Florida Democrats need to flip 3 state Senate seats. Here's why they're going for 2.
Florida’s government could undergo a seismic shift it hasn’t seen in more than a quarter century.
On Nov. 3, Democrats need to pick up three state Senate seats to share power in the chamber with the long-dominant Republicans in Tallahassee. If they pull it off, it would be the first time since 1999 that the party even partly controlled any of the three major houses of government: the governor’s mansion, the state House or the Senate.
Although Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is running strong at the top of the ticket, fueled by a near-unprecedented surge in campaign contributions, Florida Democrats still appear to be a long way from posing a real challenge to Republican dominance. Top Democrats, strapped for cash, are targeting just two seats for pickups, not the three that would allow them to hold half the 40 seats in the upper chamber so they can share power.
Democrats down ballot face financial headwinds typical for any party that’s been marginalized for so long. But the party also has made unforced errors in organizing, messaging and, some say, strategy. Those missteps could shut them out of power once again, forcing them on the sidelines when the state redraws district lines for Congress and the Legislature for the next 10 years.
“It’s really unfortunate that we don’t have more resources to engage in more races,” said Sen. Gary Farmer, D-Lighthouse Point, who’s in charge of the party’s Senate efforts. “Florida would be so much better off if we had some balance.”
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