TALLAHASSEE, FL—After a busy political week signified by primary elections, the Democratic National Convention, and an unusual split in the Republican party, Florida political party chairs Nikki Fried and Evan Power reflect on the big question haunting Sunshine State politics: Is Florida in play?
Unsurprisingly, GOP Chairman Power says no while his Democratic counterpart Fried argues yes—though both use the DNC ratings, which outperformed the RNC's by almost 3 million viewers, to help prove their points.
"I don’t think ratings mean anything, especially when Kamala’s handlers lied about special guests to drive that number up," Power told The Floridian in an interesting split from presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has often used TV ratings to take shots at political opponents. Power referred to the online rumor that a last-minute schedule change meant a "special guest" would appear—excited fans guessed Beyonce or Taylor Swift, while others jokingly hoped for George W. Bush, Olympic breakdancing travesty Raygun, or Spiderman actor Tom Holland.
Nevertheless, Harris' acceptance speech on the final night drew 26.2 million viewers, edging out Trump's 25.3 million on the RNC's final night. The DNC also outstripped the RNC overall, with Democrats boasting an average of 21.8 million viewers per night compared to Republicans' 19.1 million.
"Florida isn’t in play. We have out-registered, out-raised, and out-worked the Democrats," Power continued, pointing out that not only are there over one million more registered Florida Republicans than Democrats, but his party outraised Democrats by $13 million in the latest reporting period. He then lauded Republicans' marginally higher turnout performance, though state officials reported that most Floridians—in both parties—sat out the primary.
Fried, on the other hand, jeered at Gov. Ron DeSantis for seemingly losing his grip on the Republican Party, referring to a majority of his school board candidates not outright winning their races and other conservatives turning on the Governor for an unpopular plan to build golf courses on state parks. She explained that this, combined with a "property insurance crisis and one of the strictest abortion bans in the country" is why "millions of voters across the political spectrum tuned in to hear about how Kamala Harris and Democrats are fighting to make our lives more affordable and our country more free."
"Let me be clear: Donald Trump cannot win the presidency without Florida, and he’s absolutely in trouble in the Sunshine State," she said in a statement to The Floridian, insisting Floridians are done being "lab rats for Donald Trump's Project 2025" and lauding her party for signing up over 33,000 volunteers since Harris accepted the presidential nomination. "Florida’s DNC delegation is returning to the Sunshine State more energized and organized than ever, and we're ready to keep working to activate those voters and Take Back Florida."
Current polls have Trump leading Harris by between three and eight points, though FiveThirtyEight Polls—a popular pollster with a largely accurate record—has him up by four.
"Republicans are fired up to win. We don’t need communications gimmicks to try and fool our base like Nikki Fried and the Florida Democrats," Power concluded.
