Gov. Ron DeSantis called Florida the "freest state in America" as he tried to stand apart from a handful of potential 2024 Republican presidential hopefuls making pitches to the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas this weekend.

Why it matters: DeSantis is using his legislative success in Florida to pick up campaign momentum as the state's COVID numbers improve.

• Even bookmakers have noticed, with BoyleSports trimming DeSantis' odds of winning the 2024 presidential election to 9/1 from 12/1 on Saturday, per Florida Politics.
• Alongside hopefuls like former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former VP Mike Pence, DeSantis' pitch is the clearest sign yet that he's running.

Between the lines: DeSantis touted Florida's surge of new residents as a byproduct of low taxes and hands-off government policy, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

• He also bashed critical race theory and vaccine mandates while bragging about legislation he signed banning ballot harvesting.

The big picture: DeSantis is riding a wave of Republican popularity as the state GOP announced without evidence that red voters outnumber blue voters for the first time in Florida history.

• According to the latest publicly available data, there were about 12,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans as of Sept. 30.

Yes, but: Just 10 years ago, there were half a million more Ds than Rs in the Sunshine State.

Tampa Bay Wave's Thursday pitch night for its TechWomen Rising Accelerator featured some impressive women-led startups.

Three Tampa-based companies that wowed us:

Improving Aviation

• The leader: Rocio Frej Vitalle, aerospace engineer.
• The product: Develops solutions to enable the next generation of air transportation systems for air traffic management and integration of emerging technologies in the aviation industry.
• The intrigue: Part of Vitalle's product is "Windtellect," which seeks to better predict fire behaviors for emergency responders to stop wildfires sooner.

Seed Classroom

• The leader: Emilia Herman, former Tampa high school teacher.
• The product: Automated attendance and hall pass request system for schools. Students scan QR codes on their desks for attendance and can use the same system to request a hall pass without interrupting teaching.
• The intrigue: Herman is still trying to finish fundraising before she launches Seed locally in 2022, but she's already booked a school in Massachusetts for the pilot program.

BarnWiz

• The leader: Tori Sullivan
• The product: Full-service web platform connecting horse owners with horse service and product suppliers, uniting the horse industry nationwide.
• The intrigue: Sullivan's mare, Gala, inspired her to find a faster way to connect the equine industry. She calls it "AirBnB meets Uber Eats for horses."

Go Deeper: See more woman-led Wave companies that wowed us from this class and the TechDiversity cohort.

👋 Selene here! "Tampa Baes" premiered on Amazon Prime over the weekend, and as a lesbian in Tampa Bay, I had to check it out.

The show isn't as bad as I anticipated, since I'm still reeling from "Life's Rewards."

My main gripe: If there wasn't so much b-roll footage of scenes around Tampa and St. Pete, I would have no idea where this show takes place. The queer culture they're talking about is definitely not what I've experienced.

Bae myth 1: One of the Baes, Cuppie, opens the show talking about the thriving lesbian scene in Tampa.

• Where? I would like to see it. We don't even have a lesbian bar. Sure, lesbians are welcome at the gay bars in Ybor and St. Pete, but other lesbians agree we aren't what Tampa Bay is known for.

Bae myth 2: Jordan says there's "a culture of who knows who, who's the cutest couple, who's the most successful."

• The show has gotten criticism for its lack of diversity. If the creators looked just a bit further into our community of trans and nonbinary folks, they'd have less nearly identical couples and way better drama.

Bae myth 3: Mel says she's "one of the only LGBTQ artists in the Tampa Bay region."

• That is straight up false. Mel is actually one of the Baes I like best, but you can't act like the only gay muralist in town.

My solution: Give a "Tampa Baes" spinoff to the Gay Commie Skate Crew.

A St. Pete Beach home became the area's highest-priced residential sale after going for $8.2 million. (Tampa Bay Business Journal)

Largo Police officers are being investigated after they shot a man they say was armed with a rifle at his ex-girlfriend's home Saturday night. (Tampa Bay Times)

A chug (Chihuahua-pug mix) puppy was found after it was stolen from a Manatee County Petland last March along with five others worth a total of $35,000. (Bradenton Herald)

The family of a Hernando County mother is asking for help after she disappeared right before she was supposed to talk to police about the person responsible in her brutal attack. (Bay News 9)

👋 Hi. It’s Ben.

Selene was complaining about the newsletter featuring too many sandwiches, so I ordered the shockingly photogenic albondigas for lunch at Oak & Ola this week.

• I was reminded how delectable these Spanish meatballs are, though it's hard to find evidence they're "fire-roasted," as the menu suggests.

🥖 The side sourdough from Jamison B. Breadhouse Bakes had a nice char and crunch.

Slap some sauce and a smashed meatball on the toast and it's a delightful bite.