Former Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum is back on the road, in hopes of turning the state majority Democratic in 2020.With 29 electoral votes, Florida is considered the “crown jewel” of swing states.
Charles Zelden, Ph.D.
“It’s literally a case of having to get and squeeze out every single voter you can for your side; Gillum recognizes this and is actively campaigning to do that, and I’m sure the Republicans are seeking to do the same as well,” says Charles Zelden, a political scientist at Nova Southeastern University.
“Trump cannot afford to lose Florida,” Zelden says. “Given the basic layout of safe blue states vs. safe red states, Trump needs Florida in order to win. The Democrats don’t need Florida to win, but [it] becomes very difficult without it.”
It’s not just a question of who shows up on Election Day, says Zelden, but also individual voter participation. Anywhere from 2,000-4,000 people can make a difference, even when there are eight million votes cast as in 2018.
“[Democrats] know they came real close in an off-year election to defeating a sitting governor [Rick Scott] running for the [U.S.] Senate, and a Republican for governor [Ron DeSantis] in a position that the Republicans have held for over 20 years,” said Zelden. “The fact that it was so close, basically says ‘your strategy’s kind of working — make it work better.’”
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