Florida Democratic Party | |
---|---|
Chairperson | Nikki Fried |
Senate Minority Leader | Lauren Book |
House Minority Leader | Fentrice Driskell |
Founded | 1834 |
Headquarters | 201 South Monroe Street Tallahassee, FL 32301 |
Student wing | Florida College Democrats |
Youth wing | Florida Young Democrats |
Women's wing | Democratic Women's Club of Florida |
Membership (2023) | 4,460,831 [1] |
Ideology | Modern liberalism |
National affiliation | Democratic Party |
Colors | Indigo blue, red |
Senate | 12 / 40 |
House of Representatives | 36 / 120 |
Statewide Executive Offices | 0 / 6 |
U.S. Senate | 0 / 2 |
U.S. House of Representatives | 8 / 28 |
Election symbol | |
Website | |
www | |
The Florida Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Florida, headquartered in Tallahassee. Former commissioner of agriculture Nikki Fried is the current chair.
Andrew Jackson, the first territorial governor of Florida in 1821, co-founded the Democratic Party. After Florida achieved statehood, the party dominated state politics until the 1950s, after which Florida became a swing state.
Following the 2022 elections, the Florida Republican Party holds supermajorities in both chambers of the Florida Legislature. The Florida Democratic Party holds neither of the state's U.S. Senate seats, and no statewide executive offices.
The Florida Democratic Party has historically dominated Florida's state and local politics. Andrew Jackson, the first territorial governor of Florida in 1821, co-founded the Democratic Party. As Florida moved from territory to statehood status, the Florida Democratic Party emerged from the Locofocos. [2] John Milton led the party, and became governor of the state, during the Civil War era. [3]
There were no Republican governors from 1877 until 1967, when Claude R. Kirk, a Republican from Jacksonville, was sworn in as governor of Florida.
Florida politics was largely dominated by the Democrats until Richard Nixon's Southern strategy, which took advantage of objections to the advances of the Civil Rights Movement which resulted in a regional political realignment for the South. After Nixon's victory in 1968, the state voted Democratic in only four presidential elections: 1976 (Jimmy Carter), 1996 (Bill Clinton), 2008 (Barack Obama), and 2012 (Barack Obama). The presidential election in 2000 was decided by a margin of 537 votes out of approximately six million cast in the state, earning George W. Bush the presidency over Al Gore.
The Florida Senate was dominated by Democrats until 1992, when a majority of Republicans was elected. The Florida House of Representatives turned Republican after the November 1996 election. The Florida Legislature became the first legislature in any of the states of the former Confederacy to come under complete Republican control when the Republicans gained control of the House and Senate in the 1996 election.
Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Florida Democrats have prioritized advocating Medicaid expansion in the state, a policy that would provide a federally subsidized healthcare plan to approximately one million Floridians. [4] [5]
The current chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party is former agriculture commissioner Nikki Fried, who succeeded former mayor of Miami Manny Diaz Sr. on February 25, 2023.
The State Executive Committee of the Florida Democratic Party is organized into six standing committees. Standing committees include: the Rules Committee, the Judicial Council, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, the Committee on Clubs, Organizations, and Caucuses, the Legislative Liaison Committee, and the Campaign Committee. [26]
The following is a list of Democratic statewide, federal, and legislative officeholders in Florida.
Both of Florida's U.S. Senate seats have been held by Republicans since 2019. Bill Nelson was the last Democrat to represent Florida in the U.S. Senate. First elected in 2000, Nelson lost his bid for a fourth term in 2018 to Republican governor Rick Scott.
Out of the 28 seats Florida is apportioned in the U.S. House of Representatives, 8 are held by Democrats:
District | Member | Photo |
---|---|---|
9th | Darren Soto | |
10th | Maxwell Frost | |
14th | Kathy Castor | |
20th | Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick | |
22nd | Lois Frankel | |
23rd | Jared Moskowitz | |
24th | Frederica Wilson | |
25th | Debbie Wasserman Schultz |
Florida has not elected a Democrat in a state-wide elected office since November 6, 2018, when Nikki Fried defeated Republican Matt Caldwell in 2018 and was elected Florida's 12th Commissioner of Agriculture. While eligible to run for a second term, she instead chose to step down and mounted a challenge against Governor Ron DeSantis, in his own re-election for Governor of Florida. DeSantis would go on to retain his Governorship by historic margins.
Democrats hold a 12-seat minority in the 40-member Florida Senate.
Democrats hold a 36-seat minority in the 120-seat Florida House of Representatives.
Some of the state's major cities have Democratic mayors. As of 2023, Democrats control the mayor's offices in six of Florida's ten largest cities:
Democrats last won a gubernatorial election in Florida in 1994.
The Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Ohio. Summit County Council President Elizabeth Walters has been the party's chairwoman since January 2021.
