What a dramatic change, and so quickly.
Less than two weeks ago, Florida Democrats were in a dark place and full of despair over their bleak political prospects in 2024.
Suddenly, it all changed. President Joe Biden stepped aside for Vice President Kamala Harris. Seemingly overnight, an intense and unstoppable wave of optimism swept over Democrats in a state where they’ve been on a depressingly long losing streak in major elections.
Suddenly, Democrats have hope. They imagine the possibility of victory.
A feeling on the ground
You can see it and feel it on the ground, where it matters most. We saw it in recent days in Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale, two places where Democrats must perform exceptionally well if they stand even a slight chance of securing victory in Florida.
As the 100-day sprint to Election Day began last Sunday, newly invigorated Democrats filled a ballroom at Boca Lago Golf and Country Club for the annual luncheon of the Democratic Club of Boca Raton and Delray Beach.
About 200 club members, candidates and elected officials mingled and queued up to a buffet table, and they shared hope of a possible Harris presidency — a dream that did not exist a couple of weeks ago.
“The miracle can happen. The miracle will happen,” predicted the club’s member engagement director, Dr. Athena Palearas Batista, as applause filled the room.
The aura of possibility can be a very powerful thing, but it can succeed only if enough people turn the talk into action.
It will require an unprecedented effort to change history and overcome the Republican attack machine, with its racist and sexist cues, all aimed squarely at the first woman of color to lead a presidential ticket in America.
Why Palm Beach matters
“Here’s what he did. He passed the torch,” Palm Beach County Commissioner Mack Bernard said of Biden. “By passing the torch, we, in this room, will get a chance to make history — the first woman president in the USA. Let’s win this.”
It’s not entirely hyperbole to pinpoint Palm Beach County as a critical battleground for Democrats in this election, which really is the most important one of our lifetimes, though that phrase seems to be trotted out every four years.
For Democrats, it’s still an uphill fight, but it’s worth fighting.
Keep in mind, Republicans continue to close the voter registration gap with Democrats in Palm Beach, a county that was safely blue for decades (a lighter shade than Broward, but close). The number of Democrats in the county is steadily declining, as we’ve noted in the past, while NPAs, or voters with no party affiliation, are steadily increasing.
As of Wednesday, there were 275,302 registered Republicans in Palm Beach County and 322,695 Democrats, according to Supervisor Wendy Link’s website. In March 2020, those numbers were 274,797 for Republicans and 414,565 for Democrats.
The most conservative governor in modern Florida history, Ron DeSantis, won Palm Beach by an astonishing 19 percentage points a year-and-a-half ago. The main reason is that many Democrats stayed home.
The Palm Beach County Democratic Party has been thrown off track by petty infighting that has taken away from the greater goal of electing Democrats. But there’s enough time to turn that around.
Request your ballot
Renewed requests for mail ballots, while slowly improving, are still far below where they should be in a high-turnout presidential year. That’s the direct result of a strategy by the Florida Legislature to blunt the use of a voting method that, since the pandemic, has been more popular with Democrats.
Too many people still don’t know that they need to ask for a mail ballot, even if they got one in 2022.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, and other Broward Democrats drove that message home at a grassroots rally at Pride Center in Wilton Manors.
Dozens of volunteers showed up at a mail ballot phone bank on a sweltering Saturday afternoon.
Each volunteer got a list of Democrats who voted in 2020 or 2022 but who have not yet asked for a mail ballot for 2024.
Why Republicans win
“Why do Republicans always win? Because Democrats do not vote,” Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis told the fired-up crowd. “It’s not going to happen unless we come together.”
Also there were Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Steve Glassman, state Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, D-Parkland, School Board member Sarah Leonardi and Democratic state committeeman Alfredo Olvera.
The miracle that Democrats are predicting won’t happen without a miraculous outpouring of civic energy and an avalanche of votes cast. The Florida numbers still greatly favor Republicans, who have 1 million more registered voters and a much better track record of voting.
Kamala Harris can’t win on hope alone. The next signs of a dramatic shift in this election will be a surge in mail ballot requests, followed by a surge in turnout in the Aug. 20 primary.
Miracles can happen.
To request a mail-in ballot, in Palm Beach County, call 561-656-6208. In Broward, call or text 954-357-8683.
The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Opinion Editor Dan Sweeney, editorial writers Pat Beall and Martin Dyckman, and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Editorials are the opinion of the Board and written by one of its members. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.
