4 Things Florida Democrats Must do if They Want to Unseat DeSantis in 2022
With the 2020 election barely in the rearview, Florida is already looking ahead to the 2022 election, and Democrats are eyeing the Governor’s mansion.
Trump won Florida both in 2016 and 2020 and Republicans won the voter turnout game in 2020. This has Republicans declaring Florida Trump Country, but Democrats are saying not so fast.
When it comes to unseating Trump’s favorite Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, Florida Democrats have their work cutout for them. DeSantis rode into his Governorship with high hopes and showed a lot of promise with his ability and desire to work across the aisle. Then the 2020 election got underway, and DeSantis felt a full-court squeeze by Trump to deliver Florida. Couple that with a pandemic and the wheels came off of DeSantis’s ability to govern.
Here are 4 things Florida Democrats must do if they want to have a chance to defeat Governor DeSantis:
- Find a viable candidate to run against DeSantis. Currently, they are testing the waters of gubernatorial viability with Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. Fried is the highest ranking elected Democrat in Florida and recently unveiled a video taking aim at Governor DeSantis for his botched COVID vaccine roll out.
- Push back on the GOP messaging and distance themselves from the socialism label. The only thing scarier than an imaginary boogeyman of socialism taking hold in Florida is the very real deadly virus which has been left unchecked and a vaccine that has become a political football thanks to the Governor wanting to punish counties who don’t agree with him.
- Grow their base by registering voters and ensuring they have a strong get out the vote plan come Election Day. In the 2020 election, Democrat leaning counties to move further right and allowed Trump to win Florida with a margin nearly three times what he had four years ago.
- Hold the governor’s feet to the fire by calling on him to take responsibility and underscore his lack of leadership during one of the most uncertain times in our state and nation’s history. While Florida continues to see active COVID cases, DeSantis has decided now is a good time to wage war on Big Tech, instead of seeking solutions to the ongoing health crisis.
While Trump will not be on the ballot in 2022, Trump’s Governor will be and Republicans will continue to run on socialism messaging and scare voters into voting for their candidate.
The governor’s race in 2022 is a chance for Florida Democrats to end their gubernatorial losing streak, and it will take more than a candidate with strong name id across the state. They will need to identify messaging to resonate with voters, remind Floridians what principled leadership looks like, and show them that truth and decency are better suited to govern the Sunshine State than DeSantis whose COVID relief plan has been denying science and hiding from the press.
Florida Democrats, this is your moment, and it’s time to own it.