UPSIDE Foods, Inc., contends, in part, that the law violates a constitutional prohibition on favoring in-state businesses over out-of-state competitors.

“We’re not looking to replace conventional meat, which will always have a place on our tables,” Uma Valeti, a cardiologist who founded UPSIDE in 2015, said during a conference call Tuesday with reporters. “We want to give consumers a choice, a choice so they can eat cultivated meat or conventional meat, any choice they can make in the future to keep up with the demand for meat that will double by 2050.”

The lawsuit, filed in the federal Northern District of Florida, names as defendants state Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, Attorney General Ashley Moody and four state attorneys. Simpson, a key supporter of the law, called the lawsuit “ridiculous” and said “lab-grown meat is not proven to be safe enough for consumers.”

“Food security is a matter of national security, and our farmers are the first line of defense,” Simpson said in a statement. “As Florida’s commissioner of agriculture, I will fight every day to protect a safe, affordable, and abundant food supply. States are the laboratory of democracy, and Florida has the right to not be a corporate guinea pig. Leave the Frankenmeat experiment to California.”

The Legislature this year approved the ban as part of a broader Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services bill (SB 1084), which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed on May 1. The lawsuit said Florida became the first state to ban the manufacture, distribution and sale of cultivated meat.

“In doing so, Florida did not cite concerns that cultivated meat is less healthy or safe than conventional meat,” said the lawsuit, filed by attorneys from the Institute for Justice legal organization. “Instead, Governor DeSantis announced that Florida was ‘fighting back’ against the ‘authoritarian goals’ of the ‘global elite,’ who he alleged would force consumers to eat cultivated meat. The governor also announced that the law was part of his administration’s ‘focus on investing in our local farmers and ranchers’ and an effort to ‘save our beef.’”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture last year approved UPSIDE to manufacture and sell its products. Since then, the company has distributed cultivated chicken products, an alternative to plant-based meat alternatives, at restaurants and tasting events across the nation, including in Florida.

“Laws like this in Florida will absolutely make sure that this innovation will go outside the United States and make it very challenging for us to have food safety and food security in the future,” Valeti said.

Paul Sherman, an Institute for Justice senior attorney, said a motion for a preliminary injunction is pending. If approved, a preliminary injunction could allow UPSIDE to sell products in Florida while the lawsuit moves forward.

“The states simply do not have the power to wall themselves off from products that have been approved by the USDA and the FDA,” Sherman said, referring to the federal agencies. “And if consumers don’t like the idea of cultivated meat, there’s a simple solution. They don’t have to eat it. But they can’t make that decision for other consumers.”

The other defendants in the lawsuit are Jack Campbell, the state attorney in the 2nd Judicial Circuit, which includes Leon and surrounding counties; Bruce Bartlett, the state attorney in the 6th Judicial Circuit, which is made up of Pinellas and Pasco counties; Andrew Bain, the state attorney in the 9th Judicial Circuit, which is made of up Orange and Osceola counties; and Katherine Fernandez Rundle, the state attorney in the 11th Judicial Circuit in Miami-Dade County. They are defendants because they would be expected to enforce the law.

The law, in part, makes it a second-degree misdemeanor to sell or manufacture cultivated meat. The manufacturing process includes taking a small number of cultured cells from animals and growing them in controlled settings to make food.

The lawsuit contends Florida’s ban violates the Supremacy Clause in the U.S. Constitution by pre-empting federal laws regulating meat and poultry products and violates what is known as the “dormant” Commerce Clause by insulating Florida agriculture from out-of-state competition.

For example, the lawsuit pointed to March comments by House bill sponsor Rep. Danny Alvarez, a Hillsborough County Republican who said, “If you believe that we are doing this because we know that Florida’s agriculture can hold us down and provides plenty of safe, quality beef and agricultural products — you are absolutely correct.”

Alabama followed Florida in approving a similar law, which doesn’t go into effect until Oct. 1. Similar bans have been proposed in states including Kentucky, Iowa, Pennsylvania and Texas.

UPSIDE, which would like to distribute its poultry products at Miami Beach’s Art Basel event in December and the 2025 South Beach Food and Wine Festival, contends Florida’s ban has affected the company’s revenue, promotional opportunities and reputation.

