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Tag: Florida Democrats

  • Nikki Fried: ‘The pendulum is swinging towards Democrats’ after victory in Miami election  



    Credit: Nikki Fried/Facebook

    Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried took a victory lap Wednesday, fresh off seeing Miami voters elect former Miami-Dade County commissioner Eileen Higgins as mayor, the first time a registered Democrat has taken the seat in decades.

    Higgins defeated former Miami City Manager Emilio González Tuesday by more than 18 percentage points, 59%-41%.

    That race was technically nonpartisan, but there was no question about party affiliation with such an intense national focus on the contest.

    González received endorsements from President Trump and Ron DeSantis and campaigned with Rick Scott, while national Democrats like former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Arizona U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego came down to Miami to stump for Higgins.

    “The message that was delivered last night here in the state of Florida is that the pendulum is swinging towards Democrats and is powered by the people on the ground and our candidates and our electeds every single day,” Fried said in a Zoom conference call with reporters Wednesday morning.

    “And so we’re thrilled by the victories that we saw all over our state from Miami Beach all the way up to the SD 11 overperformance. These are all showing that the pendulum is swinging in our favor.

    Senate District 11 swing

    The “SD 11 overperformance” referred to the special election in Florida’s Senate District 11 Tuesday night to replace Blaise Ingoglia, who vacated the seat this past summer after being appointed by DeSantis as the state’s chief financial officer.

    Republican Ralph Massullo defeated Ash Marwah by 18 percentage points, 59%-41%, in a district encompassing Citrus, Hernando, Sumter and part of Pasco County.

    In November, Ingoglia had defeated Democrat Marilyn Holleran, 69%-31%, meaning Tuesday’s result had shifted 20% towards the Democratic candidate.

    Fried specifically referred to the results in Hernando, where Ingoglia resides. Massullo won that county by just six percentage points, whereas in November Ingoglia took Hernando by 34 points. “That isn’t because it’s a special election. It’s because people are tired of chaos. They’re tired of elected officials not showing up for them,” she said.

    Republican Party of Florida Chair Evan Power said Fried’s excitement wasn’t warranted.

    “This is a great Nikki Fried tradition to take one lean-D race and try to turn it into momentum,” he said in a text message. “Everyday Floridians are rejecting the far-left Democrat Party. It’s why we now have a 1.4 million Republican voter advantage.”

    Given that disadvantage, Fried has said throughout the year that Democrats will need support from independents and disaffected Republicans to win legislative and congressional seats in 2026. She argued that’s what happened in some parts of Florida Tuesday night.

    “Because these coalitions that came together all across the state were Democrats, Republicans, Independents,” she said. “And that’s how we’re going to build a better Florida and make sure that we’re turning the page of 30 years of one-party control of this state, which is why this state is so unaffordable.”

    It should be noted that while a Democrat had not been elected mayor of Miami since the late 1990s, there are more registered Democrats than Republicans in the city (Miami-Dade County did flip Republican earlier this year). And while it is accurate that voters there had elected Republicans in every election since 2009, Manny Diaz, who served as Miami mayor from 2001-2009, was a political independent who went on to chair the Florida Democratic Party from 2021 to 2023.

    MAGA influencer Laura Loomer, who lost two previous races for Congress in Florida, said on X Tuesday that Higgins’ victory meant that “a bright red city in a bright red state just went blue.”

    She went on to predict: “Midterms will be a bloodbath.”

    DCCC weighs in

    Meanwhile, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) announced Wednesday that it had added Republican Laurel Lee’s 15th Congressional District in the Tampa Bay area to its list of “districts in play” in 2026. The other GOP Florida seats in play, according to the DCCC, are Cory Mills’ District 7, Anna Paulina Luna’s District 13, and Maria Salazar’s District 27.

    “Laurel Lee represents the worst of what voters hate about Congress — an out-of-touch politician who cares more about prioritizing the wealthy and well-connected over helping Florida’s working families,” said DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene in a statement.

    “As Republicans continue to push their failing agenda that leaves everyday Americans behind in favor of Laurel Lee’s wealthy donors, Democrats will fight to ensure that next November, Florida’s 15th Congressional District will elect a representative that cares about them and their issues.”

    Republicans control 20 of the state’s 28 congressional districts and are threatening to take more if they are successful in redrawing Florida’s congressional map sometime before next year’s midterm elections. Fried said she’s not worried if that happens.

    “The fact of the matter is people are seeing through their chaos, they’re seeing through their corruption, and regardless of what those seats look like, I do believe that we’re going to be able to hold on to our Democratic seats and flip a whole bunch more,” she said.

