He Said, She Said: On the road at the Florida Democrats' annual convention - Part 3

Key Insights

• This episode is the final installment of three, recorded live at the Florida Democrats' "Leadership Blue" annual conference and gala.
• Peter and Michelle kick off the podcast with a recap the winners and losers of the conference and their packed weekend at Disney.
• Their first interview of the episode is with Kevin Cate, well-known progressive Democratic consultant and ad-maker.
• Cate's not yet ready to get into the 2020 fight, instead he's setting his sights on the re-election of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer in 2019.
• Cate on the 2020 primary: "Nobody knows how win a primary and lose a general like I do ... Although Nikki's in there."
• Peter asks - "Is Gillum still surging?" Cate: "This is a movement, not a moment. He can fill a room bigger than Ron DeSantis. His national platform is larger than Ron DeSantis. He's changed the culture of our party, and he's continuing to lead where our party is going."
• Michelle and Peter recall being in London during the terrorist attack in 2017. Cate recaps an active shooter situation with Andrew Gillum in a California mall.
• Losers of the week: Joe Biden, Wayne Messam, Audrey Gibson. Michelle and Peter expected to see more presence from Biden in Florida and argue that he can't win the 2020 nomination without Florida.
• The second interview of the episode was a surprise (and surprisingly sloshy) two-for-one: Sen. Oscar Braynon and Beth Matuga.
• Braynon on working across the aisle: "If you know where someone's from, it's much easier to deal with them. What I've tried to do is explain to my colleagues where I'm from and what built me."
• Matuga got into Florida politics in 2000. She's playing the long game, working to get Democrats a little more power statewide.
• Matuga's favorite moment: A 2012 campaign, working on merit retention races in the Florida Supreme Court. She managed to get Reubin Askew, father of the merit retention system, to come to her fundraiser.
• Craziest thing Matuga has experienced in a campaign: Arguing with a candidate about where her moles are located following a photoshoot.
• Michelle, Peter and Sen. Braynon talk about Rep. Mike Hill's homophobic comments and why Braynon has chosen not to attack Hill's comments.
• Path to parity: Matuga and Braynon argue that Democrats are on the path to parity in the Florida Senate. Braynon points out that republicans have not taken a seat from Democrats in the Senate since he's been in office.
• What's next: Sen. Braynon announces his 2020 candidacy for Mayor of Miami Gardens, his hometown.
• Matuga on breaking into the political process as a women: "My first bit of advice is: don't ... you need to think long and hard about if you want to do this for a career. You must have some kind of compelling reason to keep doing this work. Think long and hard about it, and then enroll in the Florida State University Masters of Politics and Policy program that I am a professor of."
• Things get sloshy. In a sudden pod change, Beth and Oscar take over the show. Peter and Sen. Braynon propose a podcast entirely focused on The Wire.
• Hot takes: Peter is still for Joe Biden, with Kamala Harris is his #2. He argues we should ignore Bernie Sanders, unless we want Trump to be re-elected.
• Hot takes for Michelle: Joe Biden is out, Kamala is in. Mayor Pete may even be ahead of Biden. "The more I see out of her, the more I'm leaning towards her."