Biden says he wants to win Florida. Local Dems also focused on commission, legislative races

When President Joe Biden stopped by Palm Beach County at the end of January, he said that he wanted to "win" Florida. But county Democrats have more local objectives at the outset of the 2024 election year.

Top priorities include flipping a county commission seat to restore a Democratic majority and taking two Florida House seats, said Palm Beach County Democratic Party chair Mindy Koch.

"These are really important races," Koch said. "And if we really focus on these really important races that we think that we can win, I think it may make a difference."

The state legislative races include House District 91 in Boca Raton where attorney Jay Shooster has raised significant sums of money in his bid to defeat first-term incumbent Republican Peggy Gossett-Seidman. County Democrats are also eyeing House District 94, which will be an open seat since Republican state Rep. Rick Roth faces term limits. Palm Beach Gardens Mayor Rachelle Litt is the lone Democrat running against five Republicans for that seat.

Winning county commission district seat is high priority for Palm Beach County Hispanic Democrats

Also on the wish list is county commission District 3, a seat held by Republican Commissioner Michael Barnett, who was appointed to the post by Gov. Ron DeSantis in January 2023. The seat is in a district overlapping Greenacres, Lantana and Lake Worth Beach and has a large Hispanic population.

Rolando Barrero, president of the Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Florida, said assisting Greenacres Mayor Joel Flores to win the commission seat is a priority as the district "highly represents the Hispanic community" in the county.

"Taking over that seat would be a real plus for us, " he said.

Right now, Barrero said the Hispanic caucus is working to raise money for Flores as well as a phone campaign to touch base with residents to make sure those eligible to vote are registered, that their party affiliation is updated and that those purged from voter rolls have been alerted so they can seek reinstatement.

Barrero added that he is confident all local Democratic incumbents also will be re-elected this year.

"The winds are amazing," he said. "The turnouts that we've seen throughout the state of Florida shows the Hispanics are invigorated again."

Palm Beach County Democrats urging vote-by-mail signs ups, voter registrations and adding volunteers

Koch also said the party is focused on urging voters to sign up again for vote-by-mail ballots. A new state law requires those wishing to mail in ballots to register for the service every two years.

Koch said the voter rolls for the March municipal elections and presidential primaries revealed who has not updated their vote-by-mail status, giving party officials knowledge on which voters to reach out to. She said 95,000 people have now reupped.

Through voter registration efforts, Democrats want to widen the 60,000-some-vote margin in rank-and-file members the county's Democrats have over the GOP, according to state statistics as of the end of last year. But it's not so easy. State law now requires a citizen registering to vote to turn in the application by mail or to do so online, Koch said, making it difficult for the party to track or pinpoint their energy on prospective new voters.

She said the new rules, cumbersome as they are, may yield a more reliable voter as someone who has shown the initiative to register on their own; and they in turn likely will make the effort to cast a ballot. Koch added that she is also encouraged that people across the county are stepping forward to volunteer this year.

Nonetheless, the party is showing up at events, like last month's Three Kings festival in Lake Worth Beach, to promote voter registrations, she said.

Biden wants to win Florida. GOP says president knows 'he can't win over'"' Floridians

At the fundraiser in Jupiter on Jan. 30, Biden conceded Democrats have work to do in the Sunshine State but insisted he and other candidates can succeed.

"But here in Florida, we have to organize, mobilize the vote," the president said. "I think we can win Florida. I think the Democrats can win in Florida."

Past results are not encouraging.

Although he won the general election, Biden did relatively poorly in Florida, losing to then-President Donald Trump by 3.36 percentage points, considered a landslide in the state. In 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the statewide GOP slate rolled to victory with double-digit wins, including a win in Palm Beach County.

Since then, the state's Republican Party has widened its lead in overall voter registrations to nearly 800,000 as of Dec. 31. National GOP leaders are bullish about their prospects this year.

In a statement ahead of Biden's visit to Palm Beach County, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the president “knows that he can’t win over everyday voters."

She added: "As inflation continues to cripple families in the Sunshine State and across the country, it’s no question that Florida’s election results will be even more embarrassing for Biden this year than in 2020.”

Hispanic Democratic leader says don't forget U.S. Senate race

Koch acknowledges the demographics have changed, but said she's not ready to say "Florida is not in play" noting the number of times Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have traveled to Florida.

Besides the surge in volunteers with people "coming out all over the place," she senses the electorate is itching to have its say.

"It feels to me — and I've been doing this since 1999 — it feels to me like people are really anxious to vote," she said.

Biden in Jupiter: During speech, president touts administration's success saying "look how far we've come"

Barrero also pointed to the U.S. Senate race where incumbent Republican Rick Scott is expected to face former Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Murcasel-Powell.

He said the Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Florida on Feb. 6 will launch a 14-county tour for Latino communities called "Acércate! Estamos Escuchando!" (Spanish for "Get closer, we're listening"). The tour will include town hall meetings with Murcasel-Powell and other candidates.

"It's basically a whole series of listening workshops to get in touch with the communities," he said.

Barrero also said a goal is to reach out to many Floridians who have come from at least 23 countries and territories in the hemisphere. He said the caucus does address issues of importance to Cuban-Americans and Puerto Ricans, but needs to do the same for Ecuadorians, Salvadorans, Bolivians, Guatemalans, and others.

"We go to where they're at and listen to what their needs are," he said. "And try to provide some service to alleviate some of those needs with current programs that already exist because of the Biden administration."

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Biden wants to win Florida. Democrats focus on pivotal local races