TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Democrats have a lot to rebound from this year after blowout defeats in the 2022 midterms. This weekend, however, is all about recovery, rebuilding and reclaiming relevance in the Sunshine State at their annual Leadership Blue conference.
And it's not just a repeat of the past. Officials stressed this year will be a "new blue." This included new leadership, new strategies and a new kind of keynote speaker — not a politician, but a personality.
Actor and producer Bradley Whitford will headline the event. He's perhaps best known for his role as Josh Lyman in the television drama "The West Wing."
The new chair of the Florida Democrats, Nikki Fried, said changes, which will also include a new party logo, are in line with her message for this weekend.
"It's a new day for the people of our state," Fried said. "We're going to try something new. That we're going to go back to the basics of recruiting candidates up and down the ballot. That we are going to be focusing on messaging, focusing on talking to people in our state."
Fried touted a perceived surge of momentum for state Democrats. She said the Blue conference is sold out, which hasn't happened in years.
This comes after a surprise Democratic mayoral victory in Jacksonville, the DNC's revived commitment to Florida and voter frustration over what Fried considered a "radical Republican Party."
"The people of the state, which have typically been more libertarian in nature, are fed up," Fried said. "They're frustrated, and the Democrats are organizing. We're going back to the basics, and we're creating that momentum, and that hope that people are so searching for."
It's just rhetoric without results at the polls. Political experts told us, from their perspective, the Democrats need to focus on raising big funds, finding more appealing candidates and reversing a widening margin of Republicans out-registering Democrats, who now have a voter deficit of nearly a half million.
"Look, the state of Florida is headed in, literally, the right direction," Florida GOP Chair Christian Ziegler said.
Ziegler believed Republican gains and recent victories showed his party is more in lock-step with Florida voters. He suggested the swing state had lost its swing status.
"When you have good conservatives executing conservative policies, the voter responds favorably," Ziegler said. "On the Democrat side, the radical agenda that they are pushing onto Florida and Floridians is, frankly, it's not being accepted."
Fried accepted her hurdles and said Democrats are addressing voter recruitment head-on. The party, she said, will start bringing registration efforts "in-house" instead of relying on third-party groups. Not only will that allow for a more clear message, Fried believed, but it would also offer a tighter focus on potential targets like disillusioned Republicans and non-party voters.
This year's Leadership Blue conference kicks off on Friday and runs through Sunday. While tickets are sold out, Democrats are also selling streaming tickets to watch the event online.
