National Democrats are capitalizing on a Florida Supreme Court decision that puts abortion on the ballot, and the Biden campaign has recently declared Florida “winnable.” Florida Democrats, however, aren’t looking to politicize the measure.
Florida Democrats worry that politicizing abortion will alienate state Republicans who may be in favor of more lenient abortion legislation. Meanwhile, following the court’s decision, the Biden campaign launched digital ads in the Sunshine State highlighting former President Donald Trump’s comments on overturning Roe v. Wade.
“I would expect them to support the initiative, but letting locals lead on this is smart,” Florida Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani told Politico.
“We are clear-eyed about how hard it will be to win Florida,” Biden’s campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said. “But we also know Trump does not have it in the bag.”
It’s a state that Trump won by about 370,000 votes in 2020. Democrats, who have successfully campaigned on abortion issues in other states, are looking to bring voters to the Democratic Party who are passionate about abortion rights.
Democratic state Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, who was involved with organizing signatures for the abortion ballot campaign, said nearly one million registered voters who signed were Republicans.
“This language was supported by Republicans and independents,” Book said. “While it’s deeply political, I had Republican women alongside me collecting petitions because they believe the legislature went too far.”
“Abortion is to Republicans what immigration is to Democrats: If you’re talking about it, it’s a complication, it’s a problem, it’s an obstacle,” Carlos Curbelo, a former Republican congressman from Miami, told the New York Times. “It just gives Democrats a path to relevance in the state again, where they’ve been just kind of completely bankrupt for some years now.”
The strategy worked in 2022 in the battleground state of Michigan. Michigan voted overwhelmingly in favor of abortion rights. They also voted for a second term for Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer among voting Democrats into other statewide offices.
Florida, which used to be one of the most consistent swing states in the nation, has moved to the right since former President Barack Obama’s win there in 2008. In 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flipped Miami-Dade County, the liberal stronghold of the state.
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Florida Democrats are, however, looking forward to the cash flow the DNC will provide to their state now that they view it as “winnable.”
“We had folks within the White House telling us, ‘We don’t want you carrying the water on this because we don’t believe this is going to happen,’” Book said. “Here we are today, and I know that the Biden campaign has made a commitment, and those resources are coming.”