Florida Democrats battle over the party’s future in primary elections
The Aug. 18 primary elections for governor and congressional races could sharpen the debate over how Democrats hope to regain ground in a red state
Alexandra Martinez
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Florida Democrats head to the polls Aug. 18 for primaries that could sharpen a growing debate over how the party can rebuild in a state where they have not won a gubernatorial race since 1994 and Republicans control every statewide elected office.
The clearest test comes in the governor’s race, where former U.S. Rep. David Jolly leads a six-candidate field, and progressive candidates Rep. Dotie Joseph and Dayna Marie Foster offer competing visions for how Democrats can regain ground.
Jolly, a former Republican member of Congress who later switched parties, has maintained on the campaign trail that Florida Democrats need to expand their coalition and compete for voters who have moved away from the party. His candidacy represents one version of the Democratic electability argument: that the party’s path forward requires a candidate capable of appealing to independents and some Republican voters. Polls show Jolly with a significant lead, despite his previous anti-abortion stance.
Joseph, a Miami-Dade lawmaker who has represented Florida House District 108 for eight years, entered the race after former Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings dropped out due to a cancer diagnosis. While stumping across the state, Joseph has said voters deserve an alternative candidate focused on affordability and other issues affecting their daily lives. She occupies a middle ground between Jolly’s centrist, electability-focused campaign and Foster’s more explicitly progressive, grassroots bid.
Foster, a former educator, has centered her campaign on putting government “back in the hands” of ordinary Floridians, focusing her platform around six policy pillars: economic opportunity, affordable housing, healthcare, immigration, gun reform, and public education. She has told voters that she wants to abolish 287(g) agreements that deputize local law enforcement to carry out immigration enforcement, and ban data centers. The Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida endorsed her in the primary.
The prevailing Democrat will face off against the winner of a packed Republican primary.
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds is the clear frontrunner in the Republican race, backed by President Donald Trump and closely aligned with the party’s national populist wing. Former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner offers a more establishment-oriented conservative option, emphasizing his experience in Tallahassee and prioritizing issues such as affordability and property taxes. Lt. Gov. Jay Collins represents continuity with the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis, while businessman James Fishback, labeled an “insurgent” candidate, is running as a populist conservative.
With Donalds leading the field, the primary could come down to whether Republican voters want to continue the DeSantis-era approach, embrace Trump’s brand of conservatism, or choose an entirely different direction for the state.
Angie Nixon takes on Alex Vindman
Another race to watch is the special Democratic primary for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat, vacated by Marco Rubio when he became secretary of state. State Rep. Angie Nixon is running against retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman in a race quickly becoming one of the clearest tests in the state of progressive versus establishment-oriented Democratic politics.
Nixon, a Jacksonville Democrat and longtime progressive organizer, has emphasized working-class voters and issues such as economic inequality, reproductive rights, and immigration. Vindman, known for being a key witness in the first Trump impeachment inquiry, has a much larger fundraising operation and has spent heavily to establish himself as the Democratic frontrunner.
Nixon and Vindman’s contrast is similar to the Minnesota Senate primary between Democrats Peggy Flanagan and Angie Craig. Nixon is heavily relying on grassroots and progressive enthusiasm. Meanwhile, Vindman has built a substantial financial advantage and more broadly appeals to Democrats, who see him as a strong general election candidate against DeSantis-appointment Republican Sen. Ashley Moody.
Nixon has campaigned as an unapologetically left-leaning candidate, and her campaign has attracted significant progressive support, receiving endorsements from labor and progressive organizations. The race has consequently become a test of whether the grassroots energy that propelled candidates such as Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed can overcome a large financial and institutional advantage.
Oliver Larkin takes on Jared Moskowitz
South Florida offers another progressive-versus-establishment matchup in the Democratic primary for the 25th Congressional District, which was redrawn as part of DeSantis’ overhaul of Florida’s congressional map.
DeSantis and Republican lawmakers argued that the new map was needed due to “population growth” in minority-majority districts, but the broader effect was to strengthen Republicans’ position. The map reworked 21 of Florida’s 28 districts and is projected to increase the Republican delegation over Democrats from 20-8 to as many as 24-4.
Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed candidate Oliver Larkin is challenging Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a more centrist Democrat who is seeking reelection. The redrawn district stretches along the South Florida coast from Delray Beach through Broward and into Miami-Dade, including parts of Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Miami Beach, and surrounding communities.
Larkin has spent more than a decade working in Democratic politics, including on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign and Adam Schiff’s Senate campaign. The democratic socialist’s central campaign issues include abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, creating Medicare for All, and building a working-class democracy.
Taken together, these races offer a snapshot of the larger choices facing Florida Democrats as they try to rebuild after years of Republican dominance, whether to prioritize ideological and grassroots energy or nominate candidates they believe can appeal to a broader electorate. With the state’s new congressional map reshaping the political terrain and making several South Florida races more competitive, the primaries will offer an early measure of which approach has the stronger pull with Democratic voters.
Editorial Team:
Sahar Fatima, Lead Editor
Tina Vasquez, Top Editor
Stephanie Harris, Copy Editor
Alexandra Martinez
