JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mayor-Elect Donna Deegan’s historic victory in Duval County this week is sparking some hope for Florida Democrats who are hoping to restore Florida’s purple state status after a stinging defeat statewide in 2022.
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But political experts on both sides of the aisle are urging caution when reading into the race and what it means for the state of play in Florida politics overall.
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Deegan managed to pull off a Democratic victory in a county won by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis by nearly 12 points just seven months before.
“I told you all that we could do this,” Chair of the Florida Democratic Party said in a video posted to Twitter on Wednesday.
After major defeats statewide in 2022, the Florida Democratic Party is already leveraging the momentum from Deegan’s victory in hopes of delivering similar victories in 2024.
“As long as we are working hard, that our candidates are out there talking about issues that are impacting the people of our state, we will be able to win our state up and down the ballot,” Fried continued in the video.
Jacksonville-raised Democratic strategist Steve Schale said the Duval results definitely produced some important takeaways for Florida Dems.
“The lesson for Democrats is candidates really do matter, races really do matter and that you can persuade Republicans and Independents to vote for a good Democrat,” Schale said.
On the Republican side, Florida GOP Chair of Chairs Evan Power argued Duval’s politics have rarely reflected the state as a whole.
“Jacksonville has never been the model of what the State of Florida looks like. If you look, how Jacksonville voted has not been how the President turned out in Florida,” Power said.
Schale agreed in one regard: Every election is different and the results of one do not guarantee results in another.
“Just like my Republican friends, I think, overread sort of the 2022 results in Duval County, my Democratic friends should be mindful of the fact that there were some very specific things at play in Jacksonville that worked in Donna’s favor,” Schale said.
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Whether or not this week’s election represents building momentum for the Florida Democratic Party on a statewide level, at least for Jacksonville, it represents the first successful mayoral bid launched by a Democratic candidate since Alvin Brown in 2011.