President Joe Biden’s campaign is projecting optimism that he can flip Florida after the state’s Supreme Court this week permitted Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R-FL) six-week abortion ban to become law.
In a memo, the Biden campaign condemned DeSantis’s legislation, which it said would start “ripping away access to reproductive care before many women know they are pregnant” in 30 days. Biden’s aides also used the opportunity to criticize Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who is seeking reelection this year.
“This new, extreme abortion ban — one that Donald Trump personally paved the way for — will now amount to a ban for the entire Southeast,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a Monday memo. “Women in need of reproductive care throughout the region now face a choice between putting their lives at risk or traveling hundreds or thousands of miles to get care.”
In a separate decision Monday, Florida’s Supreme Court also ruled that a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at expanding abortion access to about 24 weeks of pregnancy could appear on the state’s ballots in November.
“With an abortion amendment officially on the ballot this November in Florida, President Biden and Vice President Harris and their commitment to fighting back against Donald Trump and Rick Scott’s attacks on reproductive freedom will help mobilize and expand the electorate in the state, given the overwhelming majority of Floridians support abortion rights,” Chavez Rodriguez said. “Florida Republicans will be forced to defend their cruel, indefensible support of this abortion ban.”
Aside from the issue of abortion, Chavez Rodriguez also cited what she claimed were Florida’s unpopular social policies, such as those related to guns and education, as sources of the campaign’s confidence. She additionally underscored early campaign investments in advertising and organizing, while contending Biden was performing well with seniors, despite slippages in support among black, Latino, and young voters.
“President Biden also has an opportunity with Haley voters in Florida,” Chavez Rodriguez said. “155,000 Republican primary voters in Florida voted for Nikki Haley in a primary that came after she suspended her campaign. Similar to other states, including those with exit polls, we fully expect that many of those voters will not vote for Trump and are winnable for President Biden this November.”
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“Our agenda, our coalition, and the unique dynamics this election presents make it clear: President Biden is in a stronger position to win Florida this cycle than he was in 2020,” she added. “Make no mistake: Florida is not an easy state to win, but it is a winnable one for President Biden, especially given Trump’s weak, cash-strapped campaign, and serious vulnerabilities within his coalition.”
Trump won Florida over Biden in 2020 by 3 percentage points. Trump was 7 points ahead of Biden in a Redfield & Wilton Strategies poll conducted this month, 46% to 39%.