Former Vice President Dick Cheney Dies at 84; Jerry Demings Enters Florida Governor’s Race; Zieglers Sue Sarasota

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a Cheney Republican compared to a Trump Republican, and it's just a world of a difference. Well, Donald Trump was always skeptical of the Iraq war. He never believed in the arguments that Cheney was making, that there were WMDs over there. He viewed the Iraq war as a waste of time and money. And if you remember when Trump ran for president the first time, and Jeb Bush was on the debate stage in South Carolina, Trump destroyed him on the issue of Iraq and the legacy of his brother, Jack's brother. And so it's just an interesting contrast when you look at today's Republicans, Trump Republicans, versus the neocons of the 2000s. Well, look at Dick Cheney's daughter, Liz Cheney, persona non grata in the party at this point. So just going back to Dick Cheney and his life and legacy served as a Wyoming congressman. He was the White House chief of staff under Gerald Ford, the youngest to hold the job. Imagine. being the White House Chief of Staff, and all that comes along with that job at just 34 years old. It's hard to wrap your head around. Then he became Defense Secretary, and then, like you said, Vice President, one of the most powerful, probably the most powerful in history. Yeah, I mean, his influence on everything post-9-11. You wonder if he would have had that much influence. if foreign policy hadn't become the dominant issue for George W. Bush during his presidency. Because, you know, when Bush ran, it wasn't foreign policy that was the main topic that he was talking about to voters. W. actually said he would not be the world's policeman. But then 9-11 happened. Changed everything. And everything changed. Yep. And then, you know, you've got everything tied to Iraq and WMDs and Hansen interrogations, all of that tied to Cheney. Civil liberties, a big issue there. He was very forceful in, you know, wanting the government to use as much power as possible to fight the war on terror. Patriot Act. Yep. And then I've got to mention the one thing that just always stands out to me when it comes to Dick Cheney. the quail hunt in 2006 and the fact that he shot one of his friends in the face with birdshot during that hunt and it was it was bad I mean shot him in the face the guy had to be transferred to a trauma unit he was airlifted and they the White House didn't announce the accident for 24 hours they kept the quiet the vice president shot somebody with birdshot in the face yeah it was Unbelievable. Yeah, so there was that. But, I mean, no question, regardless of what you think about Dick Cheney, there is no question. He had a major impact on politics in this country for a pretty long stretch. Absolutely, yeah. He's going to go down as a very influential figure, but also a divisive one. Right. After weeks of speculation, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has filed to run in the 2026 governor's race. Demings, the second prominent Democrat to join the field. after former U.S. Congressman David Jolly. So Demings has a long history, if you know, Orlando in the central Florida area. He may not be that well known to other folks around the state, but he has a remarkable career. He is a former law enforcement officer. He started out as a beat cop in Orlando. He became the Orlando Police Chief in 1998. He then became the Orange County.

