One week before Donald Trump’s Orlando campaign rally, the Florida Democratic Party has launched its Organizing Corps 2020 program. Today, more than 90 new paid Democratic organizers will begin organizing communities across the state, reminding voters what is at stake in 2020, and laying the groundwork to defeat Donald Trump in Florida.

Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, was overjoyed to welcome the newest members of the FDP staff:

“The Florida Organizing Corps is an integral part of the grassroots infrastructure needed to defeat Trump in Florida while investing in the next generation of Florida’s Democratic leaders. Young Floridians know too well the importance of the 2020 election, and we saw an outpouring of applicants wanting to fight back against Trump’s anti-immigrant, anti-student, anti-Florida agenda. We welcome our new staff with open arms, and while the election is more than 500 days away, Florida Democrats aren’t taking anything for granted and we are beginning to organize today. Our early efforts are key to evicting Donald Trump from the White House in 2020.”

One of the Organizing Corps members that started his first day with the Florida Democratic Party is Alejandro Levy, a recent graduate of the University of Florida. Levy explained that for him, it was important to join the Democrats efforts to push back against the hate coming from this administration:

“As the son of immigrant parents from Nicaragua and El Salvador, I have seen how our communities have been under attack since the day Donald Trump announced his candidacy. A second term of Trump in the White House means more of his hateful agenda towards our communities, and I will not stand idly by. As an Organizing Corps member, I am committed to stopping Trump from getting reelected, and I will use this opportunity to organize, train and recruit voters in my community to help our Democratic nominee win the White House.”

Organizing Corps 2020 is a joint effort between Florida, the DNC, and 270 Strategies to begin to organize communities of color in the state. FDP announced that 44 percent of the new organizers speak Spanish, 12 percent speak Creole, 38 percent are African American and 97 percent are from the Florida communities they will help to organize to defeat Trump in 2020. The organizers begin today, June 10, 2019, and will focus on voter registration and ensuring that Floridians understand what is at stake by going door to door and building neighborhood teams across the state.