MJP –
The Democrats of Miami-Dade County hoped to put their months-long feuds and internal strife behind them at Saturday’s Blue Gala in Miami Beach.
The dinner was intended as a rallying cry for Democrats, who are attempting to stave off a potential electoral crushing in Florida in November, and it attracted high-ranking members of the Miami-Dade, state, and national parties.
If Democrats want to win the presidency and a statewide office, they need to win Miami-Dade by a substantial majority. However, this has been more difficult in recent years, with the most recent example being 2022 when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio won the county.
Weekend party leaders congregated on Saturday in the hopes that their electoral defeat two years ago was an outlier caused by internal instability and low voter turnout, as there are just over six weeks to go until Election Day. There would be no repeat of last year, they promised.
Jaime Harrison, chair of the Democratic National Committee, warned the crowd at the Miami Beach Convention Center, “Don’t sleep on Florida.” The venue was practically packed. It seems to me that the world is about to be shocked by something extraordinary happening in this state right now. It will startle the country, in my opinion. It will surprise Republicans, I’m sure of it.
Close Call: Padres Come Up Short in Miami Comeback Attempt
Following a difficult patch earlier this year, Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried stated in a Saturday night interview with the Miami Herald that the Blue Gala symbolized “the rebuilding of the Miami-Dade” Democratic Party.
After Fried suspended Robert Dempster in March for what she alleged were numerous violations of the state party’s rules and bylaws, the leaders of the Florida Democratic Party forcibly ousted him as chairman of the Miami-Dade party. As a result, state senator Shevrin Jones emerged victorious in a contentious and emotionally charged contest to succeed Dempster as Miami-Dade party chairman.
According to Fried, a native Miamian, the county party is seeing a revival.
The DNC chairman is here as our keynote speaker and the event is sold out, according to Fried. It makes no difference what happens in the rest of the state if Miami-Dade doesn’t come up with the results and prove once again that Miami is a Democratic stronghold. You have elected officials here who are putting their faith in the local party, knowing that we can accomplish all this great work across the state.
According to Fried, Democrats in Miami-Dade are seeing some good news, as evidenced by County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s reelection victory last month.
Two constitutional amendments, one to legalize recreational marijuana and the other to codify extensive protections for abortion rights into state law, will be on the ballot in November. Democrats are hoping that these measures will encourage more Democratic voters to cast ballots for their party.
Significant obstacles persist, though. The number of Republican registered voters in the state has increased by about one million compared to Democrats, and Republicans are getting increasingly optimistic on the idea that Trump, the former president, may win Miami-Dade County in November.
On Saturday night, Jones, who is the chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, took the stage. He admitted that the party had been divided, but he emphasized that Vice President Kamala Harris would pass through Miami-Dade en route to the White House. Democrats, he argued, must “build bridges” within the party and set aside their differences.
“No matter how much disagreement there was, we were all in this together, and that was to finish the damn job,” Jones remarked. “We, the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, are returning, and we will not be defeated in November.”
