TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Democratic Party Chair Terri Rizzo will not run for reelection after a disastrous 2020 election.
The state Democratic party lost seats in both the Florida Legislature and Congress. The Democrats figured to go from 17 seats to 19 in the state Senate, but instead they lost a coveted South Florida seat. It was even worse in the House, where Democrats lost three incumbents and two targeted open seats.
Recommended Videos
“It just means we have to work a little harder,” State Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, said.
State Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, said the Democrats need to change their strategy.
“We’ll have to be more aggressive in committee, where we have more numbers,” Eskamani said. “We’re going to have to ask tough questions.”
And then there were the two congressional seats in South Florida that Democrats lost.
Democrats have been calling for new leadership since the party accepted an $800,000 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan that became fodder for Republican attack ads.
Rizzo, who’s been in the job three years, has since released a memo saying she wouldn’t seek reelection.
Eskamani knew the resignation was coming and expressed hope that the party’s executive director would also step down. She was one of the first to speak out against the PPP loan and call for new leadership.
“This needs to set a new standard where we are going to focus on everyday people,” Eskamani said. “The incoming leadership cannot be bought and sold by the consultant class.”
Former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz and national committeewoman Nikki Barnes have declared their intentions to run in Rizzo’s absence. But Eskamani, who said others may jump in, has questions.
“What’s their organizing model? How do they interpret power?” she said.
In the end, Eskamani said the party must change how it operates, from relying heavily on consultants to being silenced by taking corporate cash. Otherwise, she said, it will be more of the same with a different face.
Democrats lost legislative seats despite a last-minute influx of more than $15 million in out-of-state money that was used to help Democratic legislative candidates.