BOYNTON BEACH — At an event that was part revival, part political rally, top Democratic candidates addressed enthusiastic voters at St. John Missionary Baptist Church. It was just a midterm snapshot, but a positive one for the party that has been criticized as giving up on being competitive in Florida.
U.S. Senate candidate Angie Nixon, U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, gubernatorial candidate David Jolly and Florida attorney general candidate Jose Javier Rodriguez spoke to the packed house on Sept. 28. Months of practicing in front voters, their messages were honed on affordability — whether it be health care, groceries or property insurance.
The other major theme among the candidates was ending governance by culture war and hammering their opponents on the Hope
Florida scandal that saw $10 million in taxpayer money siphoned for political purposes.
"They tell us if we just hate each other a little bit more, somehow our life's going to get better if we just stay divided," Jolly told the raucous crowd. "Somehow the cost of housing will come down, or the access to health care will improve or we'll have better schools."
Jolly's Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds in the meantime had a rough go when he appeared at a student forum at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, facing a hostile crowd on Sept. 29. The town hall was interrupted by a fire alarm while Donalds faced questions on immigration, gun control, education and his allegiance to President Donald Trump.
When asked about Trump's immigration crackdown, Donalds said: "We are always going to comply with federal law," Donalds said. "There has to be consistency. That elicited catcalls and boos with one person shouting, "What are you talking about? We have people being deported from FAMU."
The Democrats in Florida remain cash poor like many of their voters. But some polls show the party's Senate and governor candidates neck-and-neck with their Republican opponents. As the GOP floods television and social media with attack ads, the Democrats are holding rallies like the one at this historical Black church.
Reports that Black voters were fleeing the Jolly ticket wasn't evident in Boynton Beach.
David Jolly says if elected he would end governing by culture war
Jolly has been on defense lately as his Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, has said in campaign ads that the Democrat's property insurance plan would mean a $1,000 per household tax each year. But at the rally, dubbed "pews to power," Jolly was all offense, even quoting Bible verses from Galatians.
"I'm running on a simple platform: housing, health care, education, no data centers and end the culture wars," Jolly said.
Jolly told the audience he would not argue with them if they wanted to vote for Donalds, who seeks to become the first Black governor of Florida.
"If that what informs your vote, I respect that," he said. "But I'm going to ask you to compare the platforms of the two candidates."
The star of the event was state Rep. Angie Nixon, whose progressive Senate campaign against incumbent U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody has made national headlines. Nixon's campaign is also cash-poor and Moody has been tying her to the Democratic Socialists of America. Nixon, a Jacksonville native, said she joined the DSA to expand her grassroots coalition.
"There are some really negative ads running about me right now. They said I want to abolish prisons and defund the police. Why would I want to abolish prisons when I want Ashley Moody to be arrested and locked up in one of them?" Nixon said.
She was referring to Hope Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis funneled $10 million from a Medicaid settlement through his wife's charities and into two PACs fighting initiatives on abortion rights and legal marijuana in 2024. Moody, then serving as state attorney general, approved the transfer.James Uthmeier, who was then DeSantis' chief of staff, ran one of the PACs.
DeSantis appointed Moody to the U.S. Senate and appointed Uthmeier to attorney general. "It was also a massive shakedown in Tallahassee," Nixon said. "If you steal $10 million from sick kids, you will do anything."
Nixon carries the natural Southern charisma that Florida hasn't seen in a politician in years. Before speaking, she asked that the classic rap song "Never Scared" from Bonecrusher be played. "We need to let the people know that we ain't never scared, right y'all," she said. "I know that organized people will beat big money every day."
Lois Frankel says Trump is responsible for higher prices, health care crisis
Frankel was the only incumbent on the schedule, winning seven terms for U.S. House, seven terms for Florida House, and serving two terms as the mayor of West Palm Beach. She said President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have hurt families through cuts to Medicaid and food assistance and hurt others through immigration enforcement.
"Americans are not numbers on a spreadsheet. There's a mother wondering if she can afford to take a child to the doctor, the senior wondering if their check is going to stretch to the end of the month," Frankel said.
Rodriguez noted to the crowd that his opponent, Uthmeier, was the architect of Alligator Alcatraz, which cost taxpayers $1.4 billion.
"How many of you heard about the abuses at this detention center in the Everglades, where they put people essentially what you would think of as like a box or hole in Rikers Island," said Rodriguez, who was the former assistant secretary of labor in the Biden administration.
Uthmeier has hit on a mode of free advertising by filing splashy lawsuits, at taxpayers' expense, anything he finds "woke": Target, Starbucks or Major League Baseball.
"My agenda is pretty straightforward: Return the office to the people," Rodriguez said. "Focus on crime, cost, corruption. Focus on public safety, not cruel political theater out of Tallahassee."
The crowd was partisan, but there were some independents who came to hear the Democrats speak.
Jack Newman, 71, of Boynton Beach, said he has voted for both parties but this midterm election his concerns are affordability. "Florida has always been a great place to live, and we're losing that. We're losing our edge because of that," he said.
Jane Henry, 64, another independent from Boynton Beach, said she came to the rally to learn more. She doesn't like Donalds but didn't know enough about Nixon. The ads by Moody calling Nixon a socialist weren't working, though.
"That's kind of propagandist terminology. I'm not buying it," she said.
At FAMU, Donalds repeatedly returned to the idea of fewer regulations and more competition as prescriptions to combat higher costs. The open-question portion of the event produced direct exchanges on voting rights, LGBTQ issues, Donalds' past legal troubles and the Republican Party's relationship with Black voters.
Jolly has said he won't debate Donalds, accusing the Republicans of bad faith in trying to negotiate and dictate terms. He is scheduled to hold a separate town hall at FAMU on Oct. 12.
Tallahassee Democrat capitol reporter James Call contributed to this report.
John Pacenti is the Government Impact Reporter for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, athttps://palmbeachpost.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: David Jolly, Angie Nixon bring energy to Democrats' Florida rally
