Florida Democrats launching Organizing Together 2020 effort to defeat Donald Trump

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.

With backing from Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and Sens. Oscar Braynon and Janet Cruz, a coalition of Democratic allies announced Monday they are launching a major statewide organizing effort under the umbrella of Organizing Together 2020 Florida.

The organization, an affiliate of the national Organizing Together 2020, announced it would be quickly opening as many as 30 field offices and hiring and training staff to begin statewide organizing efforts aimed at electing the Democratic presidential nominee, whomever it might be, and defeating Republican President Donald Trump in November.

Fried is serving as state chair, along with Cruz of Tampa and Braynon of Miami as co-chairs.

“Simply put, Organizing Together 2020 Florida is opening offices and recruiting volunteers to communicate with voters. Starting now we need to get all hands on deck working together as early as possible to defeat Donald Trump and his agenda in November,” said Ashley Walker, senior advisor and state lead for the Florida campaign.

The campaign is being organized with support from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Florida, American Federation of Teachers, For Our Future, Forward Florida, Latino Victory Project, LGBTQ Victory Fund, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Education Association, NextGen Florida, People for the American Way, Planned Parenthood Votes, Service Employees International Union, United Food and Commercial Workers International, VoteVets, and a handful of other groups.

Similar efforts are being organized in other swing states including Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

The national organization is led by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, and former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

“We are going to win. Because as Democrats, we have a vision for this country. We are the party of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the party of JFK, the party of John Lewis, the party of Barack Obama. We have serious, forward-thinking ideas to confront the issues facing our country,” Fried said. “And thanks to Organizing Together 2020, we now have the machine to communicate those ideas, to promote our vision and our positive message.”