Welcome to episode 4 of the Charles C.W. Cook podcast, this time released on a Thursday, just as the founding father's intended. It's there in the Constitution next to the student loan clause, I'm told. I've just come off four days of temporary single-dadding.

My wife had to go away for an event, and I was in charge.

And I'm pleased to report that I didn't burn down the house or forget to feed the kids

or send them to school in their pajamas.

Which makes one of us who hasn't been to school in our

pajamas. That's a long story. I will tell it one day, I promise. In fact, I didn't just fail to burn down

the house. I think I actually surprised my kids with my bare minimum competence. It was extremely

rewarding in one sense, but extremely

alarming in another in that they were so shocked that I could do basic things without my wife

being in the same house, that they ended up being remarkably grateful for even the most

elementary of achievements.

You could see them gearing up toward astonishment.

My God, he knows how to use a can opener.

Which brings me neatly to my guest today, Mark Caputo, because he also knows how to use a can opener. Well, so I'm told,

I haven't actually seen it myself. It's just not the sort of thing you check, is it? Mark and I

will be talking about the coming election in the state of Florida. Mark is even more of a

Florida man than I am. In fact, considerably more of a Florida man than I am,

because he has lived here pretty much his entire life. So without further ado, let's move on.

Welcome to the Charles C.W. Cook podcast, Mark Caputo. Well, thanks for having me. Good to be here.

It's a pleasure. So, Mark, you now write for NBC. Yeah, NBC Digital, technically. We have many silos, and that's mine.

How long have you been covering Florida politics? I mean, my first statewide campaign was in 2002, so 20 years.

And what has changed since then? Well, the state has become less competitive for a period of time.

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