DeSantis traveled to rural Hardee County in May to sign the measure with members of the cattle industry on hand. While behind a podium that featured a sign saying, “Save Our Beef,” DeSantis said the law would protect against “an ideological agenda that wants to finger agriculture as the problem.”

DeSantis also called the products “fake meat” and said Florida was pushing “back against the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish or bugs to achieve their authoritarian goals.”

The law doesn’t prohibit cultivated-meat research because of concerns that such a ban could affect Florida’s space industry, which is looking at cultivated meats for long-term space journeys.

In a letter Friday, Department of Commerce Secretary J. Alex Kelly and Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue expressed dismay about Port Canaveral — one of the world’s busiest cruise ports — changing cruise terminal plans in a way that would affect expansion of liquified natural-gas facilities that serve the space industry.

“Florida’s cruise tourism and commercial space launch sectors are both vitally important,” Kelly and Perdue wrote. “Port Canaveral bears the responsibility of housing and supporting both. We will help you do both. But in this case, the port has announced its intention to support one sector to the direct detriment of the other. That decision must, therefore, be reversed.”

Unless the port returns to its earlier plans, Kelly and Perdue warned Florida will take actions such as the Department of Transportation shifting planned investments to other seaports and spaceports and the Department of Commerce halting funding for Port Canaveral projects.

The letter said the Department of Commerce will “stringently” review whether the port complied with terms of an $8.245 million grant received in 2018 through the state’s Job Growth Grant Fund. That grant made up the bulk of funding for a $12 million road project and was provided, in part, to support the aerospace industry, the letter said.

Also, the letter warned that the Department of Commerce and the Department of Transportation would not certify three recent applications to the Florida Seaport Tourism Economic Development Council for projects related to the cruise industry.

Port spokesman Steven Linden said in a statement that the port’s board understands the concerns and will work with the state on resolving the issues.

“The port has been an integral part of the commercial space industry’s growth and operations in our state, and our commitment to the enterprise remains strong,” Linden said in the statement. “We look forward to working in partnership with Secretary Perdue and Secretary Kelly towards a positive resolution.”

The board’s next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 21.

In May, the port announced that instead of building new cruise terminals on the southern portion of port property, what is known as North Cargo Berth 8 would be redesignated for cruise operations and adjacent property would be used for parking garages.

Kelly and Perdue contended the change “reneges” on plans to expand access to liquified natural gas by reallocating some of the berth’s displaced cargo operations.

Also in May, Space Florida, the state’s aerospace agency, announced it must nearly double by 2033 the current footprint of about 2,800 linear feet of wharf space around Port Canaveral to help the expanding private space industry over the next half-century.

The need would incrementally grow to an additional 9,135 linear feet by 2073, according to the agency’s “Florida Spaceport System Maritime Intermodal Transportation Study.”

The estimated cost ranges from $42.2 million for the first phase to $2.1 billion for what is outlined as a seven-phase project. In part, the additional space would help with retrieval of boosters and capsules.

Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station have had 55 launches in 2024. Florida had a record 72 orbital rocket launches in 2023, up from 57 in 2022 and 31 in 2021.

Port Canaveral handled 6.92 million cruise passengers in 2023, globally behind only PortMiami with 7.3 million cruise passengers.

Craig Fugate, a disaster-planning consultant who previously served as director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management and administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said financing and the availability of insurance will continue to be issues for some people trying to rebuild.

“I don’t think it’s going to slow down rebuilding, because it’s not really slowing things down in Fort Myers,” Fugate said, referring to rebuilding after Hurricane Ian slammed into the Fort Myers area in 2022. “What it’s doing is causing an affordable housing crisis … people like police officers, school teachers, administrators, they’re being priced out of your communities because they can’t either afford the cost of rebuilding, and if they can, they can’t afford the cost of insuring if they have to get a mortgage.”

Fugate, who spoke Tuesday to the Capital Tiger Bay Club in Tallahassee, served as director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management from 2001 to 2009, including during the devastating 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons. He then served nearly eight years as FEMA administrator.

Fugate became known for the Waffle House Index, an unofficial metric named after the restaurant chain. It gauged the severity of storms by whether Waffle House restaurants were open and what was available on menus. While it started in Florida, the index drew more national attention when Fugate and FEMA responded to a deadly tornado that hit Joplin, Mo., in 2011.

