Florida Democrats kick donkey to curb
Panther, endangered in state, is welcomed as party’s new mascot
Florida Democrats have shown the donkey the door and have adopted as a new mascot – the Florida panther, an endangered species.
The iconic panther, once reduced to fewer than two dozen in Florida and now numbering close to 300, was introduced Saturday as the new icon for Florida Democrats.
They too once ruled the state but have been out of power and in the wilderness since the 20th century.
“The Florida panther won’t back down from a fight,” Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried said about the animal that nearly disappeared from Florida.
Florida Republicans quickly embraced the irony of their opponents picking an endangered species as their symbol.
Republican Party of Florida chair Evan Power said that a nearly extinct animal is a fitting choice for a party that has lost 1.2 million net registered voters over the past four years and has not won a statewide contest since Fried’s election to one term as state agriculture commissioner in 2018.
“If you come into contact with a Florida Democrat in the wild, whether they identify as a donkey or a panther, we urge them to notify Nikki Fried and her team immediately,” Power said.
Refreshed message
Fourteen months ago, Fried assumed control of a party that, like the range the panther once roamed, has become a shell of what it once was.
The GOP routed the Democrats in 2022, left them in a super-minority status in the Florida Legislature, without any statewide office holders, and outnumbered 20-8 in the congressional delegation.
But in the weeks leading up to Saturday’s annual statewide Leadership Blue fundraiser, Fried suspended three party chairs for a lack of cooperation and repeated failures to follow party rules, recruited candidates for all 28 congressional races and launched an aggressive campaign to find candidates for legislative races.
St. Petersburg College political science professor Tara Newsom found the one-minute video that announced the mascot change to be “spot on” rebranding for a political party.
It features a dozen officials who won election the past two years, along with Democratic veterans U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Florida Senate Democratic Leader-designate Jason Pizzo, and state Rep. Anna Eskamani.
The tightly edited montage dissolves into a panther eye and then a frame of a panther over the Everglades. It ends with a panther roar.
Newsom, founder of the Center for Civic Learning and Community Engagement, said the hype video and new mascot is an attempt to realign the Democratic Party with voters.
While it showcases President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the editing subtly addresses what many suspect is the Democrats’ biggest weakness in the fall campaign – Biden’s age.
Images of Biden, 81, and Harris, 59, are juxtaposed with the Democratic mayors of Jacksonville and Tampa, Donna Deegan and Jane Castor; state Rep. Tom Keen, who flipped a GOP seat; and U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, the first Gen Z member of Congress.
“There’s this narrative about how tired Biden is. This new branding is saying, ‘No, no, no. Take a closer look. We’re more than just Joe Biden. We are young, nimble, agile and we want your vote,’ ” Newsom said.