Drew Dixon
On Saturday, several Democratic leaders from across Florida descended on the city of Belle Glade in South Central Florida to motivate voters to go to the polls.
They urged them to cast ballots in the upcoming presidential election for Kamala Harris and her Vice Presidential nominee, Tim Walz, who are competing against Donald Trump and JD Vance on the Republican ticket.
Florida has bout 1 million more registered Republicans than Democrats on the voting rolls. However, many Democrats have been suggesting Florida is now in play for Democrats since President Joe Biden bowed out of his effort to seek reelection in July, and current Vice President Harris ascended to be the nominee for president.
“We have 45 days to make sure we are taking back Florida,” Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said at the Belle Glade event. “Vice President Harris is charting a New Way Forward, where the middle class thrives and everyone gets a fair shot. And where no one’s trying to tell you how to make your own health care decisions. It’s time to reject Trump and Florida MAGA Republicans’ extreme agenda and rally behind Vice President Harris and Governor Walz.”
Fried was joined at the rally by several Sunshine State Democratic elected leaders, including Belle Glade Mayor Steve Wilson, Jacksonville City Council member Rahman Johnson, and Florida state Sen. Lori Berman of Boynton Beach.
Wilson urged voters to consider that Harris’ work ethic is more akin to that of the residents of Belle Glade, just south of Lake Okeechobee, than that of Republican presidential nominee Trump, a self-proclaimed billionaire.
“Vice President Harris, like many of us, knows what it’s like to come from a hardworking middle-class family. She knows that when the middle class is strong, America is strong,” Wilson said. “Let us be bold, let us be big, big enough to let folks know our vote counts, bold enough to send Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz to the White House. When we fight for what’s right, we win.”
3 comments
You’re a reporter and need to get the facts right!
September 22, 2024 at 2:42 pm
Florida does not have “bout” a million more Rs than Ds when ALL registered voters are considered. DeSantis got the Legislature to change the definition of “active” voters (which is what you’re actually referring to) but in reality so-called “inactive” voters are still fully eligible to vote. When they are included (properly) in the totals, Rs still exceed Ds but not to the tune of “bout a million.”
Michael
September 22, 2024 at 3:59 pm
The number you are looking for is 510K as of 2023. I think that still qualifies as a meaningful gap, but it is indeed only 1/2 of what we constantly read in the common media.
What is even greater misdirection is the omission of NPA in all of these discussions. Making the same pro-forma adjustment for NPA, NPA in Florida is 30% of the voter bloc. You couldn’t even win the office of dog-catcher without carrying a sizable bloc of the NPA vote and we choose to measure our self-worth by things other than the color of our clothing.
Julie L Boulanger
September 22, 2024 at 2:58 pm
Well I completely agree with you When you say that her work ethic is more akin to the people of Belle Glade since they have a reputation of not working much at all. Most of them live off of the Medicaid system. I am a retired firefighter, originally working for the city of Belle Glade, so I may just happen to know a little bit about this.