Fed up with a Democratic Party that they view as too old, conservative and out of step, young progressive voters have lifted the Democratic Socialists of America to a string of improbable victories across the U.S.
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Zohran Mamdani’s victorious campaign in November for New York City mayor catapulted him to the top tier of national politics. Mamdani-inspired democratic socialists in June primaries beat more established Democratic candidates. Other democratic socialists scored recent wins in the Pennsylvania and Colorado primaries and took over the Seattle mayor’s office.
Yet as democratic socialists grow more visible on the national stage, their presence in Florida is harder to detect. State Democrats are well on their way to nominating moderate candidates in the Aug. 18 Democratic primary who they hope will broadly appeal to independents and disaffected Republicans in November’s general election.
Democratic socialism? Not here, not now, not ever, Florida’s Democratic leaders say.
“We won’t see it in Florida,” said Nikki Fried, chairperson of the Florida Democratic Party. “We’re building a robust coalition, and that includes hundreds of thousands of Floridians who left their homelands fleeing socialism. A third of our electorate is independent. It won’t happen here.”
But the largest socialist organization in the U.S. — with more than 100,000 members and chapters in all 50 states — is showing signs of life in Florida.
St. Petersburg council member Richie Floyd, one of the only democratic socialists elected to office in the state, estimates there are 5,000 members in the state.
Republicans are eager to exaggerate their numbers in Florida and mischaracterize them as communists, a sound strategy in a state where the word “socialism” hits differently in South Florida’s Cuban and Venezuelan exile communities than it does in the northeast.
During a June summit of Republicans in South Florida, various speakers invoked democratic socialism as a deadly threat, mentioning Mamdani and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York more than any Democrat on the Florida ballot.
“The Democrat party is run by AOC Mamdani,” said U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, using the nickname for Ocasio-Cortez during the GOP’s Sunshine State Showdown. “They hate capitalism, they hate businessmen, they hate businesswomen. Some of them want all the capitalists killed.”
Get past the hyperbole and scaremongering, and much of what democratic socialists support is no more radical than expanding the safety net created by President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, an agenda long pushed by democratic socialist U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
More of a grassroots organization with deep ties to labor unions than a political party, democratic socialists operate within the Democratic Party to push many issues that are tracking well with voters, such as Medicare for All, free tuition and a non-interventionist foreign policy.
But other stances supported by its members are at odds with the Democratic establishment. Defunding the police and opposing Israel and its military conflicts in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon expose significant fault lines.
As Democratic leaders such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer continue to back Israel, polls show voters’ support for Israel is fading. As with many economic issues, public sentiment on Israel has fallen more in line with democratic socialists’ thinking.
But Florida Democrats have sidestepped this schism largely because democratic socialists have yet to leave much of a mark here.
Floyd said democratic socialists in Florida are emphasizing issues, such as immigration enforcement and utility rates, rather than betting big on any one candidate. So far, they’ve only endorsed one: Oliver Larkin, a 34-year-old digital specialist, who is challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz in a newly drawn South Florida congressional seat.
“We’re not making a play for the statewide races,” Floyd said. “We don’t have sway that way yet. To win at this, you need millions and millions of votes. We’re still learning here, but we’re learning as we go.”
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Unlike places like New York City, which has a younger electorate, Florida’s conditions aren’t as favorable to democratic socialists, said Steve Schale, a Democratic consultant.
“Our Democratic base isn’t just old, but it’s really diverse,” Schale said. “The younger, white, college-educated voter that drives the (democratic socialist) support isn’t a big part of our primary base.”
Because of the diversity of Florida’s Democratic base, Schale said, statewide candidates must appeal to a wide array of voters. In addition, because Republicans have an edge of about 1.5 million in active registered voters, Democrats must nominate someone who will appeal to independents at a higher rate than Republicans.
“You have to have a candidate in Florida who will win independents by 20 or 25 points,” Schale said. “That means Democrats can pick their most appealing candidate to them, but if they don’t win the undecideds, then it doesn’t add up to 50% plus 1.”
Heading into the primary, the Democratic favorites to win the nomination for the U.S. Senate and governor are already trying to appeal to independents.
David Jolly, a former Republican U.S. congressman from Pinellas County, has all but locked up the Democratic nomination for governor. Alex Vindman, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who was the key whistleblower in the impeachment of President Donald Trump, has far outraised his closest rival for the Senate, state Rep. Angie Nixon of Jacksonville.
Both men are emphasizing how they’ll lower the rising costs of living while accusing Republicans of corruption. But Larkin and Nixon, who are members of the Democratic Socialists of America, say Democrats are falling into the same trap: chasing moderates who no longer exist in these hyper-partisan times by backing candidates who don’t fight for working families.
“It feels like sabotage,” Larkin said. “Republicans aren’t icing out the far right of their party. They’re building a winning coalition. Democrats, meanwhile, treat independent voters like they’re down the middle. That’s why we keep getting such milquetoast candidates who aren’t inspiring younger voters.”
Larkin‘s endorsement by the Democratic Socialists of America allows him to tap into a volunteer network of door knockers and phone banks. His campaign has already had an impact. He convinced the AFL-CIO to not endorse Moskowitz because the congressman was the Democrat to join the DOGE Caucus in late 2024 — a congressional effort critics see as backing Elon Musk’s mass layoffs of federal workers.
Nixon, who recently joined the organization, has not been endorsed by the group.
Like Larkin, she faces a well-funded Democratic rival. Although Vindman has raised vastly more in campaign contributions, Nixon said she thinks she’ll win and do a better job taking on Republican Ashley Moody, who was appointed to the U.S. Senate last year by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“If an organization is on the ground organizing for affordable housing, healthcare and fair wages, I am proud to stand in solidarity with them,” Nixon texted the Tampa Bay Times on Wednesday about joining the democratic socialists.
Heading into the Florida Democratic Party’s annual summit this weekend in Orlando, Fried said she hopes all candidates can put their differences behind them after Aug. 18. As Republican candidates for governor bicker, Fried said Democrats need to be unified for the Nov. 3 general election.
“If you want to be part of the tent, then you have to be inside the tent,” Fried said. “If you want to throw arrows, start your own party.”
Floyd said Democrats shouldn’t worry about democratic socialists.
“It’s the working-class folks who you have to convince to go out and vote, not us,” Floyd said.
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