Ron DeSantis' presidential bid is giving life to a struggling Florida Democratic Party

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Gov. Ron DeSantis wasn't in Miami Beach Saturday night, but his presence was felt.

The Florida Democratic Party held its annual Leadership Blue gala here, the party’s biggest gathering since DeSantis won re-election by nearly 20 percentage points last year — a landslide win that, in many respects, felt like the nail in the coffin for Florida Democrats and served as a launching pad for the governor's 2024 presidential bid.

The mood that hung in the air for most of the weekend, though, was not that of a party in decline. The faltering of DeSantis’ presidential campaign — he trails by significant double digits to Donald Trump in most public polling — has given a burst of energy to Democrats who desperately needed one.

The event’s keynote speaker was actor Bradley Whitford, a Democratic activist and actor best known for his role in the early-2000s TV show "The West Wing." Whitford spent much of his remarks hyping up a Florida Democratic Party in need of momentum and trashing DeSantis.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ron-desantis-presidential-bid-giving-043019988.html

[UncleTomsEvilBrother]

1. I live in Florida

Even during the Obama days, Florida DEMS were in bad shape. With as many of us registered DEMS here, I don't understand why things are so bad. I've even called my local party, and there has been no return call.

It's a mess. I'm hoping things can get better.

I don't understand why the Red States Dems don't get some Blue Dog, Joe Manchin type to run against people like DeSantis, Rick Scott, or even Tim Scott for that matter.

[In It to Win It]

2. I'm of the opinion that a significant slice of Dem voters fail to turn out for midterms

I feel like that has been true for the last 20 years.

A segment of Democratic voters in Florida just aren't consistent midterm voters, not a majority of voters but enough to swing an election. Midterms are when the most important elections occur in Florida. That's when we decides who wins control of the state government.

Winning control of state government means a lot more than the average voter believes it does. It gives a party an infrastructure to work with to remain competitive. Obama wins Florida in 2008 by about 3 points, and we lose every major election for state power in 2010. Obama wins Florida in 2012 by a slim margin and Democratic senator Bill Nelson wins statewide in 2012 by 13 points. However, we lose every major election for state government power in 2014. Why???????? I can't make that make sense.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

4. Longer than 20 years

Before 2018, the last time Democrats might have had an active mid term would have been 1982. I remember Dems fired up that year about reining in ronnie raygun, and we clawed back a bunch of seats lost in 1980. Since then, the numbers have been tepid or downright horrible.

2018 was an outlier in that regard.

[Cha]

3. Yeah, I kinda got that feeling from

what I've been reading here.

Oh I absolutely adore Bradley Whitford.. he is an "Activist". I remember he had a stunning take down of Sarandon's idiocy on Twitter back in the day when he "trump/revolution" got in our WH.