Hello and welcome to Friday.

Walk On — While 2024 is a long time away, one possible presidential contender from Florida is taking his name out of the running and says he’s going to run for re-election instead.

Rust Never Sleeps — Sen. Rick Scott, who was in his hometown of Naples for Veterans Day, told NBC 2 that “I have no plans to run in '24. I plan on running for the Senate in '24.”

I’ve Been Waiting For You — This isn’t a huge surprise, especially since former President Donald Trump seems to move closer and closer to mounting his own bid to retake the office. Plus, Scott hasn’t gotten the boost in his national standing the way Gov. Ron DeSantis has as he battles the Biden administration and pushes his anti-lockdown Covid-19 stance.

Rockin’ in the Free World — But it’s also wrong to underestimate Scott, a multimillionaire former health care executive who poured millions of dollars into his three runs for office so far. He’s methodical and calculating, while at the same time remaining cognizant on “ROI” — return on investment — as he is fond of saying. His decision to run the National Republican Senatorial Committee ahead of the 2022 midterms was seen as a way for him to create a national network for himself before a possible presidential bid. If he thought there was a path to the presidency, he would take it.

After the Gold Rush — It’s worth noting that in his brief television interview, Scott also did not sound enthusiastic about either a Trump or DeSantis run for president. (Let’s recall, as always, that Scott and DeSantis don’t really get along with each other.) He said that he would support the Republican nominee but also said “there’s a lot of people talking about running in '24. We’ll see what happens.”

— WHERE'S RON? — Nothing official announced for Gov. DeSantis.

HAPPENING TODAY — The "Florida Roundup" on many of Florida’s public radio stations discuss the federal infrastructure bill and who it will affect in Florida. POLITICO's own Andrew Atterbury will be on to join a discussion of next week's special legislative session about vaccine mandates.

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HMM — POLITICO D.C. Playbook is out this a.m. with this interesting bit: DONALD TRUMP has been complaining to members and guests at Mar-a-Lago that Florida Gov. RON DESANTIS still hasn’t joined the other 2024 hopefuls in pronouncing that he won’t run for president if Trump runs. One guest suspects that Trump’s gripes are so frequent because he is planting them in hopes that they’ll get back to DeSantis. Trump has told his advisers that DeSantis privately assured him that he won’t run if Trump does, but that’s not enough for the former president — he wants DeSantis to say it in public.

Warnings — Trump has even suggested that DeSantis shouldn’t underestimate his Democratic challenger CHARLIE CRIST, calling him a “killer.” Now, as DeSantis crisscrosses the country to raise money for his 2022 reelection, Trump aides are starting to feel pressure to pick sides. Trump has made it known that he didn’t appreciate that former White House chief of staff MARK MEADOWS traveled to Beverly Hills for a DeSantis fundraiser in June (also in attendance: Trump pal and casino magnate STEVE WYNN and former Treasury Secretary STEVE MNUCHIN) and then went on to Orange County, where he introduced DeSantis to other deep-pocketed donors. In a statement to Playbook, a spokesperson for Trump called this reporting “fake news.”

WHAT’S GOING ON? — The campaign of Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried insists that the Democratic candidate did not miss the deadline to turn in her monthly fundraising report. The Division of Elections website still does not list Fried’s October totals. But the campaign has circulated a screenshot that shows the report was submitted electronically just before 6 p.m. on Wednesday. That screenshot also shows that Fried raised $141,477 for her official account, bringing her October total to just over $414,000. Democratic primary rival Rep. Charlie Crist raised nearly $625,000 last month.

‘CONSENT ORDER’ — “Mystery group behind attack ads in Central Florida Senate race strikes settlement with election officials,” by Orlando Sentinel’s Jason Garcia and Annie Martin: “The leader of a mysterious group that sent attacks last year in an important Central Florida state Senate race without ever disclosing its donors has struck a tentative deal to settle a complaint accusing his group of breaking state election laws. The terms of the proposed ‘consent order’ between Stephen Jones, the chairperson of Floridians for Equality and Justice, and the Florida Elections Commission are confidential for now.”

