Could Florida’s state parks scandal put its electoral votes in play?

Florida State park protests. Image via AP.

Will the push by state officials to push construction projects in state parks put its electoral votes and Senate race in play this Fall?

Florida Democratic Party officials told reporters that a proposal for lodging and golf courses in state parks is turning voters of all ideologies against Republicans.

“Here in Florida, we have also seen the consequences of such extreme policies, like the state’s near total abortion ban, book banning, ‘Don’t Say Gay’ and plans to build golf courses and hotels in our precious state parks,” said Jasmine Burney-Clark, Florida Director for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ campaign.

“As we’ve ramped up efforts from Pensacola to Key West, it’s clear that while Donald Trump takes Florida for granted, we are just getting started. So, we’re reaching out to every voter, and we mean every voter.”

The Department of Environmental Protection spurred mass protests this weekend after announcing its Great Outdoors Initiative, which involved installing more active uses in nine state parks.

The outrage prompted the Tuskegee Dunes Foundation to abandon plans it apparently backed for multiple golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park.

But the state continues to pursue other plans, including up to 350 lodging rooms at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park and at Anastasia State Park.

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, said Floridians want a different approach to preserving the state’s conservation lands.

“Let’s envision a state where coastal communities and our fisheries, our state parks, are not just protected, but they’re flourishing,” she said.

Mucarsel-Powell in November will challenge U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, a Naples Republican. Scott’s campaign scoffed at the idea the issue will hurt the incumbent.

“Only a partisan hack would try to launch a political attack on one of the few issues we actually agree on. We are glad Debbie agrees with Senator Scott that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection must listen to Floridians, ensure their voices are heard, and make decisions accordingly,” said Scott spokesperson Will Hampson.

“Senator Scott was proud to work with Senator Rubio, Representative Mast and his colleagues to urge the state to allow a more substantial public comment period, and we’re glad they listened. We’re also glad to see Debbie join the fight and make a rare trip outside of Miami – but we’re not sure she has the capability to do anything more than be a partisan hack.”

Democrats framed the parks plan alongside several cultural war issues, driving home a message that emerged at the Democratic National Convention, that Florida is a testing ground for Project 2025.

“Floridians have been those lab rats for Project 2025 and have experienced firsthand what happens when you give extremism a permission slip in our state,” said Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried.

Project 2025’s chapter on the Department of Interior (DOI) calls for opening much of 500 million in federal lands to energy exploration.

“No other initiative is as important for the DOI under a conservative President than the restoration of the department’s historic role managing the nation’s vast storehouse of hydrocarbons, much of which is yet to be discovered,” the plan states.