public safety director before he was elected sheriff, first black sheriff in Orange County history. And of course, he is the husband of Valdemics. Right. Another successful figure who was a congresswoman in the U.S. House. And the running for vice president. Yes. During Joe Biden's first. election bid back in 2020. Didn't get chosen, but she was certainly, you know, seemed like in the top five at the very least, then ran for Senate in 2022 and lost that race. But Jerry Demings, you know, he oversaw with his law enforcement career big time investigations, Casey Anthony, Florida A&M, hazing death. That was a big story here in the state, the Pulse Night Club shooting, obviously. And what I think is really interesting, and I mentioned this yesterday when we were talking to Janelle Irwin Taylor from Southeast Poll. about the likelihood that Jerry Demings was going to get in the race. You know, his law enforcement background, I think it's going to be handled much differently in this race for governor than it was when Val Demings was a potential pick for vice president in 2020. Because if you remember, you know, that's in the aftermath of George Floyd and her time as the former Orlando police chief. That didn't go over well in the Democratic Party. No, she ran hard on that and it totally backfire. Right, right. I don't think that's going to be. be an issue for him, and that sets up a race on the Democratic side of the aisle between Jerry Demings and former Republican congressman, now Democrat David Jolly. And you really have two candidates there who are more in the middle. There really isn't a progressive candidate in the race. I don't know if that'll change, if somebody will try to take that lane. But despite the fact, I don't think either has a great shot at winning in the general election. It will be an interesting primary between the two. You know, Jerry Demings, you know, from my experience with him, there's really not much to dislike about him. He's a very likable figure, charismatic, but at the same time he is understated. And we'll see if he has the charisma. to grab the fascination of Democrats statewide beyond the Orange County area. You know, David Jolly has the advantage of being a former congressman on MSNBC and an MSNBC figure. So people on the Democratic side are probably going to be more likely familiar with him than they are Demings. But that's not to underestimate Jerry Demings. I mean, look, he was a successful candidate for sheriff and also Orange County Mayor. And some people say has handled the whole issue with Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump as well as any Democratic elected leader in the state. So we'll see if he can turn that into a successful run for governor. If he were to win that primary and Byron Donalds's were to win the Republican primary as I think is expected, at least right now, then regardless of who would win, I think Donald would be the clear favorite, but you would have Florida's first gubernatorial race between two black nominees. interesting yeah so christian and bridget ziegler back in the news perfect the prominent republican power couple whose sex lives became public as part of a video voyeurism and sexual assault investigation in 2023 now suing the city of sarasota and the two detectives in the case a federal lawsuit was filed at the end of october they're accusing the department and the detectives of deliberate and egregious violations

of their fourth, fifth, and 14th Amendment rights is a federal case. The investigation stem from a rape allegation, but it didn't come up with enough evidence to charge Christian Ziegler with a crime. Now, he was the state chair of the Republican Party. He was pressured into stepping down, after all of this came out. And his wife, Bridget, was pressured to leave the Sarasota School Board, although she did stay on and is still there. So they obviously feel like they were wronged by the way this was handled by the city and the police, and they want money. Yeah, they claim there were a lot of leaks, and we certainly learned a lot about them and their sex lives and center of that whole controversy. You had a woman who was maybe interested in meeting up with the both of them when she found out that Bridget, yeah, wasn't going to be part of the interaction. She lost interest. And it all kind of went downhill from there. So we'll see. Look, the investigation, certainly a lot came out. I don't know if it all had to come out. There was a lot that, you know, they gained access to detectives. I don't know if they broke any constitutional rights there. But. It was definitely a weird thing. You had Bridget Ziegler, you know, the co-founder of moms for liberty. Yeah. And then she's allegedly involved in this threesome stuff. Yeah, so we'll see where this case goes. We'll follow it very closely, including if any new. Interesting details come out about the two of them. That'll be interesting. Yep. Chris Trankman with today's top stories. Chris, thanks so much. Thank you. Time now for today's top stories brought to you by my friends over at OncoShore for a simple, accurate, non-invasive test that detects all cancers. Call 87724 test now. Good morning, Natalie. Good morning, former Vice President Dick Cheney. Dead at the age of 84, he served two terms under George W. Bush, including during September 11th and was one of the most powerful vice presidents in our history. The enemy we face today is bent on our destruction. As in other times, we are in a war we did not start and have no choice but to win. In a statement from his family, they say that he died last night due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, which we knew he had battled for years, including the heart transplant in the early 2000. He served as the youngest White House Chief of Staff under President Ford, representing Wyoming in the House of Representatives with Secretary of Defense under President George H.W. Bush and later served two terms as VP under him. Dick Cheney was 84 years old. And such a powerful figure.

