Reality check: Abraham Lincoln did not run in any of last month's Democratic Party primaries in Florida. It's David Jolly for governor, Angie Nixon for U.S. Senate, Annette Taddeo for chief financial officer and Joey Mendoza Atkins for agricultural commissioner. Former state Sen. José Javier Rodríguez, ran unopposed for attorney general. That's it.
Florida Democrats made their choices. Those are the candidates the party will have on the November ballot. Unfortunately, we are now in the period where some party leaders and their donors are doing their best to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by fretting over their standard bearers, particularly those at the top of the ticket.
I recently wrote a columnurging Democrats to rally around Angie
Nixon. In it, I wrote she managed to, well, overwhelm, the party's favored pick in the primary, Lt. Col. Alex Vindman. I also talked about the significance of having a Black woman at the top of the ticket and urged the party to puts its money where its mouth often is. It made sense since Nixon is the only "D" on the ballot for U.S. Senate, and her performance will affect other Democratic candidates.
So, what's the problem?
Oh yeah, concerns over Nixon's views on Israel and that "socialist" thing. Issues are important, but another harsh reality is that there's another political party worried about their voters sitting it out. They'd love it if Democrats joined them.
Worrying about whether Jolly's candidacy is the second coming of Charlie Crist is not helpful. Neither are reports of shouting matches between the party's senate nominee and the party chairman just days after the primary. It's as if the party's forgotten that the time following the August primary should be spent building momentum, not undermining it.
Democrats can learn from ― of all people ― Ron DeSantis
For the past three decades, Republicans have ruled Florida. They have turned our state government into apetri dish of right-wing, cultural-war policies, from expanding school choice to ending home rule. Holding power seems to be their No. 1 priority, whether it took redrawing congressional districts to favor the GOP or berating local officials for dubious spending while overlooking the state's financial debacles, like Alligator Alcatraz and Hope Florida.
Floridians find themselves in the midst of an affordability crisis, with no apparent cavalry coming from either the state or federal government. Worse, President Donald Trump, who's made Florida home, is so underwater with voters here and across the country who are more concerned about grocery and gas prices than Trump's White House upgrades.
Given all that, and the upcoming midterm elections just weeks away, what does Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis do?
Unlike some of our hand-wringing Democrats, DeSantis strikes a chord of party unity. Last week, the governor hosted a leadership summit in Tampa with Rep. Byron Donalds, Attorney General James Uthmeier, Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson. Granted the summit was a lot about DeSantis, but he used that self-promotion to showcase of party unity.
Democrats shouldn't miss the significance of this event. Up until now, DeSantis had kept his distance from the Donalds campaign for governor. In fact, he's been aloof about the other incumbent Cabinet members, too. There's obviously something in the air. After 30 years. the political headwinds, even in Florida. aren't necessarily at their backs.
Still, Republicans in Florida have big advantages. They outnumber registered Democrats and they have big bucks. The money helps in a state with 10 media markets. They also have the power of incumbency. They're already in key offices.
It was Will Rogers who once said, "I'm not a member of any organized party, I'm a Democrat."
This ain't the time to make Rogers proud. If Florida Democrats hope to win anything in November, they had better forget about pining over the perfect candidate or what might have been, and get busy to go with what they've got.
Douglas C. Lyons is an editorial writer and columnist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network-Florida. He can be reached at dclyons@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida Dems can't whine their way to victory in November | Opinion
