In January, anger over Republican restrictions on abortion in the state led a Democrat, Tom Keen, to flip a state House seat in Orlando.
Democrats aren’t pretending they can do the same thing with the state’s presidential vote, which is still likely to go to Donald Trump, but they believe championing reproductive freedom can help them regain a foothold in the statehouse in Tallahassee. They are eyeing a long-term strategy that begins with flipping at least five state House seats this November, unseating a Republican supermajority.
Anger over Republican-backed abortion bans may give Democrats an edge in November. But to build a lasting political coalition, Democrats in Florida and elsewhere may discover that the winning formula is as unglamorous as it is old: Find their voters, all of them. And give them every reason to head to the polls.
Nikki Fried, the last Democrat elected to statewide office in Florida — over half a decade ago, as agriculture commissioner — dug her heels into the carpeted floor. “It’s going to be women that are going to get us out of this,” Ms. Fried, now Florida’s Democratic Party chair, told a roomful of statehouse candidates, all of them women.
The Democrats had gathered in Miami to plot a comeback in Florida, where they have been largely ousted from power.
Central to their efforts is building on anger over the state’s new six-week abortion ban, which is among the most extreme in the country and is opposed by a majority of Florida voters, who have consistently said in polls they wanted more access to reproductive care, not less.
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@D3mocratPloverGreen2yrs2Y
If women get out and VOTE to defend their reproductive and health rights, it may indeed be so. People forget that demonstrations and petitions to politicians may bring personal satisfaction, but in a democracy the only thing that counts is the ballot box. Well, here, except for the electoral college, an undemocratic relic set up to defend slavery.
@Freedom762yrs2Y
Abortion is murder, and murder is not a right, you ignoramus.
@P4rtyLolliesForward2yrs2Y
Florida has a Republican running for re-election who proposed a plan to gut Social Security. Seems to me that should be a gift for Democrats in a state full of retirees.
Women, primarily white women, turned out in great numbers for Trump and for the other anti-choice Republicans. In 2016 we had all the information we needed to reject the Republican vision for women's rights. This reminds me of a friend who was strongly anti-choice until she herself got pregnant. Now that the risk is getting close to them will these women stand up for their daughters' freedoms?
@Freedom762yrs2Y
Democrats will never get elected in Florida. The contrast between the totalitarian insanity of left-wing rule vs. the newfound freedoms and prosperity the DeSantis Administration and his legislative allies have brought to the people of Florida could not be starker. There's not enough morons in the State to hand the Democrats victory any time soon.
Florida is not a serious state. Tune into any local news program and you’ll see overwhelming coverage of sports and entertainment events with barely lip service to local issues. So many doctors, nurses, and teachers have left this state for better working conditions and education for their children that the state has started programs to intern high schoolers and lay people to be nurses and teachers. Florida is the real “LaLa Land”.
@QuorumJeffGreen2yrs2Y
I grew up in Ireland in the 80s and 90s when abortion and contraception were illegal. My Mum had 7 kids whom I believe she was overwhelmed by and unable to properly cope with. This scenario wasn't unusual at the time. Many women found themselves in similar situations. My Mum died giving birth to her 7th child but was thankfully resuscitated within minutes. Do the Americans who want to ban all abortions and probably control contraception have ANY IDEA what they are asking for? On a pedantic note, it irks me that pro-choice movement talks about a woman having a right to her own body autonomy. This isn't just about a woman's body. This is about a woman's LIFE. This is about a woman's life. Children aren't temporary projects.
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
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