Candidates seek edge for final sprint to primary
The five Democratic candidates for governor are looking for a jolt of momentum to begin the eight-week sprint to the primary in which voters will pick a candidate they hope can wrest the Governor’s Mansion away from the Republicans after 20 years of losses.
Each candidate needs a way to stand out in the crowded field to sway many undecided Democratic voters, 47 percent in an NBC News/Marist Poll released Wednesday.
Even among the die-hard Democrats who came from across the state for the Florida Democratic Party’s annual Leadership Blue conference and fundraising dinner in Hollywood, there were plenty of people who weren’t sure of their choices.
“We have a lot of good candidates,” said Debbie Jordan, of Fort Myers, adding she still wants “to make sure they stand for what I stand for.”
Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, former Congresswoman Gwen Graham, Palm Beach real estate investor Jeff Greene, Winter Park businessman Chris King and former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine don’t have much time to convince voters. The primary is on Aug. 28 — eight weeks from Tuesday. Early voting in some counties begins Aug. 13, which is just six weeks away. Vote-bymail ballots will start going out by the end of July.
Besides the large share of undecided voters, the NBC/ Marist poll showed many Democrats with a preference could change their minds. Only 32 percent strongly support their choice, 43 percent somewhat support their choice, and 23 percent said they might vote differently.
State Rep. Evan Jenne, a Broward Democrat who supporters former Graham for governor, predicted that would soon change. “You’re going to
start to see people pull away from other folks,” he said.
Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, attributed the large percentage of undecided voters to the difficulty in choosing from what he said was a stellar field. “What’s the best kind of ice cream when you’ve got three different great brands? It’s hard to make up their minds.”
On substance, the candidates are virtually indistinguishable. All emphasized support for education, which they said had been damaged under decades of Republican control of the state. They see climate change as a major threat to the state. They favor restrictions on firearms, restoration of felon voting rights, banning anti-LGBT discrimination, and keeping three upcoming Florida Supreme Court appointments out of the hands of Republicans.
“They’re all claiming the ‘progressive’ label. There’s very little daylight [among the candidates] on the issues,” said Susan Smith, chairwoman of the Progressive Caucus.
Alan Ehrlich, a Democratic activist from Plantation who supports Gillum for governor, said “Just about every candidate is saying the right things to the Democratic base. Some of them are more real than the others.”
With the candidates basically in agreement on key
issues, they spent the weekend demonstrating their passion, style and strategy for winning a general election against the Republicans. They schmoozed one-on-one and in small groups, before caucus meetings of multiple Democratic constituency groups, and through speeches before 1,000-plus people gathered in a cavernous ballroom.
Each emphasized their empathy with the less fortunate and their scorn for President Donald Trump and Gov. Rick Scott.
At the fundraising dinner on Saturday, Gillum was the clear favorite based on applause, before, during and after a rousing appeal for Democrats to make a case for the party’s most liberal ideas.
“I have not taken any vote in this state for granted,” Gillum said, adding that he’s even campaigned in the Villages, the Republican stronghold in Central Florida.
Leading up to the Democratic weekend, Gillum received a campaign boost from Tom Steyer, the billionaire liberal activist from California who pledged financial and staff support.
Graham touted her endorsement from the influential Florida Education Association teachers union. Graham said she’s already drafted an executive order she’d issue as soon as she becomes governor to ban the sale of military-style assault weapons in the state.
“After 20 years of Republican rule, the soul of Florida has been crushed, and with this president in the White House, the soul of our country is under attack,” Graham said.
King emphasized progressive priorities.
“This election is extraordinary. We can’t just win. We have to be transformative. This election is about more than just replacing one Republican with one Democrat,” he said. “Look for a candidate who is willing to swing for the fences.”
At the Caribbean Caucus, King said his first official visit as governor would be to Haiti. And he repeated his vow to take on Big Sugar as a scourge of the state’s environment. (Among the pitches from candidates and special interests in the Democratic Party’s dinner program was a half-page ad from Florida Crystals.)
Levine had a large contingent of supporters milling about the hotel, sometimes providing him with a noisy entrance.
Levine professed admiration for his competitors. “We need to make sure we as Democrats we don’t put ourselves in a circular firing squad and shoot at each other and help the Republicans,” Levine said. “So I ask all of you, let’s all work together.”
Greene sold himself to activists as a champion of all the party’s key issues — and as the only candidate with the financial resources who can effectively compete with the Republicans in the general election.
At a Greene reception, people could don boxing gloves and pretend to punch a fake Trump, a frequent target over the weekend.
Inslee said the only thing the Republican candidates for their party’s nomination “are talking about is who can be the most obvious lapdog to Donald Trump.” Gov. Rick Scott can’t run because of term limits; he’s running for the U.S. Senate instead.
And Gillum warned Democrats that “we’ve got a crazy man in the White House.”
Jenne said that’s fine for a weekend but warned fellow Democrats against assuming their shared opposition to the president will be a winning general election strategy.
“You can’t make Donald Trump the pariah,” Jenne said. “We’re not California. The electorate is not shaped that way.”