Dem
51
GOP
49
The Florida Democratic Party, like its Nevada counterpart (see above), is a train wreck. In this case, the problem isn't infighting, though. It's that the Florida GOP has turned itself into a finely oiled machine, and that machine has spent the last three election cycles steamrolling the Florida Democrats.
It was time to choose new leadership over the weekend, and after a rather contentious election, the new party chair is former Florida agriculture commissioner Nikki Fried. She wants to rebuild the party structure, build up a large base of small donors, and position Florida Democrats on the front lines of the effort to stop Ron DeSantis from becoming president.
Is Fried the right person to resurrect a party organization that is greater disarray than the Chicago Bears' defense? Maybe. She's the most recent Democrat to win statewide election in Florida, and she probably learned a trick or two while running for governor against DeSantis. On the other hand, she got trounced in the primaries of that election, and by a man (Charlie Crist) who went on to get trounced in the general. Indeed, that was the positive outlier of the night for the Republicans, who otherwise largely underperformed expectations last November. Anyhow, that's not the best résumé we've ever seen.
Incidentally, Fried is a very moderate Democrat who has supported some Republican candidates in the past with her donations. So, the progressive wing of the Florida Democratic Party is not thrilled with her victory, and is not enthused about working with her. The phrase "DINO" has been bandied about. So, it's the other side of the coin from what's happening in Nevada. We shall soon see if Fried is better able to herd cats than Judith Whitmer is. (Z)