Now less than 100 days out from Election Day, is Vice President Kamala Harris getting ‘big mo’ from the Sunshine State or is it actually a big bluff by Florida Democrats?
Over the weekend, Harris’ Florida campaign held more than 30 events. Among them, that 500-golf cart caravan in the ruby red area of The Villages. It went viral and stole national headlines as some speculated whether Florida was now more “in play” than it had been following Harris’ entrance into the presidential race last Sunday.
Florida GOP Chair Evan Power was not buying it, Monday.
“I think they manufactured it to make it look like there’s momentum,” said Power. “I think if you look at our finance report that comes out next in a couple weeks— we’re going to out raise them, outwork them, and we’re going to outperform them.”
Power was working to power down the perceived Dem energy. He said his party, meanwhile, would keep its same strategy for November 5. They’re focused on GOP turnout with that lead of nearly 1 million more voter registrations over Dems.
“I think we’re going to advocate for the record that was the success of the four years under Donald Trump,” Power said. “We’re going to expose Kamala Harris who is the most liberal senator in American History…”
As the GOP works to define Harris, Florida’s Democrats were offering new metrics on their bolstered support. The Harris Florida team said 1,400 volunteers reached around 18,000 Floridians over the weekend, via calls and door knocks. Plus— Florida volunteer requests are now more than 12,000 since Harris announced. Some county Dem offices told us it was an 'overwhelming' amount of help.
On the ground, some told us the energy felt like President Barack Obama's campaign in 2008. State Sne. Shevrin Jones (D-Miami Gardens) was among them-- canvassing in Miami Gardens on Saturday.
“We’ve seen this same feel," said Jones. "I remember in 2008 there was this sense of urgency for something new, something different. That’s what we’re feeling right now.”
The Florida Democratic Party said it was closing in on a six-figure fundraising haul since July 21. While it’s not even a drop in the bucket compared to the national Harris campaign, which eclipsed $200M in the same time frame, the state party noted some positive signs. Donations came in from 55 of 67 counties, more than 1,100 were unique donors, 40% were new donors, and 82% came from in-state donors.
FDP Chair Nikki Fried was now hopeful the DNC and national campaign would see the state as more competitive and chip in.
“They are seeing it,” said Fried. “They are energized by what is happening here in the State of Florida, and have given me their guarantee that as this cycle continues on, they're going to continue to evaluate where the funding goes to and making sure that Florida Democrats are seen, heard, and are given the support that's necessary to truly make Florida competitive.”
Even with that backing, the latest polling numbers show a steep climb uphill for Harris in the Sunshine State. While some pundits often pan most surveys before Labor Day, Redfield Strategies had Trump up eight points in Florida.
