Kimberly Leonard

Miami

National and Florida Politics Reporter at POLITICO

Florida Playbook author. National and Florida politics reporter for @Politico. Send tips to [email protected].

Articles

Kevin Guthrie’s 3 hurricane prep tips

5 days ago | politico.com | Kimberly Leonard

Weather forecasters say this year’s season is expected to be “above average,” with anywhere from three to five major hurricanes expected in the Atlantic and Caribbean. | Christopher O'Meara/AP Good morning and welcome to June: the start of hurricane season. There’s only one Gov. RON DESANTIS. But artificial intelligence can help him be in more than two places at once — at least when it comes to emergency management.
Florida’s immigration crackdown week

1 week ago | politico.com | Kimberly Leonard

By Thursday, the state assisted with one of Florida’s largest-ever raids in Tallahassee. | Rebecca Blackwell/AP Good morning and happy Friday. Immigration has been a top issue driving discussions and decision-making in Tallahassee this year. But the topic dominated headlines across the state this week possibly more than any other time since January.
Federal judge considers penalizing DeSantis-picked attorney general over Florida immigration law

1 week ago | politico.com | Kimberly Leonard

A federal judge temporarily blocked the law, which makes it a crime for undocumented people to enter Florida. Uthmeier, who was appointed to his role by DeSantis in February, has the governor’s support over his actions. | Rebecca Blackwell/AP MIAMI — A federal judge seemed wary of arguments during a Thursday court hearing that state Attorney General James Uthmeier, an appointee of Gov. Ron DeSantis, hadn’t tried to undermine her court order blocking a Florida immigration law.
Trump Library moves off the shelf

1 week ago | politico.com | Kimberly Leonard

The next step required by law is for the foundation to file paperwork to get tax-exempt status. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP Good morning and welcome to Wednesday. President DONALD TRUMP is used to putting his names on buildings. But that list of places and things hasn’t included a presidential library. Yet. It’s slowly taking shape — right here in Florida.
Giving it multiple college tries

1 week ago | politico.com | Kimberly Leonard |Gary Fineout

Ono was named as the only finalist for the position after UF conducted its entire search in the shadows due to a law put in place three years ago by the Florida Legislature. | Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Anti-Defamation League Good morning and welcome to Tuesday. Today will provide quite the split-screen on the future of Florida’s higher education system Gov. RON DESANTIS has worked to enact.
Florida's delegation and their stocks

2 weeks ago | politico.com | Kimberly Leonard |Gary Fineout

Sen. Ashley Moody says she has taken steps to withdraw from a family investment partnership | Joe Raedle/Getty Images Good morning and welcome to Monday, In today’s polarized political climate, there’s still one policy point most Americans agree on: Members of Congress shouldn’t be allowed to trade stocks. There’s been a bipartisan group working to ban the practice. Under current law, members are allowed to buy and sell stocks, even though they have the power to regulate companies.
Gavin v Ron: budget edition

3 weeks ago | politico.com | Blake Jones |Kimberly Leonard |Dustin Gardiner

In Ron DeSantis’ Florida, tariffs are hardly coming up. In Gavin Newsom's California, he's blaming the White House’s trade policy for his budget shortfall. | AP Photo THE BUZZ: SPLIT SCREEN — California and Florida are separated by 2,500 miles, but the states’ budget approaches may be even further apart.
A story of two state budgets

3 weeks ago | politico.com | Kimberly Leonard |Blake Jones |Isa Dominguez

While California Democrats are painstakingly discussing how to address a $12 billion deficit without slashing programs to the bone, Florida Republicans are racing to cut taxes and spending. | AP Good morning and happy Friday. California and Florida are separated by 2,500 miles, but the states’ budget approaches may be even further apart.
Morgan and Morgan and … governor?

3 weeks ago | politico.com | Kimberly Leonard |Gary Fineout |Isa Dominguez

When it came to running for governor, Morgan said he is willing to spend time and money to mount a campaign. | Kate Payne/AP Good morning and welcome to Thursday. JOHN MORGAN, the famous attorney who runs the nation’s largest injury firm and is known for his “For the People” billboards and ads, has been teasing for months that he may run for Florida governor in 2026. He wasn’t definitive Wednesday after talking for nearly an hour at the Capitol Tiger Bay Club in Tallahassee.
Budget planning, from DC to Tally

3 weeks ago | politico.com | Kimberly Leonard |Isa Dominguez

A document titled "THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL" is seen Tuesday during House Energy and Commerce Committee debate on Republican party-line legislation. | Francis Chung/POLITICO Good morning and welcome to Wednesday. President DONALD TRUMP has largely stayed out of the home state budget fight between Florida legislators and Gov. RON DESANTIS. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t had a presence in Tallahassee this year.

Contact details

Emails

[email protected]

Socials & Sites

Try JournoFinder For Free

Search and contact over 1M+ journalist profiles, browse 100M+ articles, and unlock powerful PR tools.

Start Your 7-Day Free Trial →

Coverage map

X (formerly Twitter)

Followers: 15K
Tweets: 45K
DMs Open: No

No Tweets found.