Florida Democrats ‘are going to surprise the nation,’ Nikki Fried says – Florida Politics
Florida Democrats are playing the numbers game.
Only six seats away from breaking the GOP supermajority in the House and two seats away in the Senate, Florida Democratic Party leaders say they will make up that lost ground this November by continuing to make affordability a central issue in their agenda.
“We absolutely are going to break the supermajority in both chambers,” Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried predicted. “We are going to surprise the nation.”
Fried held a virtual press conference as vote-by-mail ballots are being sent out ahead of the Nov. 3 General Election.
“Floridians are working hard, and too many are still paying more and getting less. That is what this election is about,” Fried said. “It’s about affordability, it’s about accountability.”
If Democrats succeed in breaking a supermajority, they gain a stronger voice in Tallahassee that gives them more power to change rules, from debate time and committee assignments to being able to stop Republicans from placing constitutional amendments on the ballots, Fried said.
“Of course, when we elect David Jolly as Governor, making sure that the Legislature won’t be able to override his vetoes” is another key, Fried added.
Democratic Rep. Emily Gregory, who flipped House District 87 in a March Special Election, said her key to success was putting issues first, and “talking to everyone — Democrats, Republicans, Independents.”
She said she listened and heard residents’ biggest concerns were housing, healthcare and education.
“We’re talking a lot about healthcare, especially after the ACA (Affordable Care Act) tax credits expired, and over 400,000 Floridians have lost their healthcare coverage,” Gregory said. “We’re talking about Medicaid expansion, which would insure over a million people tomorrow. And we talk about public education, fully funding public education, and having accountability in the voucher system.”
Democratic Sen. Brian Nathan, who won a Special Election to represent Tampa Bay’s Senate District 14 despite being badly outspent, added fixing homeowner’s insurance to the list of concerns for residents.
He knows firsthand.
After Hurricanes Helene and Milton hit Tampa Bay back-to-back in 2024, Nathan’s own home didn’t get fixed until four months ago because his personal homeowners insurance refused to pay for the flooding damage, he said.
“What I hear again and again is that we spend all this money on property insurance, on homeowners insurance. Every month we pay the premiums,” Nathan said. “And when it comes time for the property insurance companies to pay out, in the event of a catastrophe, they find ways to deny these claims year after year every time there’s a disaster here in Florida.”
Nathan is trying to make the case that Florida needs to elect more “regular people who understand the issues.”
“That’s what’s going to turn the ship around. That’s what’s going to get the Legislature actually working for the people of the state of Florida again,” he said.
Joining the press call were Democratic candidates Nik Dean in House District 38 and Lucia Baez-Geller in House District 106.
“By all measures, the Republicans in their 27 years of rule have failed, and that’s why we’re here and that’s why our races are competitive,” said Democratic candidate Richard Lamondin, who is running for Senate District 38 in the southern Miami suburbs.
Gabrielle Russon is an award-winning journalist based in Orlando. She covered the business of theme parks for the Orlando Sentinel. Her previous newspaper stops include the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Toledo Blade, Kalamazoo Gazette and Elkhart Truth as well as an internship covering the nation’s capital for the Chicago Tribune. For fun, she runs marathons. She gets her training from chasing a toddler around. Contact her at [email protected] or on Twitter @GabrielleRusson .
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