James Clyburn, Maxwell Alejandro Frost say Democrats can’t write Florida off

Democratic Majority Whip James Clyburn stumps with Maxwell Alejandro Frost. Photo by Jacob Ogles.

There’s too much at stake this year for Democrats to give up on Florida, much less the entire South. That’s the message U.S. Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina gave as he campaigned alongside Orlando Democrat Maxwell Alejandro Frost in Central Florida.

Clyburn reminded that it was the South who gave the Democratic nomination in 2020 to Joe Biden, who went on to unseat Republican President Donald Trump in a closer-than-expected election. Biden famously began to turn the Democratic Primary in his favor only after winning South Carolina, largely on the strength of Clyburn’s endorsement.

“I tell people all the time, we did our part in the Primary,” Clyburn told Florida Politics. “We may not be relevant in the General, where would you be if we had not done our part?”

Clyburn stumped with Frost, a front-runner to keep Florida’s 10th Congressional District in Democratic hands. Frost shocked some establishment figures winning a Democratic Primary for the open seat in August. Now in position to be the first Generation Z member of Congress, the Democrat doesn’t want Florida to be treated as less than a battleground.

“During my call time for the past year and a half, a lot of big donors are saying they’re giving up on Florida and not wanting to donate anymore,” Frost said. “I see it from the organizational side, I see it from the people-on-TV side and I see it from the money coming in.”

Clyburn attended a fundraiser with Frost on Sunday evening. Sources say the event raised about five figures. That won’t just help Frost, who is running in a district Biden won by almost 32 percentage points. Frost has donated $100,000 himself to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

At a press event at the Washington Park Library, an early voting site in west Orlando, Clyburn, Frost and other local leaders encouraged voters to cast ballots early.

They were flanked by a number of candidates including state Rep.-elect Rita Harris, who just won an open Democratic Primary in House District 44, Allie Braswell, the Democratic nominee in House District 45, and LaVon Bracy Davis, the Democratic nominee in House District 40. Orlando City Commissioner Bakari Burns attended, as well as a number of local civil rights leaders.

Clyburn shot a promotional video on the spot with Davis, and publicly announced his endorsement of Braswell immediately after the event. He held a brunch with local Democratic leaders after the press event shortly after the press conference.

“While my opponent is being endorsed by, and she herself supports, radical extremists like Donald Trump Jr., Anthony Sabatini and Matt Gaetz — people who collectively are under FBI criminal investigation and have done harm to our democracy and freedoms in Florida — I am proud to be supported by people who want to defend and protect our democracy,” Braswell said, slamming Republican opponent Carolina Amesty in the process.

“I have fought as a Marine to protect our country against extremism abroad and I’m ready to fight to protect Floridians against extremism in Tallahassee.”

Clyburn notably campaigned in a safe Democratic district instead of some neighboring battlegrounds, but noted many of the lower office candidates in attendance were indeed fighting in competitive seats.

And he noted there are races big and small where stakes are high.

“It is not a safe seat for Val Demings,” he said, referencing the Democratic nominee for Senate. Similarly, he said Charlie Crist faces a challenging road in the race for Florida Governor.

“We want people to turn up and vote from the top of the ballot, all the way down.”