Florida Democrats are trying to end their statewide losing streak by reaching out to voters and possibly even opening their primaries to those with no party affiliation.
But State Republican Chair Evan Power tells WUSF he doesn't think their strategy will make much of a difference.
The state's once-dominant Democrats are now trailing by more than a million registered voters. So they're holding "front porch" meetings and trying to erase that deficit by reaching out to more people.
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But Power said it's the Democrats' message that is holding them back.
"Nikkki Fried has tried this 'We're gonna go everywhere and have town hall strategies' last time," he said. "The problem is the message doesn't connect with Florida voters. You're seeing us pick up a 1.32 million voter advantage because people believe in what we're doing and people are coming here from other states because of that success."
Power said Republicans will continue to make inroads in traditional Democratic strongholds.
"We're seeing tremendous success in South Florida with Hispanics. We're seeing it across pretty much every market. Every county shifted more Republican than Democrat in the last election because of the message," he said.
"And as long as the Florida Democratic Party listens to Anna Eskamani and Carlos Guillermo Smith, there is no future for the Democrat Party in Florida."
Power said Democrats have become "pro-socialist" and "out of touch" with Florida voters.
"It's not a winning strategy. You see that the anti-Semitic socialist messaging that comes from these people and people in like the mayor candidate (Zohran Mamdani) in New York and some of these other places, it drives people away," he said.
"If you look at Hillary Cassell, a former Democrat in South Florida, became a Republican because of this message, because they've become so anti-Semitic, so pro-socialist, and so out of touch with Florida voters."
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