During his speech Tuesday, Fugate credited Florida officials for taking steps to address rising sea levels, despite controversial legislation this year that removed the phrase “climate change” from parts of laws.

“They’re actually one of the more progressive states in dealing with the impacts of climate change,” Fugate said. “If you look at the insurance ratings for building codes, Florida’s No. 1 or No. 2 every time. So, there’s this tendency, I think, to get caught up between what are called rhetoric and actions. And the rhetoric sometimes doesn’t always match what you’re doing.”

Fugate said Florida has been forward looking, noting the state’s Citizens Property Insurance is phasing in a flood-insurance requirement for policyholders, a lesson learned after Hurricane Ian caused massive flooding.

“They’re actually taking very smart, appropriate steps to address the issue of changing climate events,” Fugate said.

Fugate’s appearance came as the National Hurricane Center on Tuesday advised people in the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, and the southeastern U.S. to keep an eye on the progress of a storm system moving in the Atlantic.

While it had not forecast rapid intensification, the hurricane center put Florida in the potential path of the system.

Dry air over the system on Tuesday was limiting rain, but conditions could lead to development of a tropical depression later this week over warm Atlantic waters. The chance of formation over the next week was upped from 50 percent on Monday to 60 percent Tuesday morning.

But many businesses get most excited about the annual tax holidays on back-to-school items.

Florida Retail Federation President and CEO Scott Shalley said Thursday the 14-day back-to-school holiday, which will start Monday, July 29, closely resembles the end-of-the-year shopping season in its impact for many businesses.

“It’s the proverbial win-win-win in terms of getting our kids ready to go back to school, saving a little money on taxes and providing a little boost for retailers,” Shalley said.

During the back-to-school discount period, which will run through Aug. 11, shoppers will avoid paying sales taxes on clothes, shoes and book bags that cost $100 or less; school supplies that cost $50 or less, learning aids that cost $30 or less; and personal computers that cost $1,500 or less.

The back-to-school holiday was included in a broad tax package (HB 7073) that lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved this year. During an appearance Thursday at Mo’s Bagels & Deli in Aventura, DeSantis said the tax holiday is among several parts of the package “that are going to make a difference for folks.”

“I think it is important that we are able to provide relief for Florida families, particularly given how things have gone up so much (in prices) over the last 3 ½ years,” DeSantis said.

Related: Back-to-school countdown: Free supplies, fun activities & donation drives in South Florida

Department of Children and Families Secretary Shevaun Harris said during the event at Mo’s that the 14 days provides time for parents to plan back-to-school buying.

“Between work schedules, kids’ activities and other responsibilities, it would be more challenging to take advantage of this if we were limited to just one weekend,” Harris said.

Florida has held back-to-school tax holidays since the late 1990s.

“It’s a legacy holiday. People look forward to it. They take advantage of it. They really take the opportunity to save,” Shalley said. “Our retailers are dialed into it. Our retailers are ready and prepared to have supplemental offerings to generate activity.”

Meanwhile, another tax holiday, what is known as the “Freedom Month” holiday, will end Wednesday. During that holiday, sales taxes aren’t collected on such things as supplies for boating, fishing and camping and tickets purchased for live music events, sporting events, fairs, festivals, theater performances and movies.

Shalley said retailers have reported “varying levels of engagement” on Freedom Month deals, but he said it will take “a little while” to determine the overall impacts.

The back-to-school holiday is projected to save shoppers $97.2 million. Freedom Month carries an estimated $91.8 million savings.

The state also will hold a tax holiday on disaster-preparedness supplies for 14 days starting Aug. 24 and a tax holiday on tools and other work equipment for seven days at the start of September.

A similar holiday on disaster-preparedness supplies was held during the first two weeks of June, around the start of hurricane season.

While saying additional protections are needed, the State Board of Education on Wednesday ratified a plan approved last month by the Florida High School Athletic Association that will allow high school athletes to get paid through name, image and likeness, or “NIL,” deals.

Board of Education Chairman Ben Gibson said the athletic association, which regulates high-school sports, must prioritize the protection of student-athletes, most of whom will be minors.

“This could be a great opportunity for some student-athletes, but we want to make sure they do it in a manner that they are protected and not exploited,” Gibson said.

