Democratic chair: Florida election losses were tough but our successes offer a lesson | Opinion

I’ve always believed that politics is like a pendulum, gradually swinging back and forth as time goes on. It swung back in the November election — and it won’t move forward on its own.

In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s win, pundits have spent a week pointing fingers and trying to figure out exactly what went wrong with Democrats across the country. The results we saw in Florida are tough to swallow, but the Florida Democratic Party is already analyzing the outcome to learn from it and make plans for the future. That learning process starts by acknowledging the things that worked for us this year.

After the disastrous 2022 elections, we had to rebuild the Florida Democratic Party from scratch, and I believe we succeeded in building a solid foundation for the future — starting with flipping Jacksonville’s mayor’s race in early 2023, reelecting Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava without a runoff and kicking Moms to Liberty candidates to the curb in seven out of 10 school board races in August that candidates supported by the Democratic Party won. Anyone who expects overnight success has never been in the driver’s seat and the only way to take back political power is by staying in the fight.

In the middle of a nationwide Democratic collapse, Florida moved six points to the left from the 2022 election. We increased Democratic turnout by 25 points by re-energizing our base and talking to voters outside of our reliably Democratic cities. We did that by knocking on 2.7 million doors, making 12.1 million phone calls and sending over 46 million text messages.

Despite being outspent by Florida Republicans, Democrats held the line, netting one loss in the Legislature and protecting all of our congressional seats. We also picked up important wins in Orange and Palm Beach counties, including reinstating Monique Worrell, who was removed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, to her position as state attorney in Central Florida

It wasn’t enough, but it’s a start. Remember that our mission is bigger than one election, and bigger than the presidency. Just like most problems facing Floridians can’t be magically solved by the person in the Oval Office, one election can’t rebuild an entire political party. Our journey to rebuild will continue for many elections to come.

As we rebuild, we’ll continue to organize in our communities and register voters year round. We’ll hold our legislators accountable to the promises they make and to the people they serve. We’ll find new ways to reach voters and listen to their concerns because, despite their wins on election night, Republicans still don’t have answers for the biggest problems facing Floridians. It’s just too damn expensive here — Florida’s property insurance and affordability crisis impacts all of us.

As we learned on Nov. 5, progress is never guaranteed. We must be willing to fight for it — to build coalitions, have difficult conversations and show Floridians that we will fight for their families.

Florida Democrats can’t allow ourselves to give up or back down — we have to keep working to push the pendulum forward every day. I challenge anyone who feels like giving up to stay in the fight. Join your local Democratic Party, register voters, knock on doors, make a donation, run for office. There is so much more work to be done, and we can’t do it without you.

And to those who, for whatever reason, chose not to vote Democrat this year — the Florida Democratic Party is still here to earn your trust and fight for you. If you find yourself looking around over the next four years and realize that Trump and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott sold you a lie, Florida Democrats will be here for you.

Nikki Fried is the chair of the Florida Democratic Party and former agriculture commissioner and gubernatorial candidate.