For 25 years, the GOP has had almost exclusive control of t…

During that same time, the FL GOP poured MILLIONS into turning the state party into a sophisticated, permanent, well-funded voter contact machine.

This gave GOP candidates two massive advantages: 1) they didn’t have to spend on selling the GOP position, 2) all of

in-state messaging got backed up by the RNC, and most importantly, the constant drum beat of Fox News.

There is no biological way to overstate the advantage that Fox News gives to Republicans in red states. MSNBC is NOT the opposite of Fox News.

MSNBC does not structure its programming around whipping up white grievance and fear. Whereas Fox News is the propaganda arm of the RNC, MSNBC is the left leaning version of CNN, not the DNC.

So when I say that Fox News is a huge advantage for the GOP, I know of what I speak.

In FL, Dem candidates spend a inordinate amount of time debunking Fox News lies, even to died in the wool Dems.

Because GOP candidates at every level do not have to spend on messaging, and so not have to spend on attacking Dem policy, they spend almost exclusively on 2 things:

1) upping their own name recognition, and 2) ATTACKING their Dem opponent. That is pretty much all they have to six

By contrast, Dems have to find their voters, build name recognition, fundraise non stop, defend against bottomless attack as spending, and try to clap back at

opponent, all in the six weeks between the primary & general election. The late primary was designed to advantage incumbents, and it DOES!

Dems spend 9/10ths of the cycle preaching to die hard Dem primary voters and because we have closed primaries, and then have to

catch up to massive war chests in a tiny period of time. That is how an incredibly talented candidate like Andrew Gillum, who outperformed DeSantis by an order of magnitude, lost by hair’s breadth, instead of winning by a landslide.

Andrew had six weeks to build a statewide GOTV effort. And even though money came like manna from heaven once he won the primary, it had no infrastructure to be poured into. The first two of the six week general election was spend hiring people and trying to get materials into

field. That is NOT on Andrew. That is how every Dem in Florida is handicapped against a well funded Republican.

DeSantis, who was straight pathetic on the campaign trail, was simply plugged in as the next one up, to a sophisticated and very well funded GOP a machine. He lost

not a single hour in gearing up to beat Gillum.

So no matter who the Dem candidate for Governor or US Senate might be, he or she will lose if we put them in the same predicament as Gillum.

So if you were wondering how it is that such horrid GOP candidates win in a state

that has such a balance (slight advantage in D registrations) in voter registration, THAT’S the answer. Bad GOP candidates can always rely on really good GOP infrastructure.

It’s time to speak hard truths about the fundamental problem at issue here.

The Florida Democratic Party is a CLUB, not a voter contact machine. In fact, it leaves almost every task involved with winning elections to candidates.

The FDP focuses on registration and vote by mail campaigns. It also supports state-wide candidates with canvassing and

literature distribution.

But what it does not do, is the kind of year-around messaging and voter contact that would make all the difference.

The FDP is NOT set up to do that, and has never really had the money to do it.

Florida has some amazing ancillary grassroots groups, but

they tend to focus on the big counties where there is most bang for the buck.

Bottom line is huge swaths of the state see no Dem activity whatsoever, and Dem candidates in those areas get no help at all.

So here is a hard another truth. Floridian Dems cannot win Florida.

We can’t.

BUT AMERICA’S Dems absolutely CAN.

If Dems all across America decide that winning the 3rd most populous state, w/one of the fastest growing populations & (at least) 29 electoral votes, then we WILL win FL in 2022.

But it won’t happen trying to tinker with what we

have.

Florida needs a state-wide permanent and professional voter contact, messaging and campaign support infrastructure, and that kind of thing will actually need to be built.

Doing so requires vision & most importantly, MONEY! Not money spent on consultants, pollsters &

galas.

Money to pay permanent professional staff to engage in real, sustained community engagement across the state, most especially in rural areas.

If we invest in standing that up, we will break the GOP stranglehold on FL. We WILL win back the 2 Congressional seats we lost

in South Florida.

We WILL get Black turnout in north Florida that will look like the turnout in GA, & we will be able to hold on to that advantage for years to come.

If you’re wondering if I have a plan for that, the answer is YES!

Stay tuned for announcements in coming

soon.

But understand this, catching up to 25 YEARS of GOP infrastructure building and voter engagement WILL. NOT. BE. CHEAP.... or easy.