Dear Democrats,

Wow! What an incredible, unconventional National Convention we had this past week, highlighting what our country really needs right now. It was truly a memorable week, culminating in the magnificent Keynote speeches of our nominees, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris! I hope you are excited, inspired, and ready to work harder than ever all the way until November 3. Thank you to our 301-strong delegation -- the 4th largest in the country -- for representing Florida so well in all the week's activities, and kudos to the DNC, Biden, and National Convention teams for pulling off an amazing convention in the face of unprecedented circumstances.

It’s clear Florida Democrats are fired up and committed to making a change in 2020. A record number of Democrats have enrolled to Vote by Mail and actually voted by mail for last Tuesday's Primary. For the first time ever Florida Democrats won VBM and ran up a BIG margin of over 374,000 more returns than Republicans. See more about the Primary and Vote By Mail below. Congratulations to all those who won Tuesday, and thank you to all the candidates who threw their hats into the ring to represent Democratic values. I’m so proud of the work every candidate, staffer, and volunteer did to energize and organize voters during this unprecedented time. Primaries make our party stronger, and we’re entering the final stretch of this election prepared to make history.

In 2019, the Florida Democratic Party launched our Municipal Victory Program and partnered with dozens of progressive partners to recruit the largest and strongest class of Democratic down-ballot candidates in decades. We now have over 400 Democrats running for office across the state, and we'll all be working to elect these Democrats up and down the ballot. From expanding Medicaid, helping the unemployed and safely re-opening schools, it is abundantly clear local leaders have a profound impact on our lives, and we need more Democrats at every level of government.

As Joe Biden says, we’re in the battle for the soul of our nation -- and Florida Democrats will spend the next 72 days (2 months and 11 days) going pedal to the metal to send Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the White House and to elect every member of our Sunshine Slate!
Forward,
Terrie Rizzo
Chair
Florida Democratic Party
Democratic National Convention - Florida Highlights
Several Floridians were featured throughout the Democratic National Convention. Here are a few FL highlights from Convention Week:
  • Ridin' for Biden events took place across the state Sunday, Thursday, and Friday.
  • Sunday evening there was a Florida Delegation Convention Kickoff event with Senator Amy Klobuchar, Congresswoman Kathy Castor, Congresswoman Lois Frankel, Congresswoman Donna Shalala, Congressman Charlie Crist, Commissioner Nikki Fried, FL Biden State Director Jackie Lee, and Senior Advisor Karen Andre.
  • Senator Cory Booker addressed our Florida Delegation during Monday's Florida Delegation Virtual Breakfast saying, "My brothers and sisters from Florida... I want you all to know that you all represent our hope, our fortitude, and our promise. We are in fact still a nation of dreamers and doers." The Delegation Breakfast also included former Senator Bill Nelson, Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy, and Valerie Biden Owens.
  • Women for Biden kicked off the Convention with a phone bank with Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor. And the Todos Con Biden kickoff phone bank featured Ana Navarro (Miami-Dade County).
  • Orlando's Rev. Gabriel Salguero lead the opening prayer Monday night.
  • Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and Fred Guttenberg (Broward County) represented Florida Democrats in the "We the People" Preamble to the Constitution on Monday. Watch the video here.
CD-16 District Delegate Lou Grossman (Sarasota County) was part of the group Pledge of Allegiance Tuesday evening.
On Tuesday, Joe Biden addressed the FL Delegation!
  • Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried helped kick off Day 2 of the Convention as part of the Rising Stars Keynote. See the video here.
  • Activist Fred Guttenberg (Broward County) and FDP Chair Terrie Rizzo announced Florida Delegation's roll call vote from Ft. Lauderdale: 192 votes for Joe Biden and 57 votes for Bernie Sanders.
  • Emma Gonzalez—activist and survivor of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland (Broward County)—spoke on behalf of those Americans who have lost loved ones to senseless gun violence, and demanded that we join them in their fight for change. Watch the video here.
  • DNC member Grace Carrington (Broward County) spoke during the DNC Black Caucus Meeting about honoring John Lewis through voting.
  • Florida Seniors for Biden held a Convention Kick-Off Phone Bank Wednesday evening with special guest Jon "Bowzer" Bauman.
  • Wednesday's Florida Convention Watch Party featured Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Miami Shores Mayor Crystal Wager.
  • Eleven-year-old Estela Juarez from Davenport (Polk County) read a letter she wrote to Donald Trump after he ripped her family apart with his administration’s cruel and mean-spirited immigration policies. Watch the video here.
  • Miami resident Prince Royce performed "Stand by Me" from the muraled streets of Wynwood. Watch the performance here.
  • Florida's Congresswomen Kathy Castor, Val Demings, Lois Frankel, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz were featured in the DNC video celebrating the women who have been leading since women won the right to vote. See the video here.
  • Thursday evening there was a FL Delegation Reception with special guests LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, Congressman Ted Deutch, Congressman Darren Soto, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Congresswoman Val Demings, and Senior Advisor to former President Barack Obama Valerie Jarrett.
  • Actor Tony Goldwyn joined the official Florida Convention Watch Party Thursday.
  • Coral Gables (Miami-Dade County) resident and former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy spoke Thursday about knowing Joe Biden. Watch the video here.
  • Florida CD-21 District Delegate Tricia Hallison-Mischler was among the virtual audience members shown after Joe Biden's acceptance speech.
  • Floridians Janet Reno, Richard Swann, and Terry Fleming were celebrated in the DNC In Memoriam video. View here.
  • If there is anyone we missed, please send us a picture!
Down Ballot Elections - Primary Election Highlights
Our Down Ballot Elections Department is working to support candidates in flipping seats across the state. Tuesday's Primary Election brought us some exciting opportunities! Here are just a few:
  • Democrat Daniella Levine Cava will advance to the November runoff election to challenge Esteban Bovo and flip the Miami-Dade County mayoral seat blue. When elected, she will be the first woman mayor of the most populous county in our state.
  • Democrat Jacquelyn McMiller will be in the November runoff election to challenge Kevin Anderson in the Fort Myers mayoral race. This is another mayoral seat we look forward to flipping blue!
  • Sarasota County's increase in Democratic voter turnout, thanks to VBM, allowed Tom Edwards to flip the Sarasota County School Board District 3 seat blue against the Republican incumbent and former county GOP chair. Increased Democratic turnout also prevented Republican candidates from advancing to the November elections in the Sarasota City Commission District 2 race.
Sunshine Slate
Following Tuesday's Primary Election, we are excited to release our FDP Sunshine Slate with over 400 Democrats running for state and local offices across Florida! FDP's Senior Advisor for Down Ballot Elections Rosy Gonzalez Speers said, these candidates "will build long-term power for Florida Democrats and help flip this state blue. All politics is local, and our candidates and our investments will put an end to out-of-touch Republican leadership — and replace it with elected leaders who will stand up for Florida families and core Democratic values of equality, the environment, affordable healthcare, and an economy that works for every single one of us."