CAMPAIGN ROUNDUP — State Sen. Shevrin Jones is launching his 2022 re-election campaign this morning with the release of a video that mentions the challenges of reducing gun violence and continuing the work against the coronavirus pandemic. The West Park Democrat said in a statement that “while we have made incredible progress, there is still a lot of work ahead as we recover from the pandemic, safeguard civil rights and our democracy, and look to the future to build pathways to prosperity and opportunity for every Floridian." ... Rep. Charlie Crist’s gubernatorial campaign announced former Biden for President Labor & Veterans Vote Director, Carlos Carrillo, has joined the campaign team as a senior adviser on labor … Beverly Young, the widow of the late Rep. Bill Young, is endorsing Republican Amanda Makki in the race for Florida’s 13th Congressional District. She called Makki an “advocate for veterans and Pinellas County residents” and said she’s a better choice than GOP candidate Anna Paulina Luna, who was the party nominee in 2020 and is running again with Trump's endorsement. “After staying out of politics for the last eight years, I can’t sit on the sidelines anymore,” Young said in a statement. “Especially after I saw the terrible campaign Luna ran last year and lost this seat for Republicans when we picked up seats all across Florida.”

— “Gambling amendment campaigns plow another $22 million into drives,” by Florida Politics’ Scott Powers

— “Orange elections supervisor foils fake ballot in Orlando’s election,” by Orlando Sentinel’s Ryan Gillespie

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK — “A deep dive into Florida Senate’s draft redistricting maps,” by POLITICO’s Matt Dixon: A day after Florida’s first round of redistricting maps was released, a theme is emerging that is more surprising than specific changes to the state’s political lines: Everyone is relatively happy. Democrats and progressive-leaning voter groups were concerned heading into Florida’s 2022 redistricting cycle that Republican majorities in the Legislature would use the process to try to draw maps that would further entrench their majorities.

Some key highlights — The 14th Congressional District currently held by Democrat Kathy Castor, which includes all of Tampa, in its current form is a safe Democratic seat that Joe Biden won with nearly 58 percent of the vote. Under the Senate drafts, however, Biden would have won with 51 percent of the vote, creating what will functionally be a swing seat during the 2022 midterms when Republicans are expected to have momentum.

Worth watching — Republican Ileana Garcia’s state Senate District 37 would be significantly easier for Democrats to retake under the proposed Senate maps. Biden, under the Senate’s proposed redistricting, would eke out a victory over Trump with less than 50 percent in the newly-configured seat…Republican Jason Brodeur’s Senate District 9 based in Seminole County also would become tougher for Republicans to hold. The seat as proposed by the Senate would dip into bluer Orange County, boosting Democrats chances in a district that was already considered a swing seat.

Tallahassee seat in play? — Democrat Loranne Ausley’s Tallahassee-based Senate District 3 would become an easier pickup for Republicans under the Senate draft. Biden carried the seat with 54 percent of the vote in 2020, a number that would drop to under 51 percent on the Senate draft maps.

Two incumbents, one seat — The proposed Senate map draws both incumbent Republican state Sens. Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala) and Keith Perry (R-Gainesville) into District 8. The north-central Florida seat, which is very Republican-leaning, dips further south to pick up parts of Marion County where Baxley lives. … The proposed maps also draw in incumbent Democrats state Sens. Lori Berman (D-Delray Beach) and Tina Polsky (D-Boca Raton) into what is Senate District 31. Berman told POLITICO that she is “not worried about it” and stressed it’s early in the process.

GREEN RUSH — “In sentencing, prosecutors claimed Burnette, Beshears manipulated Florida medical marijuana law,” by USA Today Network-Florida’s Jeffrey Schweers: “Federal prosecutors argued that Tallahassee developer John ‘J.T.’ Burnette deserved a stiffer sentence, in part because he admitted to conspiring with childhood friend and former state Rep. Halsey Beshears ‘to keep out competitors’ in the nascent medical marijuana industry. Burnette, convicted in August on extortion and other charges, was sentenced to three years in federal prison Tuesday. His attorneys have vowed to appeal. Prosecutors had asked for up to eight years, saying the once prominent businessman used his ‘power and wealth to corrupt the political process.’”

— “College is unaffordable for many Florida students, but available financial aid is going unused,” by WUSF’s Bailey LeFever

— “Eskamani files bill to remove restrictions on how Orange County can spend tourism taxes,” by Orlando Sentinel’s Caroline Glenn

The daily rundown — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not posted daily totals for Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that 1,527 hospital beds were being used in the state for Covid-19 patients.

DROPPED — “Florida schools drop mask mandates ahead of special session," by POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury: After months of fighting with the DeSantis administration, the last few Florida school districts requiring students to wear masks are loosening their Covid-19 restrictions. The final three school board holdouts — Alachua, Broward and Miami-Dade counties — this week agreed to drop their student mask mandates and come in line with a contentious state rule, signaling the possible conclusion to a fall clash ripe with lawsuits and sanctions.

