Florida's Democrats have chosen U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist to try to oust Gov. Ron DeSantis in November.

Why it matters: It's going to be an uphill battle. The win pits Crist, an affable, huggy, two-time governor who gives constituents his cell phone number, against an exacting, confrontational DeSantis, who has found national support — and donors — with his headline-grabbing style.

• Crist's landslide win — he was more than 350,000 votes ahead of Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried — may indicate voters preferred his "decency and mutual respect" campaign over her more critical approach.

What's new: Last night, Crist vowed that if he's elected governor again, he'll sign an executive order protecting abortion rights on his first day in office.

• He also promised to reinstate Andrew Warren as Hillsborough County state attorney and make Election Day a statewide holiday.

What they're saying: "This is the most consequential race in the history of our state," Crist said in a speech after the race was called. "And when we win in November, we will send shockwaves across this country."

• After Fried conceded, she told her supporters, "We are going to make Ron DeSantis a one-term governor, and a zero-term president of the United States. We Democrats have to come together like never before."

Anna Paulina Luna, who lost Florida's 13th Congressional District to Crist in 2020, is once again the seat's Republican primary winner. And she has a better shot at winning now that the seat has been redrawn to lean Republican.

• She'll face Eric Lynn, a former President Obama adviser who ran unopposed.

District 70 incumbent Michele Rayner has taken the Democratic nomination for her new district, 62. She's now running to represent southern St. Petersburg and the east Hillsborough County areas of East Tampa, Gibsonton and Riverview.

• Her Republican opponent is Jeremy M. Brown, who is in custody at the Pinellas County Jail on charges related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Laurel Lee beat out state Sen. Kelli Stargel and state Rep. Jackie Toledo for the Congressional District 15 Republican primary. She's now up against Democrat Alan Cohn.

Hillsborough County School Board: DeSantis-backed Stacy Hahn beat out Florida Democratic Party-endorsed Damaris Allen in the nonpartisan race for District 2.

• Karen Perez, endorsed by the state's largest teachers union, beat DeSantis-endorsed Aly Legge for District 6.

Sarasota School Board: Bridget Ziegler, Tim Enos and Robyn Marinelli, the three candidates supporters have dubbed "ZEM"and who were endorsed by DeSantis and the Republican Party of Sarasota County, won their nonpartisan races, flipping the school board from a 3-2 liberal majority to 4-1 conservative.

🏘 In the next eight years, the Newport Isles development is bringing 3,382 more homes to Manatee County's booming North River area, just south of the Hillsborough County line, between U.S. 41 and Interstate 75. (Bradenton Herald)

💨 Louis Geraci LLLP dropped its request for state permits to operate yard waste incinerators near a church and adult living facility in Lutz after intense opposition from neighbors. (The Laker/Lutz News)

📙 "Until Someone Listens," a picture book based on the writings of 13-year-old Davenport resident Estela Juarez, depicting the plight of her undocumented mother who was deported in 2018, will be released Sept. 13. (Lakeland Ledger)

🚢 U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Tampa yesterday to tout the $12.6 million in federal funding recently awarded to Port Tampa Bay. (WTSP)

🛩 Tampa International Airport created a new committee to prepare for "air taxis," which could make their Tampa Bay debut as early as 2025. (Creative Loafing)

Huge numbers of home sellers dropped their asking price in July as the housing market cooled, especially in boomtowns like Tampa that exploded during the pandemic.

Driving the news: More than half of the homes for sale in Tampa in July had a price reduction, according to a new analysis from Redfin.

• 52% is way up from June, when 28% of homes for sale were reduced in price.

The big picture: The national share of homes for sale with price drops reached a record high in July.

Zoom in: Tampa had the fifth largest share of price drops among the 97 most populous metros in the country, behind Boise, Idaho (70%), Denver (58%), Salt Lake City (56%) and Tacoma, Washington (55%).

Between the lines: Sellers and home builders started dropping prices this summer to find buyers as the housing market cooled in response to rising mortgage rates. That's continuing as buyers wait for prices to reach a bottom.

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"If I could indoctrinate my students it would be to bring me coffee and get off their phones. And I can't get them to do that."

🗞 It's a fun, interactive piece that's worthy of your time.

🤸 Nola Matthews competes in the balance beam during the 2022 U.S. Gymnastics Championships at Amalie Arena on Sunday.

• Hope you do your best somersault into Thursday.