Since becoming the Florida Democratic Party Chair, former Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried (D-FL) launched the “Take Back Florida” tour to gain voter registrations for the left side of the aisle.
After years of Democrats dominating the state of Florida in terms of party affiliation of its residents, Republicans – for the first time in history – took the lead in December of 2021, less than two years after Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) took office.
However, the new registration numbers do not fare well for the Democrats as Republicans now lead by over 850,000 voters.
Republican Party of Florida Chairman Evan Power addressed Fried on social media with a discouraging message.
Sorry @NikkiFried you won’t be taking back anything https://t.co/vE6Q1Obg2Q
— Evan Power (@EvanPower) March 4, 2024
“Sorry Nikki Fried you won’t be taking back anything,” said Power.
He also provided a comment to The Floridian regarding the gargantuan lead for the Florida GOP.
“Florida is the beacon of freedom for the nation. People are fleeing the failed liberal governments to make Florida a more Republican state,” Power said.
However, prominent Democrats in the State Legislature are not worried about the GOP advantage.
After Gov. DeSantis' State of the State Address, The Floridian sat down with State Senator Jason Pizzo (D-FL) to discuss the near future of the Florida Democratic Party with DeSantis gone.
Sen. Pizzo stated, "I don't know if [Democrats] are bouncing back, in 20 plus years we haven't had the majority in the legislature, 26 years we haven't had the cabinet."
Republicans often tout recent data that has shown the GOP surpassing Democrats in voter registration, with the gap only widening. Pizzo seemed unmoved by this.
"I'm not so concerned about even the voter registration totals to a large extent. The Republicans now brag that they have this huge margin of voters, at the same time I don't think their policies resonate well. However, 15 years ago when the Democrats were plus 400,000 or 500,000, we didn't win the gubernatorial race either," he added. "We have not performed in a generation," and cited the last time Democrats won a gubernatorial election in November of 1994.
Florida Democrats put $1 million into the “Take Back Florida” tour in July.
