Former Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum is back on the road, in hopes of turning the state majority Democratic in 2020.
With 29 electoral votes, Florida is considered the "crown jewel" of swing states. President Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by 113,000 votes in Florida in 2016.
“We are going to commit ourselves to registering and engaging one million voters between now and 2020’s presidential election,” said Gillum at a rally in Miami Gardens. He told supporters that Democrats must now begin to engage voters for the 2020 presidential primary. He calls the political action group “Bring It Home Florida” — after his 2018 campaign slogan.
“I’m committed, and I hope you’re equally committed, to recognizing that the road to the White House runs through Florida,” Gillum said. “We can deny Donald Trump a second term right here in the state of Florida.”
According to the Florida Division of Elections, Florida is home to 4.96 million registered Democrats and 4.7 million registered Republicans. More than three million registered voters are NPAs (No Party Affiliation). State Democratic officials estimate there than four million eligible — but unregistered — Floridians.
Gillum recently laid out his case, appearing on CBS-4 in Miami.
“And the truth is, as I recognize it, is that everybody who’s registered to vote doesn’t necessarily vote,” said Gillum. “But it certainly helps to have more marbles on the table; that way if some of them roll off, it doesn’t cost you the election. And in a state that is a ‘one percent state,’ it’s critical that we get back to the basics of re-engaging voters.”
Gillum came to within 32,000 votes of defeating Republican Ron DeSantis out of more than eight million cast. The Gillum campaign had 70,000-plus volunteers, and he contends the same numbers can make this campaign a success.
“Over a million conversations we opened in two-way text message exchanges with people in the state; we want to turn that apparatus – those resources – into good. Not for a single election cycle, but enduring by helping to build a more progressive base of voters here in Florida.”
“It’s literally a case of having to get and squeeze out every single voter you can for your side; Gillum recognizes this and is actively campaigning to do that, and I'm sure the Republicans are seeking to do the same as well,” says Charles Zelden, a political scientist at Nova Southeastern University.
“Trump cannot afford to lose Florida,” Zelden says. “Given the basic layout of safe blue states vs. safe red states, Trump needs Florida in order to win. The Democrats don’t need Florida to win, but [it] becomes very difficult without it.”
It’s not just a question of who shows up on Election Day, says Zelden, but also individual voter participation. Anywhere from 2,000-4,000 people can make a difference, even when there are eight million votes cast as in 2018.
“[Democrats] know they came real close in an off-year election to defeating a sitting governor [Rick Scott] running for the [U.S.] Senate, and a Republican for governor [Ron DeSantis] in a position that the Republicans have held for over 20 years,” said Zelden. “The fact that it was so close, basically says ‘your strategy’s kind of working — make it work better.’”
But while attempting to gin up excitement for 2020, Andrew Gillum tells CBS-4 in Miami he will not join the already-crowded Democratic field.
“I’m not interested in pursuing that track; I think the best work I can do is coming back and making Florida ready for whoever the Democratic nominee is for president,” said Gillum. “We can’t wait for that person to be decided before we get to work. We’ve got to get to work now if we plan on winning this state.”
While not interested in a White House run, Gillum, says political scientist Charles Zelden, might be a good challenger for Sen. Marco Rubio – who’s up for re-election in 2022, and whose seat the Democrats covet.
“It depends on who they can find to run against [Rubio]; if that someone is Gillum, Marco should be concerned,” says Zelden. “If they can find somebody equally as charismatic and with ties to the community, I don’t think [Rubio] should panic, but he should be looking over his back because the Democrats are definitely coming for his seat.”
Along with spending up to $2 million to sign up 200,000 new voters, the Florida Democratic Party also plans to partner with data science firms to create an infrastructure to increase registered Democrats in the state.