After President Donald Trump tripled his 2016 margin of victory in Florida in this year's election and Democrats suffered losses in numerous down-ballot races in the state, the Florida Democratic Party is worried it could become irrelevant in years to come.
Florida Democrats' performance in the 2020 elections was one of the worst of any state party in the country, according to Politico. Losing seats in the state House comes at an especially bad time since political redistricting is set to begin next year, meaning state legislatures could draw maps that would favor GOP candidates.
"We have turnout problems, messaging problems, coalitions problems, it's up and down the board. It's not one thing that went wrong. Everything went wrong," said Democrat Sean Shaw, a former state representative.
The defeats have also fuelled an ongoing civil war between centrists and progressives in the Democratic Party.
"There are so many wonderful young progressive leaders in this state, and I'm supportive of their passion and commitment," former Rep. Gwen Graham, a Democrat who represented a conservative district, said. "I love their energy, but in the short term we need to elect a Democratic governor and need to be smart about 2022."
Democrats are also dealing with the aftermath of a loss of support from Hispanic voters, who, especially in Miami, backed Trump and other Republicans in larger numbers. The GOP has targeted South Florida Hispanic voters with messaging branding Democrats as pro-socialism and anti-law enforcement.
"The state leadership of the [Joe] Biden campaign failed us. I'm still dumbfounded by the fact that Georgia was able to turn blue but we weren't," said Cubanos con Biden co-founder Daniela Ferrara.