This week, we spoke about:
- How to lower the temperature of political rhetoric with former U.S. Reps Carlos Curbelo and Stephanie Murphy (02:15)
- Florida's move from being a swing state with the New York Times’ Patricia Mazzei (20:24)
- Samantha Putterman with PolitiFact checked some recent claims around early voting (29:34)
- And finally, we looked at health risks brought by Hurricanes Milton and Helene (37:28) and heard from some South Florida voters (42:43).
Election anticipation and anxiety
As election day approaches, many Americans are feeling anxious about the outcome. A recent survey from the Associated Press found 40% of voters are very or extremely concerned about violent attempts to overturn election results.
How should we be talking to each other as votes are cast and counted in the days ahead? For some advice on how to keep the conversations civil, we spoke with two former U.S. representatives who are calling for cross-party collaboration.
Guests:
- Carlos Curbelo, former U.S. Representative (R-FL-26th).
- Stephanie Murphy, former U.S. Representative (D-FL-7th).
Florida is no longer a swing state
It’s been a few election cycles since Florida has been at play in the presidential race.
There are now more Republican registered voters in Florida than there are Democrats and the GOP has a supermajority in the State house and Senate.
When and how did Florida political shift away from being a swing state?
Guest:
- Patricia Mazzei, Miami bureau chief for the New York Times.
PolitiFact checks claims
With voting underway, we turned to our partners at PolitiFact to check a couple of recent claims on social media including one about low voter turnout.
Guest:
- Samantha Putterman, Florida government reporter at PolitiFact.
Health risks rise after hurricanes
As cleanup from hurricanes Milton and Helene continues across the state, a potentially fatal bacteria is lurking in the water.
The hurricanes also created the ideal conditions for mosquito breeding. That uptick has also caused an increase in Dengue fever cases in the state compared to last year.
Copyright 2024 WLRN Public Media