The plan, which overhauls a section of the association’s bylaws that govern “amateurism,” will allow student-athletes to brand themselves for commercial endorsements, promotional activities and through social media.

High schools won’t be able to use promises of NIL deals to recruit players.

State Education Commissioner Manny Diaz said the bylaw changes were “not taken lightly” and warned against companies trying to use NIL deals that “circumvent the process and take advantage of our students.”

Board member Esther Byrd suggested the association require students to register when participating in NIL deals.

“I am very concerned about the bad actors,” Byrd said. “Obviously, they have already popped up. We know it is coming. We know they don’t care about our rules, and they are going to do what they want to do.”

​Craig Damon, executive director of the association, said bylaws continue to be updated, noting that issues involving what are known as “collectives” were amended this week in reaction to a national group found recruiting and collecting money in multiple states including Florida.

Damon said that for most students, an NIL deal would be equal to having an afterschool job, while at the college level “you see student-athletes getting compensated for their name being on a roster.”

“We don’t foresee kids making hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars off this,” Damon said. “However, there will be that 1 percent of elite athletes that possibly may have that opportunity. But for the majority of our student-athletes, it will be something local with a local business.”

The association plans to post online videos to share information with parents and students about how NIL deals operate, Damon said.

NIL deals have helped transform college athletics across the country in recent years. Florida lawmakers approved NIL regulations in 2021 that were revised last year to allow universities to become more involved in the process.

As part of the high-school bylaws, student-athletes and their families will be encouraged to seek legal counsel and tax advice when considering NIL activities.

High school athletes would still be prohibited from being paid for on-field activities, hiring agents and receiving awards unapproved by the athletic association.

Also, student-athletes who transfer after starting a sport will be prohibited in most cases from securing NIL agreements during that season.

Students won’t be able to use their team uniforms, logos, mascots or any other identifiers of their schools as part of NIL deals. Also, deals would have to end when students graduate from high school and would have to hold harmless schools, school districts and the athletic association from liability.

Students will be prohibited from endorsing services during school-sponsored events or athletic activities and can’t enter into deals tied to adult entertainment, gambling, firearms, tobacco, marijuana or NIL collectives.

Violations will result in warnings for first offenses. Second offenses would result in student-athletes being ineligible to represent schools for one year. Third offenses could lead to student-athletes being barred from competing throughout their time in high school.

Fuchs, who spent about eight years as UF president, will return to the role on Aug. 1.

Sasse, who has been president less than two years, announced Thursday he will step down effective July 31 because of his wife’s health. He said he would work with Fuchs on the transition.

“I just want to offer whatever help. I’ll be able to carry water and row alongside him,” Sasse said.
Fuchs’ return was first announced in an email distributed to the university before a vote by the Board of Trustees late Tuesday afternoon. The appointment also requires approval from the state university system’s Board of Governors.

Fuchs said his role over the next year will be to ensure the university maintains its momentum and to “make sure the university’s in just great shape and prepared for that next leader.”

“I plan to lean into the job and enjoy it. And I believe that can become contagious for all of us,” Fuchs said during the brief trustees conference call. “So, it’ll be a year of fun, as well as hard work.”

Fuchs, who left the presidency in early 2023, came to UF in 2015 after serving as provost of Cornell University. During his time as president, he was credited with helping boost UF into the top 10 of public universities in the closely watched U.S. News & World Report rankings and for guiding the university during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Fuchs also drew controversy over issues such as a decision to prevent three political-science professors from serving as expert witnesses against the state in a lawsuit over a high-profile elections law. The university ultimately walked back the decision, but not before the issue drew national media attention and a federal lawsuit in which six professors alleged a UF policy violated First Amendment rights.

After leaving the presidency, Fuchs worked as a professor in the university’s Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.

Sasse left a Nebraska U.S. Senate seat to take the Gainesville job and will remain at the university as a professor.

A compensation package for Fuchs wasn’t immediately released.

Sasse’s five-year contract includes a $1 million base salary, with annual performance bonuses of up to 15 percent. He will forego a $1 million payout that would have been provided if he served the full five-year term.

Fuchs had a total compensation package of $1.4 million a year when he left the president position.
The Board of Trustees is expected to start a national search for a permanent replacement for Sasse.

