JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — History unfolded on the national stage during President Biden and Vice President Harris’s inauguration.
The first woman and person of color was sworn in as Vice President. Duval Democratic Party Chair Daniel Henry watched on after a historic win in Duval County as well.
“I think I started to breathe a lot easier the second he was officially sworn in,” Henry said. “It was finally great to be able to say President Biden and Vice President Harris.”
He watched on after helping Duval County make a historic vote in November. It was the first time Duval had voted blue in 44 years. The last time was when the county voted for President Jimmy Carter in 1976.
However, Henry said it didn’t come easy. He said the pandemic made it especially difficult to register voters, get them to the polls and help residents vote by mail.
“We were doing work up until the polls closed on election night,” he told Action News Jax’s, Robert Grant.
Henry said Jacksonville’s diverse demographics helped Duval make the switch from what was a guaranteed red county to now blue. An increase in votes by people of color and younger residents made a difference, Henry stated.
About 41% of registered voters in Duval County are Democrats while about 35% are Republican. Another 21% have no party affiliation. Henry said getting independents to vote blue also made a big difference in the overall vote.
“Our county is changing every single day. We have young and vibrant people moving here everyday.” A move, he said, that puts Duval on the map for future elections.
In a statement, the Duval GOP said, “Today with the inauguration of President Joe Biden, we begin our duty to steadfast and patriotic opposition to any radical leftist agenda. These preceding weeks have been difficult for those of us who worked so hard for the Republican candidates this election. We gave it our all but if we pause to reflect for a moment, our circumstances are not as bad as they might seem. Our future is filled with abundant hope and we have great opportunities ahead of us.”
Duval GOP Chair Dean Black went on to say that the democrats have a slight margin in the House and hold 50 seats in the Senate. “They will never get the votes to do away with the filibuster and will never get the support to pass far left ideas. Stymied in Congress, they will turn to executive action which can be stopped cold by the Courts, where we have hundreds of new, genuine conservative federal judges.”
The GOP’s focus is now shifting to the state legislatures where they hold republican majority.
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Cox Media Group
