Florida Democrats look for inspiration while meeting at Hollywood Hard Rock

DAVIE — Is there any way for the Florida Democratic Party to break on through next year in races for governor and U.S. Senate after two consecutive statewide routs at the ballot box? The math would indicate it will be very difficult.

That’s likely why the party chose Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear as one of two keynote speakers at its annual Leadership Blue gala on Saturday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood (which actually is in Davie), the party’s biggest fundraising event of the year.

Beshear has proven that a Democrat can win in a red state, a formula Florida Democrats are desperate to figure out as GOP party registration numbers continue to increase each month. Beshear won re-election as governor in Kentucky in 2023 by five percentage points, while Donald Trump won that same state by 30 points.

“I’m living proof that if a Democrat can win in Kentucky, Democrats can win in Florida,” he proclaimed early in his speech.

He went on to say that Trump won the presidency last year because he convinced the last group of undecided voters that it was better to focus on lowering costs and addressing inflation than on “culture war issues.” That hasn’t exactly played out that way during the president’s first five months back in office, Beshear said. “It’s the opposite of what he’s doing right now.”

Beshear’s name has appeared on shortlists of potential Democratic presidential candidates for 2028, as has the event’s other keynote speaker, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.

Earlier this spring, Booker spoke for 25 hours and five minutes on the floor of the U.S. Senate, setting a new record for the longest speech in Senate history.

He only went 30 minutes on Saturday night, but it was a performance. It began with him calling for the house lights to be put on so he could see all 1,000-plus attendees, and then he waded into the audience, ultimately standing atop a table to address the crowd.

“These are really, really scary times,” he said at one point. “And if you say you’re not, you’re not telling the truth. These are frightening times.”

Speaking to the Phoenix before the formal festivities began, Booker was asked whether he was concerned about the Democratic Party’s brand, which has declined to its lowest level in decades according to multiple public opinion polls.

“Leadership is about serving people,” he responded. “I think we should be less concerned about the Democratic Party and more concerned about the American people. I’m happy that my colleagues are looking not at what’s going to help the party, we’re fighting to preserve people’s healthcare. We’re fighting to protect people’s food stamps. Or their meals on wheels programs. This is the time to focus on the American people, leave the party and the partisanship for the elections coming up.”

He attacked the president, saying Trump was “coming to cut and gut vital programs for people here in Florida, and we need to do everything we can to stop him while at the same time showing there’s a different way to go.”

Bombs in Iran

Less than an hour into the event, Trump announced on social media that the United States had dropped bombs on Iran’s nuclear sites. While undoubtedly some Democrats were sharing the news at their tables via alerts on their cellphones, the incident was not publicly mentioned from the dais.

Booker told the Phoenix that he was supportive of Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine’s war powers bill, which would require a vote by Congress before the military could become involved in Iran.

“I’ve been very clear on supporting Kaine’s efforts that the president cannot declare war in this case without the clear constitutional mandate to come before Congress,” he said less than two hours before Trump made his announcement. “We should be debating that in the Senate. In the meantime, we need to be doing everything that we can to protect and support our ally Israel.”

Focusing on ‘core issues’

Beshear said in his speech that it was important for Democrats to talk to people, not at them. They can regain the faith of the American people, he said, by placing a “relentless focus on the core concerns of hardworking Americans.”

“Better jobs,” he said. “More affordable and accessible health care. Safer roads and bridges. The best education for our children and communities where people aren’t just safe, they feel safe. I believe that spending 80% of our time on these core issues shows that we are dialed in and we are going to deliver.”

In perhaps a nod to 2028, he made sure to highlight what he’s accomplished in his two terms as governor of Kentucky. That includes signing legislation just days after he was initially elected in 2019 restoring the right to vote for more than 140,000 Kentucky felons who had committed nonviolent offenses. He also acted to remove a Confederate statue, and he signed legislation restricting the controversial practice of conversion therapy (which the Kentucky GOP-controlled Legislature later overturned).

Despite his optimism, the reality in Florida is stark when it comes to the power Republicans have built up over the past five years. The GOP now enjoys a 1.3 million-voter advantage in party registration, their highest in state history. They also continue their supermajority status in both chambers of the Florida Legislature, and have held all statewide offices since Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried left her leadership of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in 2022 to run for governor.

Fried gave a 20-minute speech sandwiched in between Beshear and Booker’s addresses, in which she was candid in assessing the party’s branding and performance in recent years. “We know we are the underdogs,” she said. “We are up against a 30-year Republican machine. But we also know that change doesn’t happen overnight. It happens when we organize. Every single day.”

‘Brand is broken’

“Our message is sh*t,” she added, as some members of  the crowd laughed, with some applauding.  “Our brand is broken. But quitting, hiding, waiting, or whining will not fix it. What will? Showing up.”

She added that voters up and down the state needed to see Democrats “not just when the ballots drop, but every damned day.”

South Florida U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Jared Moskowitz also gave speeches.

As is the case every year at Leadership Blue, Saturday afternoon was filled with various panel discussions — this time on school board races, voter registration efforts, and what people need to know about the mass deportations of undocumented immigrants taking place. However, unlike most other Leadership Blue events, the press was barred from attending any of these sessions.

Meanwhile, the Republican Party of Florida will hold its major summer gathering — the Florida Freedom Summit — on Aug. 2 in Orlando.