This is our weekly wrap-up of our campaign to flip Florida blue in 2020. Thank you for all the work you’re doing to inform the public during this pandemic. We are so grateful and sincerely hope you’re staying healthy and safe.
EFFECTIVE DIGITAL ORGANIZING
535,000+ Calls to Enroll Florida Democrats in Vote-by-Mail Since April 1stFlaDems organizers and volunteers have been calling voters across the state to encourage them to register to vote-by-mail and then patch them through to their local secretary of elections office to sign up.
Virtual Town Hall on on the Criminal Justice System’s Impact on Black and Brown Communities Florida Democrats held a discussion on the importance of criminal justice reform in Florida, the impact of COVID-19 on the state prison system, and the lack of measures to protect inmates from the virus, especially the jail population over 60 years-old. Florida Demcoratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo, State Senator Randolph Bracy, State Reps. Dianne Hart and Susan Valdés, ACLU of Florida President Dr. Micah W. Kubic, and Talethia Edwards joined the conversation. can watch the town hall here.
Rural Tours Go Virtual: Discussions in the Panhandle FDP Chair Terrie Rizzo continues her rural tours, most recently joining Floridians in Escambia, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa counties. FDP’s rural tours kicked off in 2018 as an effort to connect with people in rural areas and have honest conversations about issues affecting their communities. During the discussion, Phil Ehr, challenging Republican Matt Gaetz, spoke about the need to expand testing and provide protective equipment for frontline health care workers.
Virtual Town Hall on the Health & Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Black & Brown Communities FDP Chair Terrie Rizzo, State Legislators Audrey Gibson, Victor Torres, Janez Cruz and Fentrice Driskell, Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Florida President César Ramírez and Glenda Alford-Atkins, 2nd Vice President of the Democratic Black Caucus of Florida held a virtual roundtable to discuss the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Hispanic and African American communities. You can watch the town hall here.
FLORIDA DEMOCRATS MEDIA WRAP UP:
Where are the Tests???Gov. DeSantis is once again covering for President Trump’s failure in dealing with this pandemic. Because of Trump’s slow and erratic response, there is a national shortage on testing supplies, including here in Florida. On Wednesday, Gov. DeSantis claimed they would have 30,000-40,000 tests available by Monday, but did not share how that would be accomplished. Florida is currently averaging 12,044 tests a day.
FDP Chair Terrie Rizzo responded to DeSantis’ press conference: “Enough with the self-congratulatory media performances, where are the tests?”
Trump’s Years of Broken Promises on Health Care On the 3rd anniversary of Trump claiming he would “guarantee” coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, FDP Chair Terrie Rizzo slammed Trump for his broken promises on health care, saying “Three years ago, Donald Trump promised he would ‘guarantee’ coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, but he’s delivered nothing but hot air ever since…”
Jobless Floridians STILL Need HelpMost Floridians have yet to see a dime in unemployment, though it has been weeks since the first major layoffs. FDP Chair Rizzo continued to pressure DeSantis to fix this system, saying “Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to make a mess with our state’s unemployment system while hundreds of thousands of Floridians lose their livelihoods. Worse, after repeated calls, he continues to ignore the need to have the legislature convene to expand unemployment benefits and lift arcane restrictions.”
It didn’t have to be this bad. Trump’s delayed response and failure to prepare forced states to take drastic measures — we could’ve mitigated this crisis sooner to avoid the worst, as other nations that prepared early did.
Democracia al DíaThis week FDP’s weekly Spanish-language radio show in Miami featured Cuban American and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Western Hemisphere Frank Mora, and while U.S. Representative Darren Soto headlined the Orlando radio show.
If you want to follow up on anything, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Kind regards,
Florida Dems Communications Team