Rodney Warren Smith is an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida. A Democrat, Smith was a member of the Florida Senate from Gainesville from 2001 until 2006. Smith ran for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Florida in the 2006 election but lost to Congressman Jim Davis. In 2010, Smith was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Florida as the running mate of Alex Sink in her campaign for Governor of Florida. From November 2010 through January 2013 Smith served as chairman of the Florida Democratic Party. In 2016, Smith again ran for a seat in the Florida Senate but was ultimately defeated by Keith Perry, a Republican and former state representative.
Scott Charles Maddox is an American politician. He was the mayor of Tallahassee, Florida, from 1995 to 1996 and from 1997 to 2005. Maddox is the former chair of the Florida Democratic Party and a former Tallahassee City Commissioner, serving from 1993 to 1995, 1996 to 1997 and from 2012 to 2018.
The 2006 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Governor Jeb Bush was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a third consecutive term. The election was won by then-Republican Charlie Crist, the state's Attorney General. The election was notable in that for the first time, the state elected a Republican governor in three consecutive elections.
Karen Lee Loveland Thurman is a former U.S. Representative from Florida, serving five consecutive terms from 1993 to 2003. She is a Democrat and served as chair of the Florida Democratic Party from 2005 to 2010.
The Democratic Party of Georgia (DPG) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is one of the two major political parties in the state and is chaired by Nikema Williams.
William Cato Cramer Sr., was an American attorney and politician, elected in 1954 as a member of the United States House of Representatives from St. Petersburg, Florida. He was the first Florida Republican elected to Congress since 1880, shortly after the end of Reconstruction. He was re-elected, serving without interruption until 1970.
The 2014 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Florida.
The 2000 congressional elections in Florida were held on November 7, 2000, to determine who would represent the state of Florida in the United States House of Representatives. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected served in the 107th Congress from January 3, 2001, until January 3, 2003. The election coincided with the 2000 United States presidential election.
Manny Díaz Jr. is an American politician serving as the 28th Education Commissioner of Florida. A Republican, Díaz was a member of the Florida Senate from 2018 to 2022, representing the 36th district, which encompasses the Hialeah area in northwest Miami-Dade County. He also served three terms in the Florida House of Representatives from 2012 to 2018, which encompassed parts of Hialeah and Northwest Miami-Dade County, Florida.
The 2018 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Florida, alongside an election to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and other state and local elections. Incumbent two-term Republican Governor Rick Scott was term-limited and could not run for a third term, and he successfully ran for Florida's Class I Senate seat.
The 2018 Florida Commissioner of Agriculture election occurred on November 6, 2018, to elect the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture. Incumbent Republican Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term. Democrat Nikki Fried narrowly defeated Republican Matt Caldwell. Fried became the only statewide elected Democrat in Florida, as U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, who had held Florida's Class I U.S. Senate seat since 2000, lost re-election.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Florida on November 6, 2018. All of Florida's executive officers were up for election as well as Florida's Class I Senate seat and all 27 seats in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were on August 28, 2018. The Republicans took control of the U.S. Senate seat held by three-term Democrat Bill Nelson in an upset while the Democrats picked up two House seats as well as the office of the Commissioner of Agriculture. The Republican gains in the state despite the trend towards Democrats nationwide were part of Florida's transition from a swing state to a red state.
Nicole Heather Fried is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the chair of the Florida Democratic Party since 2023. Prior to her election as chair, Fried served as the 12th Florida commissioner of agriculture from 2019 to 2023. Fried graduated from the University of Florida in 2003. She has previously practiced various forms of law, including corporate law, foreclosure defense, and public defense. Fried has also been a prominent lobbyist for the marijuana industry in the state of Florida.
The 2022 United States Senate election in Florida was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Florida. Incumbent Republican Senator Marco Rubio won re-election to a third term, defeating Democratic nominee Val Demings in a landslide. Rubio was first elected in 2010, filling the seat of appointed Senator George LeMieux. Rubio won re-election to a third term, becoming the first Republican to do so in Florida history.
The 2022 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Florida, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Governor Ron DeSantis won re-election in a landslide and defeated the Democratic Party nominee, Charlie Crist, who served as governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 as a Republican and later as an independent. No Democrat has been elected governor of Florida since 1994.
Florida's 9th House district elects one member of the Florida House of Representatives. The district is represented by Allison Tant. The district is located in the Florida Panhandle, and encompasses part of the Big Bend. The district covers the western half of Leon County. The largest city in the district is Tallahassee, though this district only encompasses the downtown and northwestern portions of the city. As of the 2010 Census, the district's population is 158,781.
Allison Tant is an American former lobbyist, Democratic Party of Florida chair, and politician serving as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 9th district. She assumed office on November 3, 2020.
The 2023 Jacksonville mayoral election was held on March 21, 2023, with a runoff held on May 16. Incumbent Republican mayor Lenny Curry was term-limited and could not seek a third term in office. Seven candidates filed to run, including four Republicans, two Democrats, and an independent. Jacksonville mayoral elections use a blanket primary system where all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, appear on the same ballot.
The 2026 Florida gubernatorial election will take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the next governor of Florida, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is term-limited and cannot seek election to a third consecutive term in office.