To introduce voters to the new Sunshine Slate, we are launching a weekly "Meet the Candidates" Facebook Live series starting Thursday, September 10 at 6:30 p.m. ET, where voters can get to know the Democratic candidates running for office throughout Florida.
Vote By Mail
Our Democratic VBM enrollment margin over Republicans continues to grow! As of Saturday, 2,134,098 Florida Democrats have requested mail ballots compared to 1,444,749 Florida Republicans - a 689,349 margin!

During the FL Primary Election, a record number of Democrats voted by mail and Democratic VBM returns outpaced Republican returns across every demographic!
Let’s keep our foot on the gas for the next 72 days! Please continue to make VBM enrollment calls and to share our VBM sign up links for every county in both English and Spanish.
NEW FL Dems Gear
Our Florida Dems store now has exclusive new merchandise to help show off your enthusiasm for our Biden-Harris ticket! Shop now at store.floridadems.org.
Adopt Florida Weekend of Action
Vote Save America and the Florida Coordinated Campaign have partnered for a first-ever Adopt Florida Weekend of Action this weekend to call 100,000 voters. A celebratory kickoff event featuring Michelle Kwan and Jon Lovett was hosted Friday evening, leading into three days of calling on Florida voters to sign up to vote by mail for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris this November. Join here.
Virtual Fundraisers
We host virtual fundraisers each week to benefit one of our critical programs. Below are details of our upcoming events. 

