Scott Powers
Three Democratic-allied political action committees are planning big Florida canvassing operations, mostly in Central Florida, backed by funding from Michael Bloomberg.
Bloomberg, the former Democratic presidential candidate who pledged $100 million to help Democrat Joe Biden defeat President Donald Trump in Florida, is giving a total of $4 million to the groups to support autumn canvassing, Bloomberg’s organization announced Monday.
For Our Future PAC is receiving $1.5 million to work statewide to increase voter turnout in areas historically underrepresented at the polls.
BlackPAC is receiving $1 million to focus on Black voter outreach in North and Central Florida.
Somos PAC is receiving $1.5 million to focus on Latino voter outreach in Central Florida.
The canvassing would largely break from the Democrats’ tactics. Since March Democratic campaigns largely abandoned door-to-door efforts due to the coronavirus crisis. While Democrats have mostly campaigned electronically, Republicans have shown no hesitation in knocking on doors since June.
All three organizations are heavily backed by labor unions and other PACs and Super PACs that traditionally support Democrats. BlackPAC also has received several hundred thousand dollars from another Democratic billionaire, George Soros, according to the Center for Responsive politics.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has upended this election season and changed the way campaigns are run in many ways – but one thing that remains unchanged is the importance of a strong ground game in engaging voters, informing them of what’s at stake in this election, and ensuring they know how to make their voices heard at the ballot box. And that’s especially true of Florida, where mail-in ballots have already been sent out and early voting begins in just three weeks,” Bloomberg stated in a news release. “Floridians have the power to single-handedly deliver a decisive blow to Donald Trump’s reelection chances and get this country back on track. That’s why we’re investing in a ground strategy in Florida and supporting Democratic groups in their efforts to turn out the vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”
