Democrats 2020 ‘to-do’ list? Register a half million new voters.

Blue Florida
Mike Coleman said party needs 5.5 million voters in Florida.

What will it take to flip Florida blue in the 2020 presidential election? How about a half million more voters.

That’s what Mike Coleman, a precinct development director for the Palm Beach Democratic Party, told Florida Democratic Party leaders this weekend, according to the Associated Press.

Coleman said Democrats must set a target of 5.5 million voters registered for the 2020 general election to have a chance.

That could be a tall order. As of April 30, there were 4,962,086 registered Democrats in Florida, according to the Division of Elections. That’s actually down 13,809 from the same point in 2018.

Democrats still outnumber Republicans. As of the end of April, 4,719,103 voters registered with the GOP. That up, if just by a scant 383 votes, from last year.

Another 3,602,597 voters register with no party affiliation, and 124,878 registered as members of a minor party. Both those groups are growing faster than Democrats or Republicans.

While Democrats have outnumbered Republicans for years, most of Florida’s statewide offices have been held by Republicans for more than a decade.

In November, Republicans won narrow victories for U.S. Senate and Governor. Democrats now hold just one statewide office, Agriculture Commissioner, which Nikki Fried won by an even tighter margin in November.

The solid statewide performance from Republicans in Florida in 2018 noticeably took place in the face of a national Democratic wave. Democrats retook the U.S. House.

At the presidential level, Florida has been a closely watched swing state dating back to the early 1990s. But most recently, Donald Trump, whose second residence is in Florida, won the state’s 29 electoral votes in 2016 on the way to the White House.

Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton here by 112,911 votes.

But Democrat Barack Obama won Florida in 2012 and 2008. Republican George W. Bush won in 2004 and 2000, by a notoriously small margin. Democrat Bill Clinton won in 1996.

In 1992, Clinton lost Florida to incumbent Republican George H.W. Bush. That year marks the last time the ultimate victor in the presidential election did not win Florida’s electoral votes.

Jacob Ogles

Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg. His work has appeared nationally in The Advocate, Wired and other publications. Events like SRQ’s Where The Votes Are workshops made Ogles one of Southwest Florida’s most respected political analysts, and outlets like WWSB ABC 7 and WSRQ Sarasota have featured his insights. He can be reached at [email protected].


2 comments

  • Jim Donelon

    June 8, 2019 at 6:32 pm

    Wishful thinking! If Fl. Dem.’s have any hope of beating the current occupant of the White House, they must first engage the registered members of their own party. More reg. Dem.’s would just be icing on the cake.

  • gary

    June 9, 2019 at 3:43 pm

    I hope they get it done! Nothing makes me happier then watching registered Democrats vote Republican! 2020 will be a Repub landslide as predicted!

Comments are closed.


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