CHICAGO – Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried told delegates at a breakfast meeting during the Democratic National Convention on Monday that a ballot measure on abortion will turn the Sunshine State into a battleground in the November election.
“We won’t let ourselves be written off,” said Fried, wearing a white blazer – often a symbol of the women’s suffrage movement – over a University of Florida shirt.
Fried added that Democrats are striving to re-engage their base.
She introduced U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor and Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, and both representatives said they were confident the Sunshine State would support Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and other Democrats in the vote.
Fried added that the key to regaining Florida’s competitiveness – as the state leans more Republican – is tothe abortion proposalknown as Amendment 4, which would prohibit any government interference in the right to abortion in Florida until the point of feasibility, i.e. after about 24 weeks of pregnancy.
It is a measure that Fried described as a “turning point.”
“I hope we have secured women’s right to vote,” she said.
Michigan’s Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in a speech to delegates that making Florida a swing state “will not be easy,” but she believes the ballot proposal will facilitate Democrats in the November election.
Another guest, Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, said he was bullish Florida would support Harris. The last time Florida went to Democrats in a presidential election was in 2012, during former President Barack Obama’s second term.
“We’re going to surprise some people in the Sunshine State,” Shapiro said.
Hazel Gillis, a 77-year-old delegate from Jacksonville, Florida, said she believes this ballot question will facilitate make Florida a swing state in the 2024 election.
“We’re talking about women’s rights,” she said. “All women should vote for this amendment because it’s our body.”
