Florida Democratic Party chairman resigns with list of grievances after dismal election
Calling stunning losses in the November election the “nail in the coffin,” Florida Democratic Party Chairman Manny Diaz resigned effective immediately Monday evening in a widely distributed email that served as a broadside against those he blamed for the party’s fading relevance.
Diaz, a former Miami mayor, was elected to the job two years ago by party activists to help turn things around in the nation’s most populous swing state after a disappointing 2020 election. Instead, by his own definition, he leaves with Republicans firmly in control and the party in shambles.
“After much reflection, I regret to inform you that I have chosen to retire as FDP Chair, effective immediately,” Diaz wrote in the 2,500-word email, distributed at 5:30 p.m. “It has been a pleasure and honor to work with you, and, rest assured, I will continue to fight with you to get Democrats elected.”
Rather than spearhead a resurgence, Diaz watched the last two years as registered Florida Republican voters rose in number to surpass registered Florida Democrats for the first time in state history, Republicans secured super-majorities in the state House and Senate, and the GOP swept races for state cabinet positions. Perhaps most notably, in a state known for hard-fought elections at the top of the ballot, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis won reelection by nearly 20 points.
Diaz faced calls to resign. But in his email, he blamed Washington operatives, cash woes and decades of problems for the party’s collapse. He also ran through a list of problems the state’s Democrats are facing, including a lack of voter engagement and unclear messaging.
Diaz wrote that he “found obstacles to securing the resources and a long-standing, systemic and deeply entrenched culture resistant to change; one where individual agendas are more important than team; where self-interest dominates and bureaucracies focus on self-preservation.“
The party, Diaz said, doesn’t have the money to support candidates — or to perform minimal functions. Volunteers are nearly extinct, he said, and the party has had to rely on paid canvassers, which created an industry of people who work “for the money and the benefits, not for a cause.”
The party began paying workers a $15 minimum wage, Diaz said, but they still pushed back, asking for more. And he said he couldn’t fire underperforming staff.
“When reflecting on our disappointments during the past 20 years, one must follow the money,” Diaz said in the statement. “Who received the investments? What was the return on these investments?”
Diaz said that during his tenure, the party’s resistance to change exposed a broken system. And he believes Democrats will keep losing elections until that’s resolved.
“Maybe it is not always about trying to fix something that is broken,” Diaz said. “Maybe it is about starting over and creating something better.”
This story was originally published January 9, 2023 at 7:44 PM.
