Florida Democrats scored another big win tonight with Mayor Rick Kriseman’s re-election.

 

St. Petersburg, FL – Florida Democrats are more fired up than ever. 

 

A little more than a month ago, Florida Democrats scored a historic victory in the special election for Senate District 40. In a low turnout election, Democrat Annette Taddeo flipped a competitive state Senate seat from red to blue, defeating the well-funded Republican, Jose Felix Diaz.

 

After a wincing defeat, state and national Republicans loaded up Rick Baker’s political committee in a last-ditch effort to win a critical big-city mayor’s race in the I-4 corridor. 

 

With the governor’s mansion up for grabs and Rick Scott plotting a U.S. Senate run in 2018, Republicans will have to campaign in an I-4 corridor led by strong Democratic mayors like Rick Kriseman.

 

Re-electing Mayor Rick Kriseman was a significant victory for Florida Democrats. The Democratic mayor faced a tough challenge from a popular, former two-term Republican mayor—Rick Baker. Despite raising massive sums of GOP cash, Rick Baker fell flat on his face and finished second to Mayor Rick Kriseman on Election Day this past August and lost outright in the runoff tonight.

 

Throughout the campaign, Florida Democrats from across the state made thousands of calls and knocked on thousands of doors in St. Pete, encouraging progressives to get out and vote.  

 

The Florida Democratic Party made a significant investment in Mayor Kriseman’s re-election campaign, putting considerable resources towards on-the-ground organizers and tools to mobilize voters and boost turnout. 

 

“Democrats just keep winning—grassroots enthusiasm is surging across the state, and Florida Democrats are ready to compete in all 67 counties. When Democrats run on their values, they win. The Florida Democratic Party is ready to flip Florida blue in 2018, and we are committed to winning seats at every level of government—from school board to the United States Senate.” said Florida Democratic Party Chair Stephen Bittel. 

 

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