TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida primary countdown is accelerating, with voters approaching a major vote-by-mail deadline and campaigns entering their final two weeks of persuasion.
🏛️ DOME is The Florida Pundit’s daily briefing on the people, policies, campaigns, courts and controversies shaping Florida politics.
This weekend’s political agenda includes an unresolved campaign text in Tallahassee, competing narratives in the Republican governor’s race, a closely watched congressional forum and questions about what Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s newly announced investigation will actually produce.
STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Mystery text turns data centers into an election-accountability test
A political text message claiming to come from the “Build Data Centers Now Political Action Committee” told Tallahassee voters that City Commission candidates P.J. Perez and Talethia Edwards could be trusted to bring data centers to the city.
There was one significant problem: both candidates said they oppose data centers and denied receiving the purported endorsement.
Searches of available state and federal campaign-finance records did not identify a registered committee using the name displayed in the message. An automated response received by people who opted out named a different Florida political committee, but that response alone does not establish who authorized or financed the original communication.
Neither Perez nor Edwards has been accused of participating in the message. No state agency has announced a campaign-finance violation or enforcement action.
The unresolved question is straightforward: Who paid for a political message that apparently misstated the positions of two candidates, and why was it distributed under the name of an organization absent from available committee records?
The controversy also demonstrates how data-center development has moved from a technical land-use debate into local Florida elections. Communities are increasingly weighing promised investment against concerns involving electricity demand, water consumption, infrastructure costs and residential utility rates.
GOVERNOR’S RACE
Donalds looks to space while Collins challenges the polling narrative
Republican gubernatorial front-runner Byron Donalds ended the week by unveiling a “Space Race” economic-development proposal centered on aerospace manufacturing, faster permitting and workforce training.
Donalds proposed identifying 10 strategic development areas, establishing an Office for Space Industry within the Governor’s Office and creating tuition-free training programs with commercial aerospace companies.
Important details—including the locations, projected cost, funding sources and environmental-review requirements—have not been released. Moving NASA headquarters to Florida, another part of the proposal, would require federal action rather than a decision by the governor.
The policy rollout allowed Donalds to emphasize his economic agenda while his Republican opponents continued pressing him to participate in a primary debate.
Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, meanwhile, released an internal campaign poll showing Donalds leading him 46% to 30%.
The result places Collins substantially higher than recent public polling, which has generally shown him near 10%. The Collins campaign argues the survey demonstrates that the primary is becoming a two-candidate contest.
That conclusion is not supported by the broader public polling record. Even the campaign-funded survey gives Donalds a 16-point advantage, and the complete questionnaire and detailed crosstabs have not been publicly released.
The larger question is whether Collins can convert the internal result into measurable movement before early voting and Election Day—or whether Donalds’ financial, polling and endorsement advantages have already placed the nomination beyond reach.
CONGRESSIONAL WATCH
CD-7 candidates prepare for Wednesday forum
Rep. Cory Mills and Republican challengers Ryan Elijah, Sarah Ulrich and Michael Johnson are scheduled to appear at a candidate forum Wednesday, Aug. 5, at the Brannon Center in New Smyrna Beach.
The event will give voters one of their clearest opportunities to compare the candidates before the Aug. 18 primary.
Mills enters the forum with the advantages of incumbency and President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Elijah is countering with prominent local backing, including endorsements from Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma and Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood.
The forum also comes amid continuing scrutiny surrounding Mills. A House Ethics Committee investigation remains active, but the committee has not reached findings of wrongdoing. Mills has denied wrongdoing and has dismissed separate reports concerning a possible Justice Department investigation. The Justice Department has not publicly confirmed those reports.
Watch for the challengers to focus on ethics, local representation and electability while Mills emphasizes his congressional record, military service and support from Trump.
ATTORNEY GENERAL WATCH
Uthmeier’s promised subpoenas face their first test
Attorney General James Uthmeier said Florida could issue subpoenas “as early as next week” as part of his investigation involving former federal health official Anthony Fauci.
Uthmeier’s office says it will examine whether alleged conduct caused physical or financial harm to Floridians and created liability under Florida law.
As of Sunday, however, the office had not publicly identified a subpoena recipient, case number, suspected statutory violation or documented Florida injury. No finding of wrongdoing has been made.
Fauci’s decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment during a Senate hearing is a constitutionally protected act and is not itself evidence that he committed a crime.
The coming week should show whether Uthmeier’s announcement develops into a documented Florida investigation with identifiable legal authority—or remains primarily a political declaration.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Condo report exposes statewide reporting gaps
A new state analysis identified 54 condominium and cooperative buildings classified as unsafe or uninhabitable during milestone inspections conducted in 2024 and 2025.
The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability also found incomplete reporting, inconsistent local definitions and unanswered questions about whether some affected buildings had been vacated.
Those gaps matter because Florida’s post-Surfside inspection system is intended to identify structural risks before they become disasters. Without consistent reporting, state officials and the public cannot easily determine how many buildings remain occupied, how quickly repairs are progressing or whether local governments are applying comparable safety standards.
WHAT TO WATCH
- Wednesday, Aug. 5: The CD-7 Republican candidate forum in New Smyrna Beach.
- Thursday, Aug. 6: The 5 p.m. deadline to request that a vote-by-mail ballot be mailed for the primary.
- Saturday, Aug. 8: Florida’s mandatory early-voting period begins. Counties may offer additional optional days.
- Campaign-text disclosure: Any expenditure report, vendor record or official complaint that identifies who financed the Tallahassee message.
- Attorney general investigation: Whether Uthmeier releases subpoenas, a case number or the Florida legal authority supporting the Fauci inquiry.
- Governor’s race: Whether independent polling confirms any late movement toward Collins or continues showing Donalds with a commanding advantage.
Florida’s primary election is Aug. 18. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The campaign calendar is now working against candidates who need to change their races.
Donald Trump-backed Byron Donalds remains the gubernatorial front-runner, Cory Mills’ challengers have a limited window to make their case, and local candidates face an increasingly complicated political-information environment.
For voters, Thursday’s vote-by-mail deadline is the immediate date that cannot be ignored. For campaigns, every remaining forum, advertisement, endorsement and disclosure could shape the final stretch.
Related Coverage
- Mystery Data-Center Text Draws Denials in Tallahassee Commission Race
- Byron Donalds Unveils Florida “Space Race” Plan
- Jay Collins Internal Poll Shows 30% Against Byron Donalds
- Florida Elections 2026: Candidates, Races and Voting Deadlines
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