Monday, August 24, 5:30 p.m. ET: Millennial and Gen Z Outreach Virtual Fundraiser 
Guest speakers: Kentucky Representative Charles Booker, Florida Representatives Dan Daley and Anna Eskamani, and FDP Chairwoman Terrie Rizzo. >> Click Here to RSVP
Monday, August 27, 7:15 p.m. ET: Vote-By-Mail Virtual Fundraiser 
Guest speakers: DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos, Representative Lois Frankel, and FDP Chairwoman Terrie Rizzo. >>Click Here to RSVP
Wednesday, September 2, 6 p.m. ET: FDP Virtual Fundraiser for Vote-by-Mail 
Guest speakers: Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and FDP Chairwoman Terrie Rizzo. >> Click Here to RSVP
Thursday, September 3, 5:30 p.m. ET: Two Months Out Virtual Fundraiser 
Guest speakers: Senator Cory Booker and FDP Chairwoman Terrie Rizzo. >>Click Here to RSVP
Democrats Abroad Women’s Caucus Suffrage Centennial Celebration
On Saturday, August 29 at 11 a.m EDT join women and men from around the globe to celebrate that women can and will vote in the 2020 election. Dress in roaring 20’s attire, casual, or even your PJ’s. RSVP Here.
Democrats Abroad Black Caucus - Christian Picciolini Speaks on “Breaking Hate”
Join the Global Black Caucus in a Q&A with award-winning television producer, public speaker, author, peace advocate, and former violent extremist Christian Picciolini. This event will be held Sunday, August 30, at 8 a.m. EDT. Register for this event here.
Training Resources
Register for FDP's free trainings here:
FDP's State Voter Protection Training Director Henry Burden is providing Voter Protection Program Training each week, Tuesdays and Saturdays, through the end of October. These trainings are open to anyone interested in assisting with voter protection this election cycle. Register for a live, virtual Voter Protection training here. Those not already connected with a county voter protection team should complete the Voter Protection Interest Sign Up form.

The Team Blue Pipeline Program (TBPP) professional development training program is a collaboration between the DNC / ASDC Best Practices Institute and DNC Talent Bank, which seeks to provide professional development and training opportunities on a continuing basis to Democratic staff, volunteers, activists, and candidates. Sign up for their upcoming webinar:
The DNC Disability Council invites all Democrats including volunteers, campaign staff, and allies to join us for a disability-vote grassroots mobilization training to learn about campaign accessibility. Experienced activists will share what you need to know about disability voter accessibility for registering to vote, voter protection and virtual campaigning. This is a great way to expand the inclusion of our campaign to elect Vice President Biden and Democrats up and down the ticket.
The National Democratic Training Committee (NDTC) has daily virtual live trainings focused on ways to continue your work during this time of COVID-19. See the NDTC full schedule here.
Congratulations!
Please join us in congratulating Florida Coordinated Deputy Communications Director Luisana Pérez Fernández (FDP's former Deputy Communications Director and Hispanic Media Director) for becoming a US citizen this week!
Incentive Grants
Congratulations to Citrus County, Orange County, and St. Johns County DECs for already meeting their August Incentive grant goal!
Monthly incentive grant goals are based on the number of volunteer calls made into the county's or caucus's FDP vote-by-mail virtual phone bank. These phone bank targets include cold and warm Democrats with high support scores and cell phones who are not enrolled in VBM. The script includes a Joe Biden ID, vote-by-mail ask, and a request to forward the call to the local SOE's office. Because these are patch-through calls, these phone banks should only be used during SOE business hours. Additional guidance, including instructions for how to patch-through calls to the SOE, are included in our Incentive Grant Program Guide. County DEC phone banks are available at m.floridadems.org/phonebank.

Democratic Digital and TV Ads
The Joe Biden for President campaign, DNC, FDP, and partner organizations are running ads on television and online to speak to Florida voters where they are. Watch and share these videos widely.

This week the Biden campaign released a 30-second ad featuring Senator Kamala Harris. The bilingual ad, "Con Quién Andas," highlights Harris as an ally and fighter for the Latino community. The spot is targeting Latino voters in Arizona and Florida on YouTube.
Democracia al Día
Tune into our Spanish-language radio show every Saturday:
  • 9 a.m. ET on La Mega Tampa Bay 101.1 FM and 1110 AM
  • 10 a.m. ET on La Zeta 105.3 FM and La Numero Uno 99.1 FM and 1280 AM in Tampa
  • 11 a.m. ET on Acción 97.9 FM and 810 AM in Orlando
  • 12 p.m. ET on Actualidad 1040 AM and 103.9 FM in Miami
The program features community leaders and local elected officials speaking on issues important to the Hispanic community such as healthcare, the economy, voting protection, the work of Democratic leaders, and the failed policies of the Donald Trump administration. Each show is also available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, and Google Play.
FDP News Digest












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