Kelly Hayes
The Hillsborough County Democratic Party is planning its 7th annual Spring Fling fundraising event with limited in-person capacity and expanded virtual access.
The Spring Fling, scheduled May 1 from 6-9 p.m., is one of the local party’s biggest fundraisers of the year. All proceeds from the event are directed to the party’s Victory Fund, used to support Democratic candidates in Hillsborough County.
The fundraising event will host at least three leading Democrats as guest speakers, including U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, as well as Florida Reps. Anna Eskamani and Michele Rayner.
In-person tickets are already sold out, due to limited capacity implemented to meet social distancing requirements. Event organizers do have a waiting list for the in-person event, and tickets for the concurrent virtual event are still available.
The virtual event will not be held as a Zoom call, but will be hosted using Lunchpool, a virtual networking platform that allows for guest interaction and socializing.
Live event tickets are $75 each, and virtual event tickets are $46 each, a nod to Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States. The live event will be hosted outdoors at The Sail Plaza, next to the Tampa Convention Center.
Over the last few years, the Hillsborough County Democratic Party has been a major force in several key elections.
Under local party chair Ione Townsend, who was reelected in December, the county saw a shift in party control, especially in the 2018 and 2020 elections. Townsend oversaw the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners move from a 5-2 Republican majority to a 5-2 Democratic take-over in just three election cycles.
The county party has raked in almost $750,000 in donations in the last two years, Townsend said in a previous report. In the next two years, the party plans to raise at least $1 million through outreach and fundraising efforts.
