MIAMI (AP) 鈥� The head of the Florida Democratic Party has resigned after a disastrous midterm election in the onetime battleground state. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis won reelection by a whopping 20 points and the GOP flipped two key counties, including the once-Democratic stronghold of Miami-Dade.
In announcing his resignation, Manny Diaz, chair of the Florida Democrats, sent a long letter Monday to the state鈥檚 executive committee members complaining about a lack of resources, a lack of volunteers to knock on doors and a failure to present unified messaging.
鈥淗istorical investments never arrived, and a broken, unsustainable system was exposed,鈥� Diaz wrote. 鈥淎lthough we started our effort earlier than in prior cycles, it was still too late. We were not able to afford necessary staffing or opening the desired number of offices. Those we did open were too late for community buy-in.鈥�
The state Democratic Party did not immediately comment on Diaz鈥檚 complaints.
The crushing loss for Democrats has left them wondering how the state slipped away in a relatively short amount of time after President Barack Obama carried Florida twice. While in the midterms nationally, the GOP delivered great results in Florida, building DeSantis' star power as a possible 2024 White House contender.
DeSantis, asked about Diaz鈥檚 resignation at a news conference in Bonita Springs on Tuesday, responded cheerfully, 鈥淭here ain鈥檛 as many Democrats around as there used to be in the state of Florida, and we had something to do with that in November of 2022.鈥�
The Democrats' troubles last year were particularly pronounced in Miami-Dade, the state鈥檚 most populous county and home to 1.5 million Latinos of voting age. In a county that Obama won a decade ago by 24 percentage points, DeSantis in November defeated his Democratic opponent, Charlie Crist, by more than 11.
Diaz, who served as chair of Florida Democrats for two years and is a former mayor of the city of Miami, said that volunteers 鈥渉ave become nearly extinct in Florida since Obama鈥檚 last campaign in 2012.鈥�
鈥淲e have plenty of social media activists, not roll-up-your-sleeves volunteers. We communicate virtually, not personally,鈥� he wrote.
The Florida Democratic Party has not received enough resources, Diaz said, adding that the national Democratic organization invested just 2% of the amount they contributed in 2018. He says national donors, even those based in Florida, don鈥檛 donate to the state party, and Republican statewide candidates outraised Democrats by more than $163 million.
The Democratic National Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Despite Democrats' poor results, Diaz contests the notion that Florida is now a red state.
鈥淲e have a history of extremely close elections. Floridians overwhelmingly adopted constitutional amendments that reflect our values,鈥� he said, naming medical marijuana, felon voting restoration and a higher minimum wage as some examples of issues that resonate with voters.
Diaz said he was surprised the state party had a 鈥渉ands-off approach鈥� to messaging, leaving it up to each candidate. The state has a large Cuban American population that remains fiercely skeptical of leftist governments.
Former President Donald Trump courted Latino voters in the state by undoing Obama's Cuba engagement policy and sanctioning Latin-American socialist governments. He cast Democrats as leftists and anti-capitalists, contributing to the rightward shift.
Democrats in the state have struggled to defend themselves against the socialism label.
鈥淣o amount of hard work or resources can overcome a bad message, a message that fails to connect with people where they are," Diaz wrote. "The point of messaging is to win votes. You do that by not prompting ideological polarization."
Adriana Gomez Licon, The Associated Press