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    “Today I announced the ‘Floridians First’ Budget, which will keep Florida on the course of fiscal responsibility and delivers on the priorities that have made Florida the greatest state in America.” 

    The suit alleges Starbucks has violated a state civil-rights law through race-based hiring and race-based compensation decisions

    The bill would make Charlie Kirk only the second person — after Ronald Reagan — to be commemorated in Florida statute





    Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
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  • ‘Florida needs a change’: Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings kicks off campaign for governor



    Credit: Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings/Facebook

    Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings on Thursday formally announced his bid for governor, setting up a Democratic primary fight next year against former Congressman David Jolly.

    Demings, a former Orlando police chief and former Orange County sheriff who opened a campaign account for the gubernatorial race last week, issued a statement early Thursday that focused on a need to make Florida more affordable.

    “Our state has become more expensive and less fair for everyone, all while power is being stripped away from local communities that know their residents best,” Demings said. “Florida needs a change. We need a different type of governor who puts delivering results before grabbing headlines and petty political fights.”

     

    Demings, who has been Orange County mayor since 2018, was expected to hold an event later Thursday in Orlando to further launch the campaign.

    With Gov. Ron DeSantis unable to run in 2026 because of term limits, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds and former state House Speaker Paul Renner are seeking the Republican nomination for governor.

    Jolly, a former Republican who kicked off his campaign in June, welcomed Demings to the race Thursday.

    “All of Florida — Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike — deserves a spirited Democratic Party primary that puts voters first, one rooted in real solutions for the affordability of housing and health care, the future of public education, protecting personal freedoms, and restoring trust and competence in government,” Jolly said in a prepared statement.

    The tone Thursday was different from a memo that Jolly’s campaign sent earlier in the week outlining “the choice before Democrats.”

    Touting Jolly, the memo asked who can unite the party, break nearly three decades of Republican control of the state and “has the credibility and message to defeat Republican extremism — not with partisan rhetoric, but with practical ideas that connect across political lines?”

    The memo said that “for 30 years, Florida Democrats have repeated the same losing formula: Campaigns built around consultants instead of communities, focused on fundraisers and corporate boardrooms instead of front porches and town halls. We’ve ignored voters, chased special-interest money, and prioritized the political class over everyday Floridians.”

    It also included former U.S. Rep. Val Demings, who is married to Jerry Demings, among “well intended, dedicated nominees” who “still came up short” in statewide contests. Val Demings, who served in Congress from 2017 to 2023, lost a bid for the U.S. Senate in 2022 to then-Sen. Marco Rubio, who is now U.S. Secretary of State.

    Asked about the contest Wednesday, Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried said having two prominent candidates will provide an “opportunity for the people of our state to hear from our statewide candidates, to share their vision, ask the tough questions.”

    Fried said the party’s job is to build “the infrastructure that no matter who the Democrats in our primary decide to choose, we are going to be ready to build a coalition to again share the vision of what the next chapter of Florida looks like.”

    Whoever emerges from the Democratic primary is expected to be the underdog in the general election, as Republicans have huge edges in fundraising and voter registration. The last Democrat to win a gubernatorial race was Lawton Chiles, who was re-elected in 1994.

    The Republican Party of Florida greeted Demings’ entry into the contest with a news release saying his campaign is “destined to flop.”

    “Under Republican leadership, Florida is booming, freedom is prevailing, and Republicans hold a record voter advantage,” GOP Chairman Evan Power said in the release.

    As of Sept. 30, Florida had about 5.5 million “active” Republican registered voters and nearly 4.12 million Democrats. Another 3.38 million voters had no party affiliation.

    The Republican Governors Association took a shot at Democrats, saying Demings opening a campaign account was a sign “Florida Democrats are clearly unimpressed with David Jolly’s Charlie Crist impersonation.”

    Crist, a former congressman who won statewide races including the 2006 gubernatorial contest as a Republican, was the unsuccessful Democratic gubernatorial nominee in 2014 and 2022.

    Equal Ground, a Black-led, nonprofit organization, noted that with Demings entering the campaign, Florida could have Black candidates topping the ticket for both major parties in 2026. Donalds, who has the backing of President Donald Trump, is Black.

    “This moment represents a defining chapter for Florida … It stands as a powerful milestone in a state where Black voices, leadership, and civic power have for far too long faced systemic barriers towards progress,” Equal Ground said in an email.

