Florida Democrats incorrectly claim local program flipped seats blue

Florida Democratic Party (FDP) Chair Nikki Fried says a program focused on local races helped flip seats in municipal contests across Florida. But in every race where the state party intervened with that program and won, a Democrat already held the seat before.

The Republican Party of Florida, meanwhile, boasted about a handful of important wins, including a clean sweep on the Clearwater City Council.

Fried unsurprisingly touted election wins on a call with reporters. During the call, she noted that four of the seven candidates supported by the party’s Take Back Local program prevailed.

“Some of them were flipping seats. Some was retention,” Fried said. “But we really put a lot of time, energy and effort into making sure that we were focusing on areas across our state, and we also had other major wins across our state.”

In each of the Take Back Local races where Democrats won, the office was already held by a Democrat.

FDP spokesman Eden Giagnorio later noted that Democrat Megan Zemaitis ousted Kenneth City Mayor Robert Howell, who has no party affiliation. That race, however, was not targeted by the state party’s Take Back Local program.

The Take Back Local effort indeed tallied victories.

In Ocoee, George Oliver fended off a better-funded conservative activist, and won back a District 4 seat he previously held. Giagnorio called that race a “flip,” but the Ocoee office won by Oliver is held now by Ages Hart, a registered Democrat. Hart notably was appointed to the job after Oliver resigned to make a failed bid for Mayor.

The city later rescheduled its election to fill the seat to coincide with the Presidential Primary, which party leaders characterized as an attempt to block Oliver’s election.

“For those of you who have not been following the City Commission in Ocoee, they basically threw everything they had against George,” said Orange County Democratic Party Chair Samuel Vilchez Santiago on the press call.

Additionally, Maria Rodriguez became the first Colombian American elected in Broward County history when she won a Pembroke Pines City Commission seat. And Andy Thomson won back a seat on the Boca Raton City Council with the state party’s help.

But the seat that Rodriguez won is occupied at the moment by Iris Siple, another Democrat. Thomson succeeds Monica Mayotte, also a Democrat.

The other victory for the party also came in Boca Raton, where City Council member Yvette Drucker defended a seat she already held.

“The lengths in which Nikki is spinning this electoral disaster is mind bending,” said Evan Power, Republican Party of Florida Chair and Fried’s GOP counterpart.

The Florida GOP touted a number of wins, including flips. That included a victory by Chloe Johnson for a Winter Garden City Commission seat over FDP-backed backed Karen McNeil; Ryan Cotton’s ouster of Democrat Mark Bunker from the Clearwater City Council; Richard DeNapoli flipping a seat on the Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Town Commission; and Tom Carney turning the Delray Beach Mayor’s Office red.

Republican Nadia Anderson also won a seat on the Apopka City Commission that was held by Democrat Diane Velazquez. The incumbent did not seek re-election, and Democrats did not field a candidate, an oversight only because Anderson changed parties immediately before the election.

Fried said there was still a “complete opportunity to work with Nadia,” but Power said Anderson was a “conservative.”

Technically, municipal offices in Florida are nonpartisan, and candidates can’t even advertise their party affiliation. That leaves it largely to party operations to inform voters of candidates’ party affiliation, which can happen in hotly contested races frequently.

The Florida Democratic Party never identified the elections in Apopka, Delray Beach or Lauderdale-by-the-Sea as priorities at the state level.

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Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics contributed to this report.