The Florida Department of Commerce on Friday released a report that said the state’s June unemployment rate was 3.3%, unchanged from April and May.

During the three months, the labor force of 11.07 million people lost 27,000 participants, including a reduction of 13,000 from May to June. The estimated number of people out of work remained at 361,000 in June.

Jimmy Heckman, the department’s chief of workforce statistics and economic research, attributed the decrease in the labor force primarily to retirements, while saying workforce participation remains strong among people ages 25 to 54.

“We’ve looked at things like discouraged workers, workers that feel like there’s no opportunities out there for them. Those numbers have remained really, really low over the past 12 months,” Heckman said during a conference call with reporters.

In June, the largest employment drop was in the category of leisure and hospitality, which lost 14,700 positions. The majority lost involved jobs in hotels and food services.

Heckman said Orlando, which typically adds hospitality jobs in June, posted a reduction for the month, while coastal areas of the Panhandle were slower in hiring than usual.

“Despite the drop-off in June over the year, we’re still seeing there are more jobs in that sector in Florida than there were in June last year,” Heckman said. “So, that point is still a little bit of a washout in terms of what we’ve seen over the past year.”

The leisure-and-hospitality category in June was up 16,700 positions from a year earlier. The overall labor force grew by 66,000 people from June 2023.

With the national unemployment rate in June at 4.1%, Florida was one of 41 states where rates did not change from May. Rates in 8 states — Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Georgia, Minnesota, and Utah — went up. Connecticut’s rate went down.

Florida’s rate was at 3.2% in March and 3.1% in the three previous months. Florida had a 2.8% jobless rate in June 2023.

Employment in Florida’s construction industry increased by 3,400 jobs from May to June, while a broad category of education and health services added 5,500 jobs. Another broadly defined category of trade, transportation and utilities was up 4,300 jobs.

Across Florida, the lowest unemployment rate in June was 3.1% in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan statistical area, though that was up from 2.6% in May. Palm Beach County’s unemployment rate rose to 3.5% in June 2024, up from 2.9% in May 2024, according to the latest data by CareerSource Palm Beach County and FloridaCommerce.

The Crestview-Fort Walton-Beach Destin area was at 3.2%, while the Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island and Panama City areas were at 3.3%.

The highest rate was in the Homosassa Springs area at 5.2%, up from 4.5% a month earlier. Sebring was at 5.1%, up from 4.2% in May.

The statewide rate is seasonally adjusted, while the metro rates are not adjusted.

The Department of Financial Services said online that funding has been “exhausted” for initial inspections in the My Safe Florida Home program. The program offers inspections and grants up to $10,000 to help residents upgrade homes and qualify for property-insurance discounts for residences valued up to $700,000.

Devin Galetta, spokesman for state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, said Wednesday the program is still “up and running” for people who have already been approved for inspections.

“As we continue to fight (insurance) rate increases, the My Safe Florida Home program is one of the strongest tools in the toolkit to help rein in rates and make homes safer,” Galetta said in a statement. “Next (legislative) session, the CFO is going to put forward some ideas for improving the program, including dedicated funding streams and making the program reoccurring.”

The program drew 3,212 initial inspection applications after a new My Safe Florida Home law (SB 7028) took effect July 1. The legislation included $200 million for hurricane-mitigation grants, inspections and outreach.

The department said the program has been used to conduct 106,000 home inspections over the past two years, with 38,500 grant applications approved.

The department estimates that grant-related home improvements have provided up to $1,000 in savings on insurance premiums.

The program was created in 2006, after a series of hurricanes in 2004 and 2005 led to 2.8 million Florida homeowners sustaining more than $33 billion in insured property damage. After an initial infusion of $250 million, the next funding for the program didn’t come until 2022, when lawmakers put forward $215 million during a special legislative session to address the state’s property-insurance problems.

An additional $176.17 million was put into the program during a November 2023 special session, as more than 17,600 grant applications awaited funding.

The new law includes prioritizing consideration of applications by people such as low-income seniors. The funding was promoted as potentially helping nearly 20,000 Floridians.

The law also prohibits the department from creating a waiting list once money runs out, “unless the Legislature expressly provides authority to implement such actions.”

