Geoff Puryear: Florida Democrats really, really need to battle for Jax
New Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried is off to an encouraging start in terms of messaging on social media, drawing reactions from the typically disciplined DeSantis team. Ultimately, though, success running the state party will turn on her ability to bring national resources into the state: resources to finance the voter registration and GOTV efforts Florida Democrats need to make the state fully purple again.
A strong effort in Jacksonville, even one that falls short, could provide her the proof of concept needed to convince people outside Florida that the state is not lost.
The Democratic candidate, Donna Deegan, is a telegenic former news anchor who won over 39% of the vote in the primary, while the GOP will run Daniel Davis, a former state representative and Chamber of Commerce Executive who figures to have nearly unlimited financial resources behind him but won just 24% in the primary. Overall, with the counting not totally complete, 48% of the primary vote went to Democrats and 50% to Republicans. Traditionally, the off-year general electorate in Jacksonville is more Democratic than the primary electorate.
This is a winnable race, especially if Democratic Party efforts to turn out Black voters receive the necessary backing.
Deegan needs the resources to build a massive voter turnout operation, and she needs that investment now. She will need the resources to maintain a paid media presence that protects her from what will certainly be a negative effort on behalf of Davis, as well. Early investment is vital for the turnout operation as field and GOTV efforts require time to scale up, unlike paid media campaigns.
Whether or not the Florida Democratic Party and the Deegan campaign can pivot to this strategic imperative and fund the work that goes into it will not only factor in the results of the General Election but in the seriousness of how Florida Democrats move forward as a party.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/598243-geoff-puryear-florida-democrats-really-really-need-to-battle-for-jax/
