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Analysis | Arizona and Florida could send a big message on abortion rights

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Analysis | Arizona and Florida could send a big message on abortion rights


The abortion rights position has won on the ballot in 7 out of 7 states since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in mid-2022 — even in red-leaning ones such as Kansas, Kentucky, Montana and Ohio.

And new polling suggests that in 2024, abortion rights measures could do even better than they did in those first seven states, as voters in states with severe GOP led-abortion bans weigh in.

The polling, from CBS News and YouGov, shows striking margins in Arizona and Florida for enshrining abortion rights into those states’ constitutions. That position leads 65 percent to 21 percent in Arizona and 60 percent to 20 percent in Florida. Previous polling in Florida also showed voters favoring the abortion rights amendment by wide margins — by 21 points in one poll and by 30 points in another.

Florida’s measure will be on the ballot; Arizona’s is still a work in progress, but organizers say they have more than enough signatures to get it there. Other states will feature such measures, but Arizona and Florida are the big ones.

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The newest polling shows not only that voters overwhelmingly favor the amendments, but even Republicans lean in favor of them — 43-38 in Arizona and 43-34 in Florida.

That 60 percent overall number in Florida is notable because that’s the threshold for passage in the state — a higher bar than the one for most states.

It’s also notable because it suggests the potential for an even more resounding affirmation of abortion rights.

While abortion rights positions have won plenty of votes from Republican-leaning voters, they have done so to varying degrees. A good way to look at this is how they have performed relative to the 2020 presidential vote.

The best relative performance for an abortion rights amendment thus far? The most recent one. In Ohio last year, it over-performed Biden’s 2020 vote share by 11.6 points. Biden got 45 percent in 2020, but the abortion rights amendment got 57 percent.

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The average overperformance across the four states: eight points.

The new Arizona and Florida polls already show support for the amendments outpacing Biden’s 2020 share in those states by 16 points and 12 points, respectively — even with a fair number of undecided voters.

There have been states where the abortion rights position over-performed Biden by more than it did in the four states above: Kansas, Kentucky and Montana. But importantly, those states weren’t voting directly on enshrining abortion rights.

Montana’s measure was narrowly about infants born after failed abortions. Kansas’s and Kentucky’s measures asked voters to affirmatively state that the state constitution didn’t protect abortion rights. In those last two states, the measures over-performed Biden by 17 and 16 points, respectively — the biggest overperformances to date.

And that could be instructive.

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These were situations in which voters were effectively being asked not to add a right, but to foreclose one.

Indeed, what could set Arizona and Florida apart from the four states that have previously voted to enshrine abortion rights is how much those rights have been curtailed in those states.

The Florida Supreme Court last month greenlit the state’s six-week abortion ban, which even former president Donald Trump has sought to distance himself from. Then the Arizona Supreme Court last month revived a harsh 1864 law that banned nearly all abortions — even in the cases of rape and incest — and made providing one punishable by two to five years in prison. (This set off a panic in GOP circles which eventually led to the law’s repeal. A 15-week ban remains in place.)

This has set up a situation in which voters could effectively view the abortion rights amendments as referendums on the harsh GOP-backed laws and an opportunity to register their discontent. The same YouGov poll, for instance, shows 72 percent of Arizona voters approve of overturning the 1864 law.

Or, at the very least, the stakes of allowing their representatives to restrict abortion rights could be more real to them than to voters in California, Michigan, Vermont and Ohio, where similar laws weren’t in play.

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It’s that dynamic that makes these potentially resounding votes in Florida and Arizona particularly important for the future of abortion rights in America.



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Bill Donovan, father of Billy Donovan and Florida basketball fixture, dies at 85

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Bill Donovan, father of Billy Donovan and Florida basketball fixture, dies at 85


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Bill Donovan, the father of Hall of Fame former Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan who remained connected to UF’s program even after his son left, died Saturday, Feb. 14, at 85.

Donovan’s death was confirmed in an obituary posted by Williams-Thomas Funeral Home on Monday, Feb. 16.

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A former Boston College Hall of Fame guard who left as the school’s third-time leading scorer in school history, Donovan remained close to the game of basketball through his son, who heled lead Providence to a Final Four in 1987 before going on to coaching success with the Florida Gators. Billy Donovan led Florida to four Final Fours and two national titles from 1996-2015 and his father was often on the bench courtside with him and traveled to road games.

Stetson coach Donnie Jones, a former Florida basketball assistant coach under Donovan from 1996-2007, said the elder Donovan had a way of picking the spirits of players and coaches up, even after tough losses.

“He had such great awareness of the moment,” Jones said. “It was always an encouragement, or he gave a perspective that was always encouraging, or two or three good things if he did make a comment in passing. But it was always a happy spirit it was always an encouraging spirit.”

Condolences poured in around the country as news of the elder Donovan’s passing surfaced.