The application halt doesn’t affect $30 million in the state budget tied to legislation (HB 1029) that allows condominium associations to be eligible for inspections and grants. The department is still working on inspection procedures and application forms for the condo-association program, which will open this fall..

Lawmakers required participating associations to provide a $1 match for every $2 provided in the program, with a maximum of $175,000 per association.

DeSantis’ office announced Friday night that he had signed 14 bills from this year’s legislative session and vetoed three. Among the other bills he signed was a measure (SB 7014) that revamped ethics laws.

DeSantis vetoed a bill (HB 317) that would have prevented drivers from cruising in left lanes of highways with at least two lanes and speed limits of at least 65 mph. The bill included exemptions for drivers passing other motorists, preparing to exit, turning from left lanes or being directed to left lanes by officers or traffic-control devices.

In a veto letter, DeSantis said the bill was “too broad” and that it could result in motorists “being pulled over, ticketed, and fined for driving in the furthest left lane even if they are not impeding the flow of traffic of if there are few or no other cars in the immediate area.”

DeSantis added that the measure, which was unanimously approved by the Senate and drew only three dissenting votes in the House, could “potentially increase congestion in Florida’s urban areas as drivers may decide to not utilize the furthest left-hand lane at all for fear of being ticketed.”

The bill about bears (HB 87) provides a sort of stand-your-ground defense for people who shoot bears to defend themselves or property. But with bear hunting long a controversial issue in Florida, opponents of the bill said it would lead to increased deaths of the once-threatened animals. Opponents said they will consider legal action to try to halt the law, which is scheduled to take effect July 1.

Under the bill, shooters will have to notify the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission within 24 hours of bears being killed. They also will be prohibited from possessing or selling bear carcasses.

Legal immunity will not be available to people who provoke or lure bears.

Similar bills were filed in past years but did not pass the Legislature. This year, however, the proposal sponsored by Rep. Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe, and Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, gained traction in September after Franklin County Sheriff A.J. Smith said his rural community was “being inundated and overrun by the bear population.”

Shoaf and Simon represent Franklin County as part of sprawling, largely rural districts.
But animal-rights activists argued the bill will create an “open season” on bears.

“Increasing the killing of Florida’s iconic black bears under the guise of self-defense –– without requiring proof of actual danger — poses serious public safety risks and undermines responsible wildlife management,” Kate MacFall, Florida state director at the Humane Society of the United States, said in a prepared statement.

MacFall said the bill conflicts with regulations of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which has the constitutional authority to manage wildlife. She added her organization “will continue to explore our options moving forward to ensure Florida’s bears are protected.”

Opponents of the bill said the state and communities should focus on securing garbage so bears will not be attracted to homes. The commission’s BearWise program outlines steps such as telling people not to feed bears, to clear grills, to make trash less accessible, to remove bird feeders when bears are active and to not leave pet food outside.

Sierra Club Florida, which has also argued the bill usurps the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s constitutional authority, said it is “a dangerous solution to an imaginary problem.”
Under current law, people are prohibited from possessing, injuring or shooting bears but can use non-lethal means to scare away bears that may be on the people’s property or rifling through trash.

As the state’s number of residents has grown, human-bear conflicts have increased. The commission euthanized an average of 38 bears annually between 2009 and 2018 because of public-safety risks, mostly as bears sought out unsecured garbage or other food.

The Senate voted 24-12 to approve the bill, while the House passed it in an 83-28 vote. Rep. Allison Tant, D-Tallahassee, said bears threaten farmers’ livestock in her district, which includes rural Madison and Jefferson counties.

“We do have bear-proof garbage cans,” Tant said in March. “And you know what, oftentimes, after the garbage is picked up, the tops are not secured again. So, the bears come back and come back and come back.”

Two Democrats — former House members Carlos Guillermo Smith, of Orlando, and Mack Bernard, of West Palm Beach — locked up Senate seats, while nine incumbent House members won additional two-year terms.

Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried touted the party fielding a candidate in every race, after Republicans have controlled the House and Senate since the 1990s.

“It’s a record-breaking accomplishment for the Florida Democratic Party and a stark contrast to the party we inherited after 2022 — a party Republicans declared ‘dead’ just one year ago,” Fried said in a prepared statement. “Now, we have the momentum.”

Republican Party of Florida Chairman Evan Power called the Democrats’ effort a “stunt to get attention.”