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    Carfentanil, a powerful and potentially deadly tranquilizer, is often mixed into cocaine, meth, or counterfeit pills, says prevention nonprofit

    The 10 percent reduction in flights comes just as the holiday season approaches

    Both were credited with working to maintain progressive values in the face of Florida’s overwhelmingly right-wing climate





    Jim Turner, News Service of Florida
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  • Florida Democrats now running billboards to recruit candidates for state office

    Florida Democrats now running billboards to recruit candidates for state office

    click to enlarge

    Photo via Florida Democratic Party

    In an attempt to recruit candidates to challenge Republicans in more than two dozen congressional and legislative seats across the state, the Florida Democratic Party (FDP) on Wednesday announced a billboard and digital campaign reaching out to Democrats in Polk, Madison, Miami-Dade, and Seminole Counties.

    “There are 27 uncontested House seats with no Democrat running and it is up to us to change that,” said FDP Chair Nikki Fried in a written statement.

    “We are already competing in more races compared to 2022 but it is our goal to field candidates in every seat across the state and give Republicans a run for their money. As we get closer to qualifying deadlines, candidate recruitment is a top priority. 30 years of Republican rule has failed Floridians. Property insurance rates are through the roof, we lead the nation in teacher shortages, and over a million Floridians have been kicked off Medicaid because Florida Republicans refuse to expand it. We need more Democrats in the running to fight for the issues people care about and defend the programs Floridians rely on,” she continued.

    In addition to the 27 state House district races not being challenged by the Democrats, the party says it is looking for candidates to compete against Republicans in four state Senate district races and three congressional contests, including in Florida’s Twelfth District, which Republican Gus Bilirakis has held since 2007. That district encompasses Hernando, Citrus, and part of Pasco counties.

    Pasco hasn’t elected a Democrat to any state elected office in a decade, since Amanda Murphy won a state House seat in 2014. The local party is looking for candidates to compete in four state House districts (53,54, 55, and 56) and three county commission seats.

    “It’s hard to get people to run for office, especially in Florida, because you have to put yourself out there. People tend to sometimes get a little rough with people and they’re afraid. And we hear it from people all the time, ‘Oh, yeah, I want to run,’ and then when we say, ‘You have to do this, this, and this,’ they back off,” said Brandi Geoit, chair of the Pasco County Democratic Executive Committee.

    “So, we’ve been wanting people to run for the House seats and the four congressional seats and everything else like that because if you don’t have people running, it’s just giving the other guy a pass, because it’s not really an election.”

    Recent victories

    Polk County Democratic Executive Committee Chair Cesar Ramirez said it can be challenging to get Democrats to run in what is considered a red county, but he remains optimistic, discussing some recent victories the party enjoyed this month in what are ostensibly nonpartisan city commission races in places like Haines City and Lake Wales.

    “What we’re really trying to change is the culture about what being part of a political party is,” he said.

    “I tell people all the time, a political party does not make you, you make the political party. So when you’re running as a Democrat, you’re running on your principles and your ideas. They happen to be aligned with the Democratic Party. We don’t want our candidates or potential candidates to lose their identity, we want them to stand up for what’s right, and what they believe is right, and if we’re on the side of right, then we’re the party for you,” he added.

    With the recruiting billboards now displayed in Polk, the Democratic Party is “demonstrating that we’re here to support you and your endeavors and, if our policies are aligned, then we are the party for you and we’re going to provide you as much support as we possibly can — boots on the ground, canvassing, whatever is necessary to get your vote, but we want to encourage folks our leaders in the community to step up and run,” Ramirez said.

    Mockery

    Top Florida GOP officials mocked the announcement that the Democratic Party will recruit candidates via billboards.

    “Floridians are so turned off by the @FlaDems radical agenda that they had to spend tens of thousands on billboards just to attempt to find candidates,” Republican Party of Florida Chairman Evan Power said on X. “While @NikkiFried is lighting her limited campaign cash on fire, Republicans are growing our registration lead, flipping local elections, and delivering for Florida’s citizens.”

    West Central Florida Republican state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, who chaired the state party between 2015 and 2019, also derided state Democrats. “@NikkiFried recruiting D’s in unwinnable races. Can’t wait to see her winning percentage after this upcoming election,” Ingoglia wrote on X.

    The billboard campaign comes as the deadline for candidates to qualify to run in congressional races in Florida is approaching. The last day a candidate can file for those races is April 26. The deadline for state legislative races is on June 14.

    Meanwhile, Florida Republicans continue to dominate Democrats in voter registration. As of March 31, the GOP now has a lead of 892,000 voters, their largest in state history.

    Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Diane Rado for questions: [email protected]. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.

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    Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix

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