AARP Florida offers voters chance to get to know candidates in four congressional races

Congratulations to Zayne Smith for her next step in AARP.

AARP Florida is targeting four congressional district races as some of the tops in the state and wants to help voters of all ages in those areas get to know the crowded field of candidates.

The senior advocacy group is joining with television and print media in hosting two ”Community Conversations with Congressional Candidates.” One event will be in Orlando and the other in Tampa.

While the events are free, they are intended for residents living in Congressional Districts 7, 9, 10 and 13 and about the candidates who want to get elected in those districts.

AARP chose the seats because all but one is open, meaning no incumbent is running for re-election in any of the districts.

Zayne Smith, AARP Director of Advocacy, said the shift to be more age-inclusive was intentional.

“AARP is realizing that a lot of younger voters are really unaware of the issues that are going to affect their retirement or their health care. And so, a part of our reasoning for opening this up is to hopefully get people at least somewhat familiar with some of the issues they are going to face,” Smith said adding, “but you know what’s crazy? A lot of people don’t realize these younger voters impact the decisions that are being made for current retirees or older Floridians. And the younger voters don’t understand that once they age the decisions being made now will impact the quality of life. And it’s a cycle that we are trying to at least bring awareness to the younger voters.”

There are 35 candidates vying for three seats: Congressional Districts 7, 9 and 10.  Twenty-three had committed to the July 28 Community Conversations with Congressional Candidate event at the Orlando Science Center as of press time.

Florida’s 7th Congressional District is a seat currently held by Democrat Rep. Stephanie Murphy, the first Vietnamese American woman elected to Congress. Murphy announced late last year that she would not run for re-election and her seat was altered during redistricting this year to become more Republican.

CD 9 currently is held by Democrat Rep. Darren Soto, who was the first Puerto Rican Congressman from Florida. Soto has no Democratic opponents in the Aug. 23 Primary, but four Republicans are vying for the GOP nomination.

CD 10 is a seat currently held by Democrat Rep. Val Demings, who is forgoing another term to run against Sen. Marco Rubio. AARP is joining forces with a Spectrum News 13 anchor and Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel for that event.

AARP Florida has hosted the events since 2012 but it’s the first time the organization is making the opportunity for voters of all ages, and not just the 50-plus sector.

“We think we’ve got a pretty good formula and it has worked well over the years,” Smith said. “Our goal is to have a conversation. We really structure it to where the moderators are on the stage with the candidates and the moderators facilitate the conversations with them. And it’s an open discussion about the issues that matter. “

People are allowed to submit questions when they register for the event. The questions are vetted by AARP and co-hosts who work to make sure questions aren’t repetitive and that they are pertinent to federal issues, such as Social Security, Medicare, and budgeting which AARP is known for bird-dogging.

But Smith stressed it’s an open discussion about the issues that matter to attendees.

“We’ve covered issues outside of our bailiwick in many ways. So, guns will come up and abortion will come up, some of the populist issues will come up. So, we just want to make sure voters can be involved,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Seminole Campus of St. Petersburg College will host the Community Conversations with Congressional Candidates event, scheduled for Aug 2. That event features candidates running for Congressional District 13, the seat currently held by Rep. Charlie Crist, who is stepping down to run in the Democratic Primary for Governor.

Spectrum is the only media outlet partnering with AARP on the St. Petersburg event, which will be moderated by Bay News 9 co-anchors Holly Gregory and Rick Elmhorst.

“Both sets of our moderators for both events have a lot of experience working with candidates and talking about the political hot button issues and, you know, really reigning in differing opinions,” Smith said. ” Our media partners are very skilled at dealing with politicians.”

The Community Conversations with Candidates events are just part of AARP Florida’s educational efforts this campaign season. AARP Florida had already announced its statewide campaign to dispel confusion on voting rules among older adults.

Recent changes in Florida’s voting law have made it imperative for AARP to launch this new effort to educate and empower Floridians, so they know when, where and how to vote in their communities.”

The campaign includes voter education videos, a voter guide, and other voter resources. AARP has also rolled out a voter education messaging service that users can enroll in by texting “FLvotes” — or “FLvota” for Spanish-speaking voters — to 22777.

“Americans 50-plus are our nation’s most powerful voters — and they will be the deciders in the 2022 elections. Voter education and access have never been more important,” AARP Florida State Director Jeff Johnson said when announcing those efforts.

“AARP Florida is fighting to make sure voters know the latest guidelines and requirements to make their vote count.”