We head to Europe as former governor Jeb Bush attempts to bolster his foreign policy credentials. Gomes talks with Michael C. Bender of Bloomberg Politics as he travels with Bush to Germany, Poland and Estonia before Bush’s much anticipated June 15 rally in Miami where he’s expected to make his campaign for president official. Gomes examines the backlash of The New York Times coverage of Marco Rubio, the latest budget news from the Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott’s sprint to sign bills into laws.

As he prepares for retirement, Leon County Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho reflects on his 27 years in office and says Gov. Rick Scott has done an awful job ensuring all citizens can have their votes counted.

Episode 15: Credibility

A closer look at Jeb Bush’s official entry into the 2016 presidential race. Gomes explores how both Bush and Marco Rubio are being forced to address immigration on their campaign stops. Gary Fineout with Associated Press discusses some of the last-minute maneuvers leading to approval of Florida’s nearly $80 billion dollar budget while Will Abberger with the Trust for Public Land who helped get Amendment One on the ballot, tells Gomes the legislature violated the will of the voters by misusing its funds.

Also, are Millenials disengaged and disillusioned with politics? Democrat Edward James III is proving otherwise as he begins his campaign for a 2016 run in Florida’s House District 72 currently held by Rep. Ray Pilon, R-Sarasota.


Episode 16: All In

On this episode we track how Florida politicians are reacting to the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding Obamacare. Gomes talks with Joan Alker, executive director at the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University and Damien Filer with Progress Florida about the impact of the ruling.  Gov. Rick Scott takes the wind out of Florida TaxWatch’s annual list of budget “turkeys,” however the organization’s Vice President of research, Kurt Wenner says their goal was never about beating the governor over what to veto, but about holding legislators accountable through the budget process.

As debate rages on over the use of the Confederate battle flag, Gomes takes a look back in history at Florida’s removal of the flag from the Capitol with Vice President of the Florida State Conference of the NAACP, Dale Landry. And for all those who participated in #CATEBUDGET, the grand prize winner is state reporter for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Dan Sweeney, who has earned a spot on this week’s episode of the podcast. The game which played out mostly on Twitter, called for the best guess of when the last chamber passes a budget. Thanks to Kevin Cate of public relations firm CATECOMM for infusing some fun and keeping us entertained during special session. Plus, the Supreme Court rules that gay couples have a right to marry. 

Episode 17: Vindication

We explore the impact to Florida as President Obama announces the opening of an American Embassy in Cuba for the first time since 1961. Gomes talks with Dr. Brian Latell, Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies at the University of Miami. Child sex abuse survivor Lauren Book snags the cover of Newsweek with her amazing story and mission to protect kids from sexual abuse. Gomes interviews Book and Newsweek Senior Writer Abigail Jones about their feature, The Predator Next Door. And the conversation continues with Vice President of the Florida State Conference of the NAACP, Dale Landry, as he explains where he thinks the proper placement of the Confederate battle flag should be.

Episode 18: Diplomatic Neighbor

This episode features a revealing interview with Jennifer Carroll, the first black woman to serve as Florida's lieutenant governor before stepping down amid an Internet gambling scandal. Carroll tells all including run-ins with the press and behind-the-scenes power struggles with Governor Rick Scott's former Chiefs of Staff Adam Hollingsworth and Steve MacNamara that forced her to resign.

As Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera prepares to announce whether he plans to ditch the post and run for U.S. Senate, Republican strategist Mac Stipanovich who served as chief of staff under Gov. Bob Martinez, explains the true role of the state's second in command and why some LGs are busier than others.

Episode 19: Scandal

The Rotunda takes a second look at Florida’s No. 2 spot as Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera jumps in the race for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by his friend Marco Rubio, who is running for president. The AP’s Brendan Farrington talks with Gomes about Lopez-Cantera’s entry along with the other candidates scrambling for the seat.
Leave it to the Florida Supreme Court to shake things up and force lawmakers back to Tallahassee this summer. Florida Public Radio’s Lynn Hatter chats with Gomes about the big changes ahead, including potential winners and losers as the court orders new congressional district maps in time for the 2016 election. And Bay News 9's Troy Kinsey gives another prediction on Charlie Crist. 