And Florida does lead the country with nearly 5 million ACA enrollees. About a million of them live in Miami-Dade County. If there's one area, I think, where you could be a Democrat and really try to hammer home the case for, like, the shutdown and fighting for the enhanced subsidies to continue, it's probably Miami-Dade County where you've got, like you said, Natalie, the most amount of people on Obamacare in the country just in... And it's Democratic Mayor. Yeah, right. Just in Mario Diaz-Balert's district alone. I think there's like 300,000 enrollees. So you've got a lot of people who are going to be seeing... some pretty staggering premium hikes. But I'll have a little bit more on the shutdown where things stand, that issue, obviously at the center of it all and how both sides can find an off ramp here coming up at a few minutes. Yeah, absolutely. And as elections are taking place in so many places across the country here in South Florida, in particular, Miami, Miami Beach, Surfside Homestead, and Hyaliyah. Some of the probably most notable races are in the city of Hyaliyah and in Miami. Both voters in those cities will be deciding on a new mayor. Miami has a... It's fascinating. That's the most fascinating race in the state. No question about it. It really is the gift that just keeps on giving. We've got Miami's mayor Francis Suarez, who earlier in the year touted his accomplishments as the 43rd mayor for the past eight years. Today we find ourselves with the lowest tax rate in history, millage rate, highest reserves in history, highest bond rating in history are the best credit. We got an 800 credit score. All the while, we have the lowest unemployment in America. So he's basically out of the position. No word on his future plans, but. he may re-inherit his title as son of the mayor of Miami. Swarze's father and a dozen other candidates are vying to take his spot. how this is possible in South Florida, you know, just scratch your head. Oh, yeah. The one thing I'm confident in, I'm not going to pick a winner here, I think there's going to be a runoff. I don't think anybody's going to clear the hurdle in this race. I think there's going to be a runoff in December. Both of them. But I think Democrat Eileen Higgins probably has a good chance to get into that runoff. And then it's probably between former mayor Joe Correo and former city manager, Emilio Gonzalez. Those seem to be the two potential favorites to get into. that runoff but when you just look at this you've got you got francis suarez term limited his dad who used to be the mayor running for mayor again you've got uh former mayor joe corroyo running again you've got frank corroyo if he wins his race for district three miami city

commission, then the two brothers will have controlled that same seat for two decades straight. You've got like political dynasties in play in South Florida in these elections. I mean, you've got corruption allegations. You've got Ken Russell. He's running on an anti-corruption message. You've got another who's fighting to recover from corruption charges. I mean, there are just a lot of different dynamics at play in this race. So I think it's certainly the most interesting and definitely the one with the most storylines and the most can i mean i think it's what 13 candidates in this race it's crazy they should have moving trucks doing specials for everybody that wants to move out once the results come in right so we will have those results for you tomorrow morning here on the show natalie rodriguez with today's top stories natalie thanks so much you got it The Ryan Gorman Show on News Radio, WFLA. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Ryan Gorman Show, and find us online at ryan gorman show.com. You know what? It sucks to be bored. But when I get on my phone and play real casino games on SpinQuest.com, the time flies by. That two-hour wait at the DMV seems like 10 minutes. Play your favorite slots. Live blackjack, live craps with a live dealer. New players, $30 coin packs are on sale for $10.00. Play SpinQuest.com and you'll never be bored again. SpenQuest is a free-to-play social casino. Avoid where prohibited. Visit spendquest.com for more details. These days, it's getting harder and harder to trust what you're seeing. Who made it? Is it real? But with iHeart, everything you hear is guaranteed human. That's why 78% of listeners trust their favorite radio hosts product recommendations. And if you own or manage a business here or need to drive sales, that trust goes a long way in creating your future customers. Make iHeartMedia a part of your 2026 plan today. Visit iHeartadvertising.com. Again, that's iHeartadvertising.com. Campus life is full of compromises, tiny dorms, zero closet space. But with HomeSense, you can overpack stylish bedding, storage, and decor without overspending. HomeSense, the home of no compromise, part of the Home Goods family. Hey, it's Ryan Sechrest here, and I have discovered a fun to escape from the daily grind Chumba Casino. Chumba Casino has hundreds of social casino-style games. It's all free to play anytime, anywhere, with daily bonuses. So get to chumbacasino.com. No purchase necessary. VGW. Group. Boy, we're prohibited by loss. See, terms and conditions, 21 plus.