Donovan lived part-time in Gainesville after his son began his NBA coaching career with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2015 and often attended UF games coached by Mike White and Todd Golden. During the Final Four in San Antonio last April, Donovan rode the team bus with Golden’s father, Scott Golden, to practices and games.

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Florida plans to honor Bill Donovan with a moment of silence before its game on Tuesday, Feb. 17, at the O’Connell Center against South Carolina (7 p.m., SEC Network).

Donovan is survived by his wife of 63 years, Joan, his sister Maureen, three children Billy, Susan, Karen and 11 grandchildren.

Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com



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Luther Campbell, aka rapper Uncle Luke, running for Florida politics

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Luther Campbell, aka rapper Uncle Luke, running for Florida politics



The rapper is running in the August primary for the 20th Congressional District that includes portions of Palm Beach and Broward counties.

Miami-based rapper Luther Campbell, known best as Uncle Luke during his days with the iconic hip-hop group 2 Live Crew, is running for political office.

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Campbell made the announcement Feb. 15 on WPLG’s show “This Week in South Florida.”  He plans to run in the August primary for Florida 20th Congressional seat, which includes parts of Palm Beach and Broward counties and is currently held by Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.

“It is a very underserved community,” Campbell said while making his announcement. “The representation of the community is not there. People want to engage with their congressperson.”

The Democrat said he has good relationships with politicians on both sides of the aisle and claimed to have Secretary of State Marco Rubio on speed dial.

“Who’s going to be able to talk to Marco Rubio? Who’s going to be able to talk toDonald Trump? Me. I’m the only one who can do that,” Campbell said.

Luther Campbell stepped down from coaching high school football

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Campbell, a South Florida fixture, has been a successful high school football coach at Miami Edison Senior High since 2018 but announced last month he was stepping down to explore a political career.

“I can’t coach and run at the same time because I’m going to be in a race with a whole bunch of people and I need to be able to get my ass up to Belle Glades, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes,” Campbell, also known as Uncle Luke, announced on social media. “I need to be able to get my ass up to Tamarac, I need to go to damn Riviera Beach and I need to be able to be amongst these people and ask these people what the issues are in their community before I make a decision of yes or no.”

In 2024, Campbell told The Miami Herald he was considering a run to unseat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick in Florida’s 20th Congressional District, which includes parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties.

The Democratic congresswoman is currently accused of stealing $5 million in FEMA funds and making illegal campaign contributions. She was indicted in November of last year and her arraignment is set for next month.

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Campbell previously ran for political office in Florida

This is not Cambell’s first run for political office.

Back in 2011 he ran in a special election for Miami-Dade County mayor. He came in fourth with nearly 11% of the votes.

This time, Campbell said his campaign will have the support and financial backing from all artists he has worked with over the years.

“I’m going to have a lot of money,” he said. “Every artist, every artist that I produce, and every artist by creating Southern hip-hop will be donating to this campaign.”

Campbell’s group 2 Live Crew gained national attention in the 1990s when they became a First Amendment activists after their music was deemed obscene by a federal judge. An appeals court eventually overturned the ruling.He, along with fellow band members, also were arrested on obscenity charges for performing at a South Florida club. A jury found them not guilty.

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Michelle Spitzer is a journalist for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. As the network’s Rapid Response reporter, she covers Florida’s breaking news. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://floridatoday.com/newsletters.



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Louisville Defeats Florida State 88-65

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Louisville Defeats Florida State 88-65


The signature of this team is a balanced attack and that is exactly what the Cards used to wear down Florida State tonight. The end of the first quarter Louisville held a 19-12 lead but they subsequently took control of the game. Coach Walz said, “The first half I thought we defended extremely well. Offensively we weren’t as efficient. I thought we played a little too rushed.”

He was more pleased with the second half, “Especially in the 3rd quarter offensively we got things going. I thought we shared the ball extremely well. We had twenty-something assists [19] and 7 turnovers going into the fourth quarter which is really impressive. So overall I thought a really good performance for us but I’m quite aware that it’s going to get tougher.

Laura Ziegler seemed on pace to get a triple-double early but she finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. Imari Berry, Skylar Jones, and Reyna Scott all came off the bench to score 11 points apiece. Grace Mbugua had 10 points and 4 rebounds. Elif Istanbulluoglu played limited minutes. Coach Walz said that she’s a little banged up so he wanted to rest her when he could.

Coach Walz praised Grace’s play. “She’s going to be a really, really good ball player for us… We’ve had some games where we can put her out there but not enough to where I can get her in to get her feet wet. Right now when she’s open and she has the ball she’s shooting it because I’m not sure she knows what else to do with it at this point. I think the game’s going really fast.” However he added, “Her upside is really high.”

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Louisville has a bye week before coming back to the Yum next Sunday to take on Virginia. The game is at noon and can be seen on The CW. It is the annual Pink Game.



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