Florida Democrats can win in November because the state is 'ready for something better'
News and commentary for Floridians and all Americans
By Mitch Perry
LAKE BUENA VISTA — A series of special and local election victories over the past year have boosted Florida Democrats’ confidence they’ll continue that winning streak into the November midterm elections.
But with more than 1.5 million more registered Republicans than Democrats in the Sunshine State, it won’t be easy.
Pete Buttigieg acknowledges that reality.
The former Department of Transportation Secretary and 2020 presidential candidate was the keynote speaker at the Florida Democratic Party’s Leadership Blue gala at the Coronado Springs Convention Center at Walt Disney World Resort.
Ours was the 29th state he has visited since leaving the Biden administration and preparing for another potential presidential run in 2028. He acknowledged a “blue wave” could be in the offing for Democrats this fall, but emphasized that is “not automatic,” noting how congressional redistricting in red states like Florida and Texas could mitigate any gains in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“But even with that tilted playing field, I see enormous opportunity for Democrats,” Buttigieg told a group of reporters minutes after finishing his speech in front of the more than 900 people.
“I see us competing in places that would have been written off just a few months ago,” he continued. “We’re talking about states and individual districts. And we’ve seen some wins. The fact that Mar-a-Lago is now represented by a Democratic legislator right here in Florida, the fact that Miami just voted for a Democratic mayor for the first time in a generation, shows you that different things are possible. It will never be easy or automatic in more conservative areas, but it’s absolutely within reach.”
Buttigieg was referencing Eileen Higgins’ victory in the Miami mayor’s race in December, the first Democrat to win that seat in decades, and Emily Gregory‘s March win in House District 87, which had gone for Republican Mike Caruso by 19 points just a year-and-a-half before.
More stunning than that was Brian Nathan’s victory on March 24 against Republican Josie Tomkow in the state Senate District 14 seat, where he was outspent 10:1 in a district won by Republican Jay Collins by nearly 10 points in 2022.
Expectations
Buttigieg kicked off his speech by saying, “I know we can compete and win in Florida because I feel how many people here and across the country are ready for something different and ready for something better.”
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried’s stated electoral goals sounded relatively modest — she wants to lift her party out of the superminority status it holds in both chambers of the Florida Legislature. (It would need six victories in the House and two in the Senate to get that accomplished, she said).
Other speakers during the evening included incoming Senate leader Tracie Davis, incoming House leader Christine Hunschofsky, and Orlando Democratic U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, fresh off being re-elected last month after no Democrat or Republican filed to challenge him before the qualifying deadline. The 29-year-old Frost brought the most energy by far of any of the speakers who took the stage at the Coronado Springs Convention Center.
“Florida Democrats, let’s be honest with ourselves, many in this nation look at our state and they don’t really see us, they see what we’re up against,” he said. “Today, many think the state’s not worth fighting for.”
The next chapter in Florida won’t be written by those “naysayers,” he continued, but by the individuals sitting in the audience. And he stressed that Democrats can’t get tripped up when labeled “socialists” or worse, such as the invective thrown their way at the Republican Party of Florida’s “Sunshine Showdown” conference at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood last month.
“Our opposition, they’re going to call us every name in the book,” Frost said. “I don’t care if you’re a progressive, I don’t care if you’re a moderate, they’re going to call you every name in the book. Please, Florida Democrats, don’t take the bait. Every second you spend saying, ‘No, I’m not,” it’s a second you’re not talking about the issues that most Floridians care about.”
Buttigieg puts Florida Republicans on blast
Buttigieg’s appearance in Florida comes as he is prominently mentioned as a top contender for the Democratic nomination for president in 2028. Just last week, a poll by The Detroit News and WDIV-TV in Detroit of 500 voters in the battleground state of Michigan placed Buttigieg in second place, trailing only former Vice President Kamala Harris.
The former Transportation secretary touted some of his accomplishments in office while serving in the Biden administration during his 23-minute address, noting his agency had helped fund more than 70,000 infrastructure projects, including modernizing terminals at airports in Orlando and Tampa as well as adding new truck parking spaces along the I-4 corridor.
Then he turned to Florida Republicans. He “took pleasure,” he said, in working with Republican leaders across the country to implement the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, “but not so much Republicans here in Florida,” none of whom supported that legislation.
He could always count on Florida GOP officials “to take credit for something that they voted against,” he said, specifically mentioning a press event held by U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan with House Speaker Mike Johnson at the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport in November 2023.
As the Phoenix reported at the time, “The two men spoke in a new section under construction for the airport’s new terminal expansion project, a $100 million investment that includes a five-gate terminal, a four-lane security checkpoint and five boarding hold rooms which will seat nearly 1,000 people.”
Buttigieg noted how Gov. Ron DeSantis rejected $320 million in federal transportation funding “because the word ‘carbon’ was in the title of the program,” but later ended up taking the money. (FDOT officials called the funds “politicization of our roadways” and initially declined the money).
He laid into Florida U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, the GOP’s likely nominee for governor this fall. He began by noting that Donalds “was ranked the second most far-right wing conservative in the entire U.S. House of Representatives,” referring to a 2024 “report card” by GovTrack.us.
“He tried to pass a national abortion ban, voted to overturn the 2020 election, and repeatedly voted against commonsense background gun checks for gun safety, including voting no on a safety bill that his own Florida Republicans had come to pass after the Parkland massacre,” Buttigieg said. “He wants to be your governor. I think we can do better than that.”
U.S. Rep. Randy Fine of Florida’s Space Coast was another target.
“With the cost of living out of control, our nation at war, Rep. Fine committed his time in Washington to developing unique legislation like — I’m not making this up — Protecting Puppies from Sharia Law Act.”
He then noted a November 2025 poll from Florida Atlantic University’s Business and Economic Polling Initiative reporting that nearly half of Floridians say they have considered moving out of the state due to the cost of living.
“That is not bad luck,” he said. “That is what happens when you have 27 years of one-party rule.”
When it’s proven something doesn’t work, one usually tries something else, Buttigieg said. But Republicans aren’t doing that — “They’re just trying to change the rules,” he continued, referring to the congressional redistricting that went into law in May, designed to add up to four Republican seats to the 28-member party congressional delegation.
In advance of his appearance, the Republican National Committee issued a press release blasting Buttigieg and saying all Democrats, “especially Alex Vindman, Jared Moskowitz, Darren Soto, and Kathy Castor, should be asked if they agree with their new spokesman” about a variety of alleged transgressions, specifically listing “open border and mass amnesty for illegal aliens,” “taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal aliens,” and “Bernie Sanders-style socialist healthcare.”
The Democrats’ confab took place exactly one month before the Aug. 18 primary elections. The deadline to register to vote in that election is today.
The reporter of this story, Mitch Perry, has covered politics and government in Florida for more than two decades. Most recently, he is the former politics reporter for Bay News 9. He has also worked at Florida Politics, Creative Loafing and WMNF Radio in Tampa. He was also part of the original staff when the Florida Phoenix was created in 2018.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization. This story is republished with their permission. To support Florida Phoenix, click here:
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Jolly and Vindman would be a great duo for Florida!
My wish for Florida is that its people will show themselves worthy of Vindman. My expectations are limited.