Donald Trump is immune from prosecution in a case charging him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. It is history in the making. Between a decades-old court case about former President Richard Nixon, yes Richard Nixon, and an obscure constitutional provision about presidential impeachments, there are some unfamiliar concepts and terms and banter before the court.

The big question now is will it prove to be his undoing because there’s the threat of a coup or will the Democrats come to his rescue?

There is no telling where this real-life soap opera is going to end. Also on the agenda for the episode was former President Donald Trump’s historic business fraud trial.

You almost need a tracker to keep up to date on the tangled web of cases playing out or getting ready to play out in courtrooms across the U.S.

You have the “hush money” case in New York that started with jury selection Monday, the New York civil fraud case, federal and Georgia election subversion cases, and the Mar-a-Lago documents case.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, is upping the ante in her efforts to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana. She is issuing searing indictments, and her new rhetoric shows she is not backing down.

Maybe you were wondering why. What changed? Well, it may have a lot to do with the Supreme Court striking down affirmative action when it comes to college admissions.

The High Court ruled colleges can’t explicitly consider race in the college admissions process.

I have to be pretty clear here. The Supreme Court ruling has no legal impact on workplace law, but there has been big-time fallout. And the terms “affirmative action” and “DEI” have become politicized and weaponized. (Like that’s a big surprise in today’s environment.)

Guess what, the fallout is expected to continue. Is it because Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts had a real impact?

We’re also getting a good idea of how their financial plans differ. And Biden is lambasting Trump for saying he’d cut Social Security. Trump’s reported lavish praise for despots and autocratic leaders is ringing alarm bells.

And if you thought Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was out of the running in the bid for the White House in 2024 some things he is doing might have you wondering: Is he really?

“Did (Haley) outperform expectations? Yes. (Trump) was favored by five touchdowns and he won by three touchdowns. That’s still a pretty significant win,” said News4JAX political analyst Rick Mullaney, who joined me on this week’s “Path to the Polls.”

The U.S. Supreme Court is looking at challenges that might ultimately curtail the ability of federal agencies to regulate a host of areas that touch American life, including health care, finance, environmental pollutants and administrative agencies that use highly trained experts to interpret and carry out federal laws.

Historically, New Hampshire is known for dramatically bringing about different primary outcomes, and many political analysts expect 2024 to give us the “first real primary race this election cycle.

The latest Des Moines Register/NBC News Mediacom Iowa Poll shows nearly half of all likely Republican caucus-goers choose Donald Trump as their first choice with 48% of support. Nikki Haley is in second place with 20% and Ron DeSantis slipped 3 percentage points and now has 16%, according to the latest numbers.