When the political dust settled after the 2020 presidential election in Florida, it was abundantly clear that Florida Democrats suffered embarrassing and “historic defeats” to Republicans statewide, losing countless local and state elections, as well as two highly-coveted congressional seats in Miami-Dade County.
With Progressive, liberal, and moderate Democrats, and candidates for public office wanting heads to roll at the Florida Democratic Party, the University of Florida College Democrats penned an op-ed calling for Chairwoman Terrie Rizzo, Executive Director Juan Penalosa, and Consultant Rosy Gonzalez Speers, to “resign or be fired from their positions within the party.”
"Efforts were not adequately supported by the Florida Democratic Party (FOP) or the Florida College Democrats {FCD). Democrats across the state, including in the presidential election, suffered hard-fought losses in part due to errors of the Florida Democratic Party's leadership,” stated the press release.” Five Florida House seats were lost, along with two congressional sears. The party lost ground in Miami-Dade largely due to the lack of a unified message, ineffective use of resources, and minimal Latinx outreach. “
The Gator Democrats continued, tearing into the Florida Democratic Party leadership by saying that it was “entirely out of touch with voters” and has “consistently failed to integrate youth voices.”
“The Florida Democratic Party is entirely out of touch with voters and has consistently failed to integrate youth voices. We are calling for the resignation of the FOP Chair Terrie Rizzo and FOP Executive Director Juan Penalosa. In order for any progress to be made in the state, the party must completely overhaul its approach to outreach, organizing, and communication."
President Trump and Republicans won the state by 3.3 percentage points largely due to the massive outpouring of support for Trump in Miami-Dade County, where Democrats were only able to defeat Republicans by t7.3% of the vote.
Adam Christensen, the Democratic congressional nominee in Florida’s 3rd congressional district, pushed out the press release and accused the party of not helping his campaign efforts. Christensen even said that the party “broke its contract with our campaign a week before the election by withholding data” he says his campaign owned.
Christensen also pointed to an Intercept story where earlier in the year, more than 50 statewide candidates signed a letter demanding that the FDP share voter information resources.
In the story, the pay-for-play campaign structure the FDP has in place was exposed.
"Florida also has the second-highest fees in the country to get on the ballot, requiring congressional candidates to obtain 5,000 signatures or fork over $10,500. And because the coronavirus pandemic has made it more difficult to obtain the number of signatures necessary for the petition, this means candidates are expected to pay the large fees on top of the fees to access VAN. For working-class candidates or young people trying to run for office, Christensen said, “it’s game over.”