Episode 20: The Drawing Board

This episode examines how former Florida governor and presidential contender Jeb Bush plans to tackle “Mount Washington” the same way he claims to have tackled “Mount Tallahassee.” Gomes talks with Florida TaxWatch President & CEO Dominic Collabro and Dr. Ed Moore, president & CEO of the Independent Colleges & Universities of Florida, during Bush’s kick off speech on domestic policy in Tallahassee.

Gomes also talks with John Celock, Editor of the Celock Report and author of The Next Generation: Young Elected Officials and their Impact on American Politics about who’s likely to be in and out after Florida’s congressional-district maps are redrawn and why it might be helpful for other presidential campaigns to get into a fight with Donald Trump.


Episode 21: Mount Tallahassee

This weeks roundup of top news includes the latest Quinnipiac poll showing the bombastic Donald Trump in the lead as the rest of the GOP presidential candidates battle to make the stage for their first presidential debate of the season. Gomes looks at what’s ahead at the National Urban League Conference in Fort Lauderdale as Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton address black voters. 
Gomes switches gears and turns attention to the nation’s transportation infrastructure as politics gets in the way of a long-term solution to keep vital federal dollars flowing to road and highway projects. The Hill’s Transportation reporter Keith Laing discusses the gridlock in Washington while Floridian’s for Better Transportation president, Mattew Ubben, offers his suggestions on ways to bridge the political divide. 


Episode 22: Transportation Funding

This episode previews the redistricting special session with analysis of the "base" congressional map by Michael McDonald, a political scientist at the University of Florida. As the League of Women Voters and Common Cause Florida take issue with the map being drawn behind closed doors, Sen. Don Gaetz says some people will never be satisfied regardless of the process. Gaetz also talks about the intersection of family and politics while speaking to a group of Florida State University political science students.

Also, Gomes recaps the GOP's big debate night with a focus on Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio to see who stands out most from the crowd.


Episode 23: GOP Debate

Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is feeling the Bern and not in a good way. Sen. Bernie Sanders is helping Schultz’s Democratic opponent, Tim Canova, in her August 30 primary in Florida’s 23rd congressional district. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton, the party’s “anointed candidate” as Sanders often calls her, slammed Donald Trumps endorsement by the NRA while attending the Trayvon Martin Foundation’s third annual “Circle of Mothers” meeting in Fort Lauderdale. But at least one anti-violence activist in attendance called for the issue of gun violence to be addressed by lawmakers in Tallahassee instead of Washington. 

Trimmel Gomes’ latest episode of The Rotunda, also includes an interview with the newly crowned Miss Tallahassee, Lauren Calmet, speaking out against Donald Trump's past role as owner of the beauty pageant. Calmet also discusses the growing trend of beauty queens becoming politicians. Gomes also talks with Rep. James Grant, R-Tampa, and media consultant Kevin Cate about their wild idea to get the Florida Legislature to approve creating a specialty license plate for their alma mater, Alabama’s Auburn University.   

Episode 61: Politics and Beauty Pageants

Trimmel Gomes’ latest episode of The Rotunda previews inaugural events celebrating Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis and Florida’s next Cabinet members. Also, Senator Lauren Book, D-Plantation, discusses policy changes in the Florida Senate to prohibit sexual harassment of employees. Book also talks about her efforts to shift oversight of the state’s concealed firearms program to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. With the automatic restoration of voting rights for some of Florida’s convicted felons expected to go into effect Tuesday, a recent study from Cornell University shows nearly 1 in 2 adults in the United States has seen an immediate family member go to jail or in prison. Gomes talks with Zoë Towns, senior director of criminal justice reform at Fwd.us, a nonprofit advocating for immigration and criminal justice reform.

Episode 161: Power Shift

New podcast telling the stories about the people and issues shaping Florida politics. 

Episode 161: Power Shift

The Rotunda

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