Democrats in Florida have had a rough go of it in recent years.
But now they think the political winds are shifting in their favor.
And Florida Democrats are ready to wage this brutal war against Donald Trump.
Florida Democrats think the state could be in play this election
Florida has gone from being the biggest swing state in the country to one that is becoming increasingly red in recent years.
The Presidential and U.S. Senate races in the Sunshine State were considered to be in the bag for Republicans when President Joe Biden was the Democrat nominee.
Vice President Kamala Harris has given Democrats a shot in the arm of enthusiasm after she entered the race.
The euphoria over her is leading Florida Democrats to dream big this election.
A Morning Consult poll found that former President Donald Trump was leading Kamala by two points in Florida.
And U.S Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) was only leading his challenger former Representative Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL) by a single point in the same poll.
The results of the Morning Consult poll are outliers, but Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried claimed there is “a huge momentum shift in the state.”
She argued that voters in the Sunshine State are growing tired of Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
“People are just tired. They’re tired of the chaos. They’re tired of the show. They’re tired of the rhetoric,” Fried said. “You’re seeing that with the momentum shift for Kamala Harris.”
Florida Democrats are fighting a losing battle
Democrats have only won one statewide election since the 2012 Election when former President Barack Obama carried Florida.
The political landscape of Florida has shifted since then.
“Given how Florida has moved from Barack Obama in 2012 narrowly winning the state of Florida to today, 12 years later, it’s just a totally different Florida,” Florida-based Republican strategist Ford O’Connell said.
But that did not deter Kamala from sending her husband Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff to make a campaign stop in the state.
The optimism from Democrats does not match the political reality in Florida.
Democrats held an advantage in the number of registered voters by party from the end of the Civil War until 2021.
Now, Republicans have more than one million more registered voters than Democrats and that number is continuing to increase.
DeSantis told a Republican gathering at the Hard Rock Casino in South Florida that the state was not in play this year.
“Are you happy we are a solid Republican state? It used to be …presidential elections, we would be on a razor’s edge about the state of Florida,” DeSantis said. “Because if Republicans could not win the state of Florida, then you did not have a path to win the Electoral College.”
The biggest tell that Florida is not in play this year is the spending by both Presidential campaigns.
Trump and President Joe Biden combined to spend $57 million on TV ads in September 2020.
$2.1 million has been spent on TV by Presidential campaigns for all of 2024.
“The decrease in spending mirrors the election ratings provided by Cook Political Report, indicating that the statewide races were no longer as competitive as they had been in the past,” a report from AdImpact stated. AdImpact is an advertising intelligence and analytics firm.
Florida Republicans would be fine with Democrats wasting their time and money in the state.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
