Using dramatic, and occasionally coarse, language to emphasize the gravity of their challenge, local, state and national Democratic Party leaders sought to fire up Broward Democrats, without whom their party has no hope of climbing out of the political abyss in Florida.
All sought to energize the party faithful with reminders of the high stakes and tantalize them with the prospect of election wins in 2026. At the same time, speakers at the Broward Democratic Party’s big annual fundraising dinner acknowledged some of their most vexing difficulties.
During the main speech of the night on Saturday, Democratic National Chair Ken Martin brought up the enormous advantage — 1.2 million — Republicans have over Democrats in registered voters in Florida.
Unless and until that changes, a range of Democrats acknowledge their party’s chances of winning statewide elections is exceedingly small.
He and state Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried urged county activists to begin engaging immediately with friends, coworkers, neighbors and fellow parishioners about what’s going on politically and not wait until 2026 to begin registering them to vote and getting signups to vote by mail — areas where Florida Democrats have fallen short as Republicans have built a massive, and effective, organization throughout the state.
“We cannot give up on any part of this country, including here in Florida,” Martin said. “There’s an opportunity right now because what we’re seeing around the country is a huge backlash to what this administration is doing, the pain and the anguish that were inflicted upon the American people. There is a buyer’s remorse amongst independent voters and even some Republican voters who voted for Trump.”
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, a superstar among Democrats who often goes viral with her lacerating takedowns of Republicans, and U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who represents parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, said it’s essential for Democrats to stop sniping at one another.
“Right now, people are not excited about the Democrats,” Crockett said. “They don’t believe in us because, unfortunately, we are still divided. So I am begging you. Your one charge tonight is to figure out how it is that we are going to start to heal and unite, because that’s the only way that we’re going to move forward.”
Cherfilus-McCormick said energy devoted to intraparty battles is a waste, diverting energy from what she said is the imperative to mobilize to counter policies from President Donald Trump and other Republicans.
Martin also said Democrats shouldn’t pull their punches when describing Trump administration policies.
Yet that’s an area in which Democrats aren’t united. There’s a feeling among some in the party, especially those who are younger and aren’t Washington insiders, that some in the party’s old guard of elected officials are too passive and haven’t done enough to combat Trump.
Martin cited an example. When a second Texas child died of measles in April, Martin called out Trump’s health and human services secretary, who has spread anti-vaccine information for years, writing on social media that “Robert Kennedy Jr. has murdered another child in Texas.”
Martin said he heard from a senior elected official in Washington who told him that was too strident.
Martin rejected that view. “We have to be aggressive. You cannot worry about offending someone.”
“One of the reasons we’ve lost trust with so many people,” he said, is that “sometimes Democrats get elected to office and they sit on their power. What good is power if you don’t use it to improve people’s lives?”
“What pisses me off is when we have Democrats on the sidelines, not willing to stick their neck out, not willing to stand up right now. Not willing to roll up their sleeves and get in this fight and do what we need to, to not only resist but to organize, to mobilize, to give people a sense that we’re gonna fight for them and their families,” Martin said. “This is the fight of our lives. This is not the time to sit on the sidelines.”
Crockett told the Florida audience that she knows what it’s like to be from a state that has plenty of “crazy.”
She cited the Florida law restricting instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in schools, widely known as “don’t say gay,” which is called by its official title, “Parental Rights in Education” by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republicans.
“You all aren’t allowed to say gay here,” Crockett said, adding her take: “Gay, gay, gay, gay, gay.”
“Thank God for term limits, honey,” which will force DeSantis to leave office after next year’s election, she said. “Bye, governor. Bye.”
Crockett said Democrats should not accept Republican framing of transgender rights and immigration in a way that divides Democrats.
“Here’s the reality. We allow ourselves to be distracted and then divided. Because at the end of the day we are all on the same Titanic, and this ship is going down,” she said.
Democrats were animated about the changes wrought by the Trump administration.
“We must also confront the growing threat to our democracy,” said Broward Democratic Party Chair Rick Hoye.
“We are seeing the warning signs of authoritarianism, book bans, election deniers, voter suppression laws, and the erosion of checks and balances. And now 47 (Trump) is openly attacking the very foundation of a professional impartial government,” he said. “This is why we fight.”
And U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the longest-serving Democrat in the Florida congressional delegation and a former national party chair, said “it’s tough to keep up with Trump’s madness.”
Wasserman Schultz said people need to resist the urge to turn away from the news and retreat. “We cannot do that. We cannot give in. We cannot give up. We can only go up,” she said. “Lives are at stake. Our very democracy hangs in the balance.”
Cherfilus-McCormick was even more blunt in her call to action.
“This is not for the weak. If you’re not strong, get out of the way. This is not for the ambivalent. If you’re not sure, get out of the way,” she said. “If you do not fight, democracy will die. If you do not fight, Social Security will die. If you do not get up and fight, your way of living will die. Your rights will die. This is not the time and the place to be ambivalent, this is the time to stand up tall.”
Crockett offered a similar message. “You are obligated to stay in this fight. You are obligated to show some love, compassion and humanity as we are all in the same sinking Titanic. But if we work, if we paddle, and we try to get rid of the water together, then I promise y’all we can stay afloat.”
Crockett, Fried and Martin all said the road back to power for Democrats starts by focusing on lower-profile, so-called down-ballot offices for things like school board and city commission seats.
Hoye repudiated high-profile Broward-based defectors from the party, insisting they are not precursors of more to come.
“We’ve seen some Democratic leaders leave our ranks because they were unable or unwilling to live up to the values of justice, equity and progress. Some of them crossed over to the Republican Party. Others have opted for the sidelines as NPAs. Let them go… The Democratic Party is not dead. We are here. Our voices will be heard,” Hoye said.
Those are references to state Rep. Hillary Cassel who switched from Democratic to Republican after last year’s election and to state Sen. Jason Pizzo. Pizzo had been exploring running for the Democratic nomination for governor. He quit the Democratic Party in April, pronounced it dead, and registered as a no party affiliation independent. Pizzo switched after news broke that former Rep. David Jolly, who is better known than Pizzo, registered as a Democrat as he prepared to seek the gubernatorial nomination himself.
About 300 people attended the dinner Saturday at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood. Hoye said the event would bring in at least $100,000, which would help the party pay for year-round operations instead of attempting to gear up in the election year. A separate, small private fundraising event for the DNC featuring Martin exceeded its $25,000 goal, an attendee said.
Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon.