“While Nikki Fried and the Democrats are focused on a participation trophy, the Florida GOP is dedicated to winning,” Power said in a text.

In the House, the unopposed Democratic incumbents were:

— Yvonne Hinson, of Gainesville.
— Jervonte Edmonds, of West Palm Beach.
— Kelly Skidmore, of Boca Raton.
— Christine Hunschofsky, of Parkland.
— Dan Daley, of Coral Springs.
— Lisa Dunkley, of Sunrise.
— Hillary Cassel, of Dania Beach.
— Felicia Robinson, of Miami Gardens.
— Dotie Joseph, of North Miami.

Smith, who won the Senate District 17 seat held by term-limited Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, served in the House from 2016 to 2022. He lost a reelection bid in 2022 after his district was redrawn.

Bernard, who served in the House from 2009 to 2012 and subsequently served on the Palm Beach County Commission, was the only candidate to qualify in what is technically a special election to replace Sen. Bobby Powell, D-West Palm Beach, in Senate District 24. Powell gave up the final two years of his Senate term to run for the Palm Beach County Commission.

Though Democrats fielded candidates throughout the state, numerous races aren’t expected to be competitive, in part because many Republicans are incumbents and the GOP has built a large voter-registration edge.

But the strategy for Democratic Party is to raise awareness for Democrats statewide during a presidential election year and to force Republicans to spread dollars to races.

“We are not going to just let Republicans walk into office without being held accountable,” Danielle Hawk, Florida Democratic Party candidates and campaigns director, said in a statement.

Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a Spring Hill Republican and former chairman of the state GOP, described the Democratic effort as “wasting money in safe Republican seats.”

“This isn’t a win,” Ingoglia posted online. “It’s foolishness for a cash-strapped party.”

The parties, however, will square off in places such as Senate District 3 in North Florida.

Sen. Corey Simon, a former Florida State University and National Football League standout, will face the winner of a Democratic primary between Daryl Parks and Kimblin Nesmith.

Parks, a prominent civil-rights attorney, has quickly piled up money for the race in the sprawling district, which includes Tallahassee.

As another example of a competitive district, Republicans want to unseat Rep. Lindsay Cross, D-St. Petersburg, in Pinellas County’s House District 60. She faces a challenge from Republican Ed Montanari, a St. Petersburg City Council member.

Meanwhile, attention has been raised over a potential “ghost” candidate in House District 106 in Miami-Dade County.

Former Democratic Rep. Joe Saunders is trying to unseat Rep. Fabian Basabe, R-Miami Beach. But St. Johns County resident Maureen Saunders Scott qualified to run for the seat without party affiliation under the name Moe Saunders.

After the 2020 elections, Republican political operatives faced allegations that they used third-party “ghost” candidates in South Central and Central Florida to “confuse voters and siphon votes” by having similar names on the ballot or by running nearly identical ads to Democrats.

Other hard-fought races will come in party primaries in places such as Northeast Florida’s Senate District 7, which is open because Sen. Travis Hutson, R-St. Augustine, faces term limits.

House Appropriations Chairman Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, has drawn support in the Senate race from big-name Republicans including Gov. Ron DeSantis.

But he faces two primary opponents, including former longtime St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar. The district is made up of St. Johns, Putnam, Flagler and part of Volusia counties.

Meanwhile, former Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson has qualified to run in Central Florida’s Senate District 25, which is open because Sen. Victor Torres, D-Orlando, faces term limits.

The Democratic primary also includes Carmen Torres, who is married to Victor Torres, and Rep. Kristen Arrington, D-Kissimmee. The district includes Osceola County and part of Orange County.

Also in Central Florida, Randolph Bracy, a former Democratic lawmaker, has qualified to run against Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Windermere, in Orange County’s Senate District 15.

In the House, term-limited Sen. Debbie Mayfield, R-Indialantic, will battle in the Republican primary in Brevard County’s House District 32 against former Congressman Dave Weldon.

In Miami-Dade County’s House District 109, former Democratic Rep. James Bush has returned for a primary re-match against Rep. Ashley Gantt, D-Miami. Gantt defeated Bush by 3.4 percentage points in the 2022 Democratic primary. The race also includes former Democratic Rep. Roy Hardemon.