Danny McAuliffe
This election, Republicans aren’t writing off places like Leon County, despite registered Democrats outnumbering GOP voters nearly 2-1.
On Saturday, a little more than a week out from Nov. 6, volunteers with the Republican Party of Florida met in Tallahassee before splitting up for targeted door-knocking.
Among them: Hunter Pollack, whose sister Meadow was killed in the Feb. 14 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that left 17 students, faculty and staff dead.
Pollack, a second-year political science major at Florida State University, is one of several MSD students who entered the limelight after the Parkland tragedy. But he’s parlayed his ties to the South Florida high school into Republican activism, rather than the single-issue gun control advocacy that others have opted for.
Hunter Pollack met Republican Gov. Rick Scott in February after the shooting, and they’ve been “close ever since.” He’s acted as a trail surrogate for Scott’s bid for the U.S. Senate and said he met Ron DeSantis, the Republican candidate for Governor, after realizing they had common ground in faulting the FBI.
“We have a good friendship,” Hunter Pollack said of DeSantis.
And Scott, in a statement, said he “worked closely with Hunter and his father, Andy, to improve school safety through the passage of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, and I have been humbled to see their dedication to improving our state in honor of Hunter’s sister Meadow, who was tragically murdered.
“Hunter is a tireless advocate for school safety, and is working hard to share our commitment to protecting students across the state. I am honored to have the support of the Pollacks and will continue to fight for our children in Florida and Washington.”
During the recent CNN debate between DeSantis and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum, the former congressman noted that he’s been working with Hunter Pollack’s father, Andrew Pollack, to address school security concerns in the wake of the Parkland tragedy.
Andrew Pollack also recently cut a robocall for DeSantis, encouraging Floridians to support DeSantis and criticizing Gillum, the mayor of Tallahassee, for signing a pledge from the Dream Defenders, known for its 2013 month-long sit-in at the state’s Capitol.
When speaking to voters, whether on the phone or at the door, Pollack offers a unique perspective. If given the chance, he said he tells voters about his sister. That’s followed up by praise for Republicans at the top of the ticket.
“I think people need to know” about Meadow, he said. “But they also need to be enlightened about the positive stuff and my positive experiences with [Scott] and [DeSantis].”
Despite the hard-hitting recent news coverage, which this week further detailed Gillum’s ties to a two-year-long FBI investigation into corruption in the capital city, Hunter Pollack and others working with Republicans said they keep the message at the door “positive.”
Nich Bique, who serves as the field organizer for 13 counties in the Big Bend region, said the party harps on their candidate’s strengths — like Scott’s job record and DeSantis’ military service — rather than diving into the dirt with voters.
To Bique, it’s a winning strategy. He’s overseen a team that credits itself with shifting nearby Wakulla County, a historically Democratic county, red in voter registration earlier this summer. Statewide, Bique said, the party has knocked on more than 3 million doors and called 2.6 million Floridians.
Currently, the team is “targeting low-propensity Republicans,” Bique said. “Republicans who typically don’t get out to vote in a midterm year, a primary, or an off-year general.”
Ultimately, however, it’s a margins game for Republicans in Tallahassee, where one of two Democratic mayoral candidates competing in a runoff — to replace the unabashedly progressive Gillum — has sought to brand the other as a “conservative.”
One comment
Mira Dean
October 27, 2018 at 4:49 pm
Vote this election for candidates who prioritize citizens over illegal aliens (bet you thought that was a given …not anymore.) Those candidates who oppose sanctuary cities, open borders, non citizens voting, amnesty for millions of illegal aliens and taxpayer funded in state college tuition discounts. That means NO Democrats.
Liberal Democrat BILL NELSON and Socialist ANDREW GILLUM are running for Senate & Governor respectively. Nelson / Gillum both proudly supports abolishing ICE, sanctuary cities, amnesty for millions of illegal aliens, using taxpayer funds for illegal aliens & DACA. In addition, both are weak on border security and national defense.
If you OPPOSE illegal immigration, taxpayer funds used for illegal aliens, sanctuary cities, amnesty r Please VOTE NO for BILL NELSON & ANDREW GILLUM this November….we can’t afford anymore Democrats. Both supported by both La Raza & MALDEF which says it all.
Recent Gallup poll- almost 60% of Democrats now view socialism positively, little changed from 2010 survey.
To Democrats programs like (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA) and (Temporary Protective Status, TPS.) are permanent programs. There is nothing temporary about these programs to the left. The goal for Democrats is to flood/lure the country with illegal aliens & refugees, then fight against / eliminate deportations. Democrats want to encourage, reward, protect illegal aliens with jobs, amnesty, drivers licenses, discounts for college tuition, scholarships, then after they’re here….protect them from deportation. This creates MORE illegal entry and the Democrats know this.
The current migration at our southern border is costing taxpayers a Kings Ransom. Fleeing persecution? or fleeing for freebies? they sure don’t stay in Mexico when they reach “safety” or ask for political asylum in Mexico. Why? because Mexico will give them NOTHING. So they make the long journey to our border, our generous Democrats and our tax dollars. Just debating DACA in congress is costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars….. thank the parents.
Just a few examples of the more outrageous costs associated with illegal immigration, we will pass this burden on to our children and grand children as has been passed on to us.
*The cost of educating illegal aliens children is staggering. From K-12 it costs taxpayers $122,000 for EACH illegal alien student. This does not include the billions spent on bilingual education for illegal aliens.
*Taxpayers in numerous states are funding in state college tuition discounts for illegal aliens. Cost to taxpayers over a billion dollars annually.
*30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens.Does not include local jails and State Prisons. At $21,000 per year expense per inmate in Federal Prison U do the math.
*$3Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate, process Illegal aliens in the Criminal justice system. I repeat 3 MILLION a DAY.
*$2.2Billion dollars a year is spent on is spent on food assistance programs such as SNAP (food stamps) WIC, & free school lunches.
If you OPPOSE illegal immigration, taxpayer funds used for illegal aliens, sanctuary cities, non citizens voting, open borders, amnesty for millions of illegal aliens, weak border security, tax increases. VOTE NO for ALL Democrats this November.
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