Headshot of Florida Phoenix senior reporter Christine Sexton.

Christine Sexton

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Christine Sexton is a senior reporter at the Florida Phoenix. She has spent more than 30 years reporting on Florida health care, insurance policy, and state politics and has covered the state’s last six governors. Before joining the Phoenix, she helped launch the Politico Florida bureau and wrote the weekly health care newsletter, Diagnosis, for Florida Politics. She also worked for the News Service of Florida. Sexton has written articles that have appeared in The New York Times, Bloomberg News, and The Associated Press. She lives in Tallahassee.

University of West Florida orders dorms evacuated on less than a day’s notice
Florida

University of West Florida orders dorms evacuated on less than a day’s notice

Oct 09, 2026
Jay Waagmeester Christine Sexton
PENSACOLA — Evacuation orders for coastal and low-lying areas have been issued for counties across the Florida Panhandle over the past two days as powerful Hurricane Isaias, fueled by warm Gulf waters, intensified. Some of those ordered to evacuate were...
Ladapo: Eliminating vaccine mandates isn’t about science, it’s about parents’ rights
Florida

Ladapo: Eliminating vaccine mandates isn’t about science, it’s about parents’ rights

Oct 08, 2026
Christine Sexton
Florida State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo is a well-known vaccine skeptic. But on Thursday he said the state’s drive to change its rules to eliminate four vaccines children are required to take to enter school or daycare centers has nothing...
DeSantis revels in ‘the biggest judicial smackdown that I have ever seen’
Florida

DeSantis revels in ‘the biggest judicial smackdown that I have ever seen’

Oct 08, 2026
Michael Moline Christine Sexton
Gov. Ron DeSantis claimed vindication Thursday in light of a state appellate ruling handed down the day before expunging the Hope Florida grand jury report that harshly criticized much of the state’s Republican leadership. He called for prosecution of whoever...
As state considers vaccine changes, new online tool examines sickness, death, cost impacts
Florida

As state considers changes, new online tool eyes impacts of declining vaccination rates

Oct 07, 2026
Christine Sexton
What would result if Florida reduces the number of vaccines Florida children are required to receive to attend school and daycare? The answers to those questions may be found on an interactive dashboard dubbed VaxImpactMap, published by the Emory Rollins...
DeSantis issues a state of emergency for 25 counties as tropical depression heads toward Florida
Florida

DeSantis issues emergency order as Tropical Storm Isaias heads toward the Gulf Coast

Oct 06, 2026
Christine Sexton
This story has been updated to reflect that Tropical Depression 9 is now Tropical Storm Isaias and to update the storm’s trajectory. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order Tuesday night declaring a state of emergency for 25 Florida counties...
DeSantis boasts about Medicaid fraud crackdown efforts
Florida

DeSantis boasts about Medicaid fraud crackdown efforts

Oct 06, 2026
Christine Sexton
Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared in West Palm Beach Tuesday to announce the fruits of the state’s Medicaid fraud and abuse crackdown efforts, including more than 150 referrals to the state’s attorney general’s Medicaid fraud unit to investigate and potentially prosecute...
Autism-treatment task force inches closer to finalizing recommendations
Florida

Autism-treatment task force inches closer to finalizing recommendations

Oct 05, 2026
Christine Sexton
A blue-ribbon panel will hold two more meetings before it adopts the final list of recommendations to the Legislature on how best to use state dollars to treat children with autism. Those recommendations could include requiring businesses that provide applied...
Lawsuit alleges Miramar ICE facility is acting as a defacto civil detention center
Florida

Lawsuit alleges Miramar ICE facility is acting as a de facto civil detention center

Oct 02, 2026
Christine Sexton
A federal class action was filed in Miami Friday against the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and top executives at the agencies, alleging they’re using a Miramar field office as a de facto civil detention center. The...
Mothers face barriers to accessing mental healthcare, survey shows
Florida

Mothers face barriers to accessing mental healthcare, survey shows

Oct 01, 2026
Christine Sexton
Having theoretical access to healthcare doesn’t mean you can take advantage of it, as underscored by a report examining mothers’ experiences for themselves and their children. Released Thursday, Pulse Check 2026: Mothers on Mental Health, Care, and the Systems Around...
House Democrats ask IRS to eye tax implications of $10M transfer to Hope Florida
Florida

House Democrats ask IRS to eye tax implications of $10M transfer to Hope Florida

Sep 30, 2026
Christine Sexton
Top Democrats in the Florida House are demanding the Internal Revenue Service open an investigation into whether the Hope Florida Foundation and two social welfare organizations that received money from it properly reported the funds to the IRS and, moreover...
Exemption for moral, ethical beliefs zapped from DeSantis administration’s proposed vax rule
Florida

Exemption for moral, ethical beliefs zapped from DeSantis administration’s proposed vax rule

Sep 30, 2026
Christine Sexton
The DeSantis administration is backing off its push to make it easier for parents to opt out of vaccinating their children by eliminating from a proposed rule change “sincerely held moral or ethical belief(s)” from the reasons a parent could...
New Florida Department Law Enforcement commissioner is a familiar face
Florida

New Florida Department Law Enforcement commissioner is a familiar face

Sep 29, 2026
Christine Sexton
With just months before Florida gets a new chief executive, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday installed a familiar face to lead the state’s main law enforcement agency. DeSantis appointed Larry Keefe, a former top aide to the governor who helped...