Although President Joe Biden (D) won the 2020 election, Democrats faced a number of defeats across the United States. In Florida, Democrats faced stunning losses in the House, and the party faced controversy after it was released that the party had accepted a PPP loan of $1 million dollars. This resulted in the party returning the loan, and the entire executive board quit after the 2020 election.
However, the horizon appears to be brightening for Florida Democrats as the party has announced a $2 million turnaround. This, the party argues, allows them to “move ahead with ambitious plans to expand their operations ahead of the 2022 elections.”
Florida Democratic Party Chair Manny Diaz commented that “first and foremost, you have to clean up your own house before looking outside.” This is exactly what the party has set its sights on tackling because “whatever we have done the last 10 years hasn’t worked.” However, in moving forward, Diaz expressed that “the path to victory here is building a strong Florida Democratic Party,” and to do that they intend to “invest in that party from the bottom up.”
Currently, party officials detail that “they have roughly $750,000 in cash on hand between both their state and federal accounts.”
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I) financially contributed $500,000 and Mike Fernandez contributed $100,000, which is a departure from the traditional grassroots fundraising efforts that the party champions. Nonetheless, the party has raised $2 million to clear much of its debt and to help them move forward.
Looking ahead to 2022, Florida Democrats do look to expand their control across the Sunshine State with a rumored number of Democrats positioning themselves to take on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R). One of those potential gubernatorial candidates is firebrand Rep. Val Demings (pictured), who played an intricate role in helping to impeach President Trump, both times.
