Take Action with the Sarasota Democrats
Florida: Democrats’ Heartbreak
- Trump won it by 1 percent over Hillary
- Bush notoriously won it over Gore by just 537 votes
- Andrew Gillum and Ben Nelson each lost the governorship and Senate seats by less than 1 percent
- Over the last seven presidential elections, a mere 20,000 votes separated the two parties—about 0.04 percent of the votes
It’s about T-U-R-N-O-U-T
In the 2018 midterms, Democratic turnout lagged Republican turnout in Florida by 1.5 percentage points—even though Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 2 percentage points in voter registration.
In Sarasota County, the spread was even worse—turnout was 67 percent for Sarasota Democrats vs. 72 percent for Sarasota Republicans.
Ways to Help
- Postcard parties
- Attend a postcard party
- Everything you need to host your own postcard party
- Phone banking
- Remote phone banking 4/25-4/27 (RSVP via MobilizeAmerica)
- Travel to Florida for canvassing
- Snowbirds
Politically Hot Issues
Sarasota County Democrats are motivated by most of the same issues that motivate Democrats in Massachusetts and Rhode Island—they highlight “Equal Rights, Environmental Protection, and Access to Affordable Healthcare and Education.”
Two issues have been in particularly sharp focus. The February 14, 2018 shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Florida, which killed 17 students and staff, in southeast Florida, motivates Sarasota Democrats to seek a statewide assault weapons ban and comprehensive background checks in order to have safer schools and communities.
In 2018, Sarasota County was one of the areas worst impacted by the red tide that devastated Florida and killed over 150 bottlenose dolphins, with 12 dolphins dying in one week in Sarasota County, the same number that normally die in a year. Manatees and sea turtles died in shockingly large numbers, as well as countless fish, in the red tide experts blame on pollution and climate change. The Sarasota County Democrats support action on climate change and emphasize that “81 percent of Floridians think that climate change is occurring … [and] Florida is the most vulnerable of all states to sea level rise from climate change.”
Learn More about the Sarasota County Democratic Party
Learn more about the Sarasota County Democratic Party.