Kamala Harris campaign deployed 1,400 Florida volunteers during 'Weekend of Action'

Florida Democrats stole the show this past weekend with a 500-strong golf cart caravan through The Villages – a Central Florida GOP stronghold of 79,000 – as Vice President Kamala Harris’ supporters staged 2,300 events nationwide to promote her presidential campaign.

The age-restricted community of The Villages straddles three counties and supported former President Donald Trump with 65% of the vote in 2016, when he carried the state by 1.2%, and with 64% four years ago when he won Florida by 3.3%.

Video of the golf carts filling up a Barnes & Noble parking lot and gridlocking streets went viral on social media and was featured on cable and local television newscasts Saturday and Sunday.

In the eight days since President Joe Biden withdrew from the race and Harris became the Democrats’ presumptive nominee, her campaign said it signed up more than 170,000 volunteers and raised more than $200 million.

“To be charitable, Biden did have an enthusiasm deficit,” University of Central Florida political scientist Aubrey Jewett said about the Democrats’ response to Biden’s withdrawal.

Jewett said the mid-summer surge in workers, contributions and public displays of support is noteworthy and could be significant factors in November.

At the same time, Gov. Ron DeSantis pooh-poohed Democrats' exuberance during a Fox News appearance Sunday, saying that "Florida is off the map."

"We are approaching, and we will have it by November, one million more registered Republicans than Democrats," DeSantis told Fox's Maria Bartiromo. "...You are not going to win Florida. You're going to run into a big 'red' brick wall."

An aggregation of polling of Florida voters by the FiveThirtyEight website gives Trump an 8-point lead over Biden in Florida.

The governor also posted on social media that the caravan size was “a small fraction of the golf carts that descend on the various Villages courses for ‘dew sweeper’ tee times every morning.”

Still, Harris Florida campaign director Jasmine Burney-Clark said 12,000 people have signed up in the state as volunteers since the vice president took over the top of the ticket. During the “Weekend of Action” to mark 100 days until Election Day, the campaign deployed 1,400 people to knock on doors and call 18,000 voters in Florida.

Twenty-five percent of the voters contacted were independents, or not registered with any political party.

“I think as volunteers we are in the right position to help spread the message of what’s at stake ... and what a contrast Kamala Harris is versus her opponent,” said Andrea Evans-Dixon, who worked a Pinellas phone bank Saturday.

Evans-Dixon credits Harris with bringing a “breathe of fresh air and energy” to the Democratic ticket.

Jewett said that energy is evident in the turnout for the golf cart caravan. Organizers said the event had 200 more participants Saturday than the caravan staged four years ago in support of Biden – a two-thirds increase in participation. It reportedly took 30 minutes for the caravan to pass through one intersection.

“Democrats haven't really had somebody that generated such excitement since Obama was at the top of the ticket,” Jewett said. “We don’t know if that enthusiasm is going to remain, but in the aftermath of Biden’s announcement there does seem to be a shift to Harris by independents.”

James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com and is on X as @CallTallahassee.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Harris campaign goes Florida-style with golf carts at The Villages