‘INITIAL SUPPLY’ — “Florida ordered 90,000 doses of the child vaccine. Texas ordered 1 million," by Tampa Bay Times’ Ian Hodgson and Kirby Wilson: “Florida health officials say they preordered approximately 90,000 child-size doses of the Pfizer vaccine. That’s enough to fully vaccinate 3 percent of Florida’s approximately 1.7 million children ages 5 to 11. Texas, another Republican-led state, preordered 1 million doses — enough to fully vaccinate over 17 percent of the state’s children in the same age group. California preordered 860,000 doses, enough to fully vaccinate 13 percent of kids there.”

— “Report: Nursing home staff vaccination rates up; COVID-19 deaths down,” by Florida Politics’ Christine Jordan Sexton

— “Was Florida’s decision to prioritize antibody treatments the right call?” by WFTV’s Christopher Heath

‘A TERRIBLE MISTAKE’ — “Sen. Marco Rubio wants to ban these contributions for ballot initiatives,” by Miami Herald’s Alex Daugherty and Jimena Tavel: “For years, Republican politicians have generally embraced fewer restrictions on political donations, arguing that deep-pocketed donors and corporations have a right to support politicians they agree with. But a recent Federal Elections Commission Ruling led Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio to take a different approach. On November 2, the FEC ruled that foreign donors can contribute to state-based ballot initiatives and referendum campaigns — potentially opening the door for foreigners to influence U.S. policy.”

STILL TRYING — “U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel: Broaden health coverage by expanding Obamacare,” by Palm Beach Post’s Antonio Fins: “Thwarted again, this time by one of their own, a Florida congressional Democrat said Tuesday that Medicaid expansion efforts in the state may now be accomplished by broadening Obamacare. U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel said she is confident a path to cover Florida's uninsured via the 2010 Affordable Care Act has been agreed to on Capitol Hill. The vehicle to achieving this long-held goal among Florida Democrats is the second piece of the Biden administration's infrastructure agenda, the so-called Build Back Better legislation.”

‘INCREDIBLY PUNITIVE LAW’ — “Two strikes and you’re in prison forever,” by The Marshall Project’s Cary Aspinwall and Weihua Li and the Tampa Bay Times’ Dan Sullivan: “In many states, people sentenced to life used to become eligible for parole after 15 years. But Florida and others virtually ended parole a generation ago, and life sentences became permanent. Today, Florida has more than 13,600 people serving life without parole, far more than any other state and almost a quarter of the total nationwide. Though this sentence is widely seen as an alternative to the death penalty, which is used in murder cases, 44 percent of the people serving it in Florida were not convicted of that crime, according to the analysis of state data.”

— “Opa-Locka mayor abruptly resigns during commission meeting, citing ‘corruption,’” by Miami Herald’s Aaron Leibowitz

— “Tallahassee police to release less information, fewer alerts about crime to public,” by Tallahassee Democrat’s Christopher Cann

— “Group mobilizes against official who was Oath Keeper,” by The Associated Press

— “Winter the dolphin dies at Clearwater aquarium,” by Tampa Bay Times Jack Evans and Tracey McManus: “Winter the dolphin, the beloved star of the “Dolphin Tale” movies whose story of resilience with a prosthetic tail, and recent illness, captured attention around the world, has died. Winter died at about 7:45 p.m. as she was being prepped for exploratory surgery to treat an intestinal blockage at Clearwater Marine Aquarium, according to aquarium board chairperson Paul Auslander. She was 16.”

— “Versailles, the ‘most famous Cuban restaurant in the world,’ celebrates its 50th anniversary,” by Sun Sentinel’s Yvonne H. Valdez: “Little Havana’s iconic Versailles Restaurant celebrated its 50th anniversary on Wednesday with a special menu with 1971 prices — ham croquette for 20 cents, breaded steak for $3.25, Cuban coffee, 20 cents — and fans, celebrities, South Florida politicians, lots of dancing and music. The three generations of the Valls family, who founded Versailles on Calle 8, honored their countless famous and non-famous patrons at the event.”

BIRTHDAYS: State Rep. Nick DiCeglie … former Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp ... Linda Shelley, former chief of staff for Gov. Lawton Chiles ... Taylor Patrick Biehl of Capitol Alliance Group ... Orlando Sentinel's Gray Rohrer ... (Saturday) … state Rep. Sam Garrison … Mark Delegal, partner at Delegal Aubuchon Consulting … (Sunday) former House Speaker Will Weatherford

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