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Opinion

Young voters should see Democrat’s values

The following Letter to the Editor was published in The Daily Sun on Sept 2, 2023. I write these letters because as a lifelong Democrat I’m trying to do my part to encourage folks to get engaged and to care enough about our country’s political discourse, so they don’t waste their vote. Voting is the

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Campaigning

Ron DeSantis is afraid of questions from a 15 year-old

By Jake Lahut, The Daily Beast, September 1, 2023. Quinn Mitchell has seen at least 35 presidential candidates in person since 2019, when he first started showing up at New Hampshire primary events to ask them questions. Not a single one of them had ever treated the now-15-year-old as if he were a threat—until Ron DeSantis came

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Analysis

DeSantis gets mixed reviews from 1st GOP presidential debate

By MITCH PERRY, The Florida Phoenix,  Aug 24, 2023  MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – AUGUST 23: Republican presidential candidates (L-R), former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy participate in the first debate of the GOP primary season hosted by FOX News at the Fiserv Forum on August 23, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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Candidate Profile

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell launches challenge to Rick Scott

By Jim Turner,  News Service of Florida, Aug 22, 2023 TALLAHASSEE — Former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, an immigrant born in Ecuador who served one term in Congress, entered the race Tuesday to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott in 2024. The announcement made Mucarsel-Powell the top name in a Democratic field that includes former U.S.

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Elections

On the ballot in 2024

Bu Bob Morgan, Random Thoughts, July 18, 2023. While there won’t likely be any specific controversial referenda to vote on in 2024, and the election will mostly be about choosing individuals to represent us in local, state, and federal capacities, there will certainly be a substantial number of critical matters to be decided. The ballot

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Campaigning

I won’t let Donald Trump invade my brain

By David Brooks, Opinion Columnist, The New York Times, June 15, 2023 I try to be a reasonable person. I try to be someone who looks out on the world with trusting eyes. Over the decades, I’ve built up certain expectations about how the world works and how people behave. I rely on those expectations

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Analysis

What can Ron DeSantis do now?

By Benjamin Wallace-Wells The New Yorker, May 26, 2023. Presidential campaigns are usually launched in a bright burst of hope. Slick videos are posted, bus tours of the hinterlands are announced, e-mails seeking donations flow into in-boxes like the tide. The candidacy of Governor Ron DeSantis, of Florida, contains some extra, darker emotional layers: defensiveness,

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Elections

No reason for partisan school board elections

The following editorial was published in The Daily Sun on Apr 28, 2023. OUR POSITION: Turning school board races in Florida into potential clashes over party politics does nothing to help students or the state’s goal to be a leader in education. It will be up to voters in 2024 to right a wrong. The wrong

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Charlotte County Democrats

The Democratic party is looking for candidates

The following Letter to the Editor was published in The Daily Sun on March 8, 2022. As chair of the Charlotte County Democratic Party, I am compelled to speak out against the alarming trend of overreach by Republican legislators who are blindly rubber-stamping Governor Ron DeSantis’ autocratic, performative, and extreme right-wing initiatives. Many readers of

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Elections

Who will we elect to lead the Florida Democratic Party?

With thanks to Roxy Moore & Politico Florida Playbook , we offer the following synopsis of the 5 candidates.  Also see https://www.floridadems.org/our-party/fdp-chair-candidates/ Please advise Dr. Lucy Huke Garner and Tom Garner of your prefered leader at lucyhuykegarner@gmail.com  and tomgarner1@gmail.com before Feb 25th, when this election will take place. Feb 17th update:  Alex Berrios, one of

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Elections

It’s time to renew your Vote by Mail ballot application

All mail ballot requests in Florida expired after the November 2022 election – including yours. You read that right. Due to the 2021 Florida elections law (SB90), all mail ballot requests from before the 2022 election have been canceled – and now, all Floridians who want to vote by mail in 2023-2024 must submit a new vote-by-mail

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Elections

Values-based politics are winning politics for Democrats

By Perry Bacon Jr., Washington Post Columnist, December 7, 2022. The election results from 2018, 2020 and this year, including Tuesday’s reelection of Sen. Raphael G. Warnock (D-Ga.), have clearly shown that Democrats can win by casting Republicans as a party of bigotry, intolerance and radicalism. They should embrace that approach — and give up on

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Elections

The GOP has a big problem beyond Trump: It lacks compelling alternatives

By Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post Columnist, December 7, 2022. Republican support for former president Donald Trump is declining. Even his popularity among evangelicals has faded — not because they have discovered his abysmal character or lack of reverence for the Constitution, but because they fear he might not be a winning candidate. But Republicans have a significant problem for 2024, even

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Analysis

What a closely watched SCOTUS case could mean for Florida

By GARY FINEOUT ,  Politico Florida Playbook, Dec 7, 2022. Before the court — A lot of attention will be directed to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) as it takes up a North Carolina redistricting case that could determine the future of elections nationwide, including Florida’s. The case known as Moore v. Harper centers around

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Elections

DeSantis’ presidential bid may get easier

By Stephany Matat, Palm Beach Post USA TODAY NETWORK, Nov 30, 2022 Gov. Ron DeSantis hasn’t said he’s running for president, but Florida Republican legislative leaders are considering making it easier for him to do so anyway. Gathered in Tallahassee on Tuesday, these leaders said they are open to revising a Florida law requiring the

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Analysis

New state voter fraud units finding few cases from midterms

The following article was published in The Daily Sun on Nov 27, 2022. WASHINGTON (AP) — State-level law enforcement units created after the 2020 presidential election to investigate voter fraud are looking into scattered complaints more than two weeks after the midterms but have provided no indication of systemic problems. That’s just what election experts

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Analysis

Brennan Center for Justice: wealthy donor impact on elections

In the 2022 midterms, the 100 largest donors collectively spent 60 percent more than every small donor in the United States combined, according to a Brennan Center analysis of publicly available data. (Small donors are those who give $200 or less.) The wealthy have always wielded disproportionate power over American government. In 1895, GOP strategist

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Elections

Proposed constitutional amendments were popular, but not popular enough

By MICHAEL MOLINE, The Florida Phoenix, Nov 9, 2022. Florida voters have decided not to grant themselves property tax breaks for armoring their homes against flooding. They also voted on Tuesday to keep the Constitutional Revision Commission — a panel convened every 20 years to decide whether and how to amend Florida’s basic charter. Finally, they

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