Weekly Talking Points June 17, 2024

Weekly Talking Points – June 17, 2024

Every week, talking points are provided to party leaders and membership.
For questions or feedback about talking points, please contact Eden Giagnorio, Communications Director, at eden@floridadems.org.
To request for someone to be added to the mailing list, direct them to press@floridadems.org.

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FLORIDA DEMOCRATS CONTEST EVERY RACE

Friday, June 14 was the deadline to qualify for state legislative races, and Florida Democrats are contesting every seat in both chambers — the first time either major party has done so in modern Florida history. This follows our successful efforts to contest all 28 congressional seats this cycle.

The Florida Democratic Party would like to congratulate the 11 candidates who won election unopposed:

Rep. Yvonne Hinson (HD 21)
Rep. Jervonte Edmonds (HD 88)
Rep. Kelly Skidmore (HD 92)
Rep. Christine Hunschofsky (HD 95)
Rep. Dan Daley (HD 96)
Rep. Lisa Dunkley (HD 97)
Rep. Hillary Cassel (HD 101)
Rep. Felicia Robinson (HD 104)
Rep. Dotie Joseph (HD 108)
Senator-elect Carlos Guillermo Smith (SD 17)
Senator-elect Mack Bernard (SD 24)

TOPLINE: This year, the Florida Democratic Party is doing something neither party has done in modern history — contesting every seat.

In the face of Republican extremism, Florida Democrats are stepping up to lead.
We refuse to let Florida Republicans walk into office without being held accountable for their actions.
Having a Democrat in every race forces Republicans to defend their unpopular policies and gives voters another reason to turn out on election day.
Contesting every seat shows clear momentum in our efforts to break the Republican supermajority and take back Florida.

FLORIDA BUDGET

Last Wednesday, Ron DeSantis signed the $116.5 billion 2024-2025 Florida Budget, making nearly $1 billion in line-item vetoes.

TOPLINE: Once again, Ron has passed a near-record budget that doesn’t come close to meeting the needs of Floridians.

Among other things, this year’s veto list includes hundreds of millions of dollars in canceled stormwater projects, school safety improvements, and local infrastructure fixes — things that actually improve our day-to-day lives.
Ron’s neglect of public infrastructure is a slap in the face to Floridians dealing with the effects of the climate crisis, and it’s one of the reasons why property insurance costs are spiraling out of control.
As intense flooding becomes more frequent in South Florida, we should be making every effort to make sure our infrastructure is hardened, resilient, and ready to deal with our increasingly powerful storm systems.
As always, Florida Democrats will work to hold him accountable for the harm he does to local communities in the name of a fake fiscal conservatism.

DACA ANNIVERSARY

Saturday, June 15 was the 12th anniversary of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

TOPLINE: DACA would be in jeopardy during a second Trump presidency — he tried to eliminate DACA before and there’s no doubt he’ll try again.

Thanks to DACA, Dreamers have been able to access higher education, secure jobs, start families, buy homes, open businesses, and contribute billions of dollars to our nation’s economy, but the program has never been in more danger than it is today.
Donald Trump — a man who has repeatedly called immigrants “animals” and “criminals” — has promised to run the largest deportation program in American history if elected.
On the 12th anniversary of DACA, we renew our calls on Congress to act swiftly to provide a permanent solution — a path to citizenship that will guarantee all Dreamers the legal status they deserve.

ABORTION

Floridians are now living under one of the most extreme abortion bans in the country. The six-week ban signed into law by Ron DeSantis went into effect on May 1st.

TOPLINE: Florida’s extreme six-week abortion ban has virtually no exceptions and puts women’s lives at risk.

The near-total abortion ban is even more extreme because of Florida’s mandatory 24-hour waiting period — signed into law by Rick Scott — and a requirement to have two in-person doctors appointments before accessing abortion care.
Polling shows that 65% of Florida voters — including nearly half of Florida Republicans — support the right to safe, legal abortion.
Donald Trump has made it clear that he’s not satisfied with overturning Roe v. Wade and unleashing extreme abortion bans across the country —he’s even signaled that he would even be open to restricting access to birth control.
Florida voters can reverse this extreme ban and restore reproductive freedom in our state by voting yes on Amendment 4 and re-electing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

RICK SCOTT

A 20-ft inflatable IUD will be traveling the state this week to showcase Rick Scott’s recent vote against bipartisan legislation to protect access to contraception. Last week, Scott went even further – voting against legislation to protect IVF treatment.

TOPLINE: Rick Scott is fully behind Florida’s abortion ban and will continue his dangerous push to rip away women’s rights to make their own personal medical decisions.

Rick Scott is fully behind Florida’s abortion ban: “If I was the sitting governor, and the six-week abortion ban came in front of me, I would sign it. I’ve always said I would sign it.”
Now Scott wants to enact a national abortion ban and block federal protections for contraception and IVF.
That’s why Scott received an A+ rating from an extreme anti-choice group that wants to ban IVF and contraception.
Scott’s extreme anti-abortion record is deeply unpopular — nearly 70 percent of whom support reproductive freedom.

TOPLINE: Rick Scott’s self-serving agenda would be a disaster for working families.

June marks two years since Scott doubled down on his disastrous Plan to Rescue America.
Scott’s plan would put Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block and raise taxes on 40 percent of Floridians, including working families and active duty military personnel.
Scott’s plan to end Social Security and Medicare is so toxic, even Mitch McConnell calls it a “bad idea.”
Scott is corrupt and out-of-touch — he made millions defrauding Medicare and now wants to take away seniors’ hard-earned benefits and raise taxes on everyday Floridians.