Going into the 2022 campaign, the Florida Democratic Party (FDP) finds itself in hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
According to numbers from the Federal Election Commission (FEC), at the end of 2020, the Florida Democratic Party (FDP) was underwater with more than $868,000 in debt and the Democratic Executive Committee of Florida had less than $61,000 in cash on hand.
After losing some key races across the state in November, earlier this month, Max Greenwood from The Hill noted that the Florida Democrats are “engulfed in turmoil and facing a mix of internal divisions and financial woes that threaten to hobble the party.”
After setbacks in last year’s elections, reports have surfaced about the party letting its employee’s healthcare lapse.
Now going into the 2022 election cycle, donors are worried about the party’s finances.
Members of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) told The Hill that the new party Chairman Manny Diaz has his work cut off for him to raise money for the 2022 elections.
To his credit, Diaz has pointed out the party’s finances need to be rebuild.
The FDP also has other problems. To cover costs, the FDP firef two-thirds of its staff and party observers are worried that a minimal grassroots organization going into 2022 may not be enough to defeat the Republicans who have won every gubernatorial election since 1994.
“The party is in a lot of trouble, they are a hot mess,” said Tania Ingrams, a former deputy training director with the Florida Democratic Party.
Leading Democrats have said that if the party doesn’t get its fundraising back on track and meet demands for grassroots activity, it will have problems flipping the Sunshine State next year.
The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) reported it had $5.8 million in the bank at the end of 2020.
Reach Ed Dean at ed.dean@floridadaily.com.
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