MIAMI — Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison is optimistic about his party's chances in the Sunshine State, despite its electoral votes going to Republicans in the last two presidential elections.
"Florida is in play," Harrison told CBS News Miami in an interview Saturday. "Florida, Florida, Florida."
"For the first time in 30 years, you have Democrats running in every seat in the state House, the state Senate, and [at] the congressional level," he added.
Both Miami-Dade and Broward counties went for President Biden in 2020, while former President Donald Trump won the state by about three percentage points that year.
Florida has about 5.38 million registered Republicans and 4.35 million registered Democrats, according to the latest numbers from the Florida Department of State's website. There are also about 3.54 million unaffiliated voters.
Harrison argues that Florida Democrats were hampered in 2020 by the pandemic.
"Because of COVID, Democrats weren't able to put a field operation on the ground, to knock on doors, to communicate with voters," Harrison said.
Democrat Lucia Baez-Geller is challenging Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar in the House, while former Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is trying to unseat Republican Sen. Rick Scott.
In the Senate race, Republicans are outspending Democrats on advertising by a four-to-one margin, according to AdImpact, which tracks spending on campaigns. Harrison isn't fazed by this, however.
"I think you will see a surge of resources coming in," Harrison said. "I've just done a few tweets...over the last few days for Debbie, and we're seeing money coming in."
About a week after the apparent assassination attempt on Trump in West Palm Beach, Harrison hopes that the political rhetoric can be toned down in the final stretch before Election Day.
"We have to turn it down on an individual basis," Harrison said. "And it's sad to see the attempts. And I know that there have been threats to Vice President Harris. There have been threats to President Biden in the past. There have been threats to President Obama in the past. This violence has to end."
Florida Republican Party Chair Evan Power responded to Harrison's remarks to CBS Miami, saying in a statement that "the Democrats can say whatever they want, but here are the facts: Florida Republicans have out-registered, out-raised, and out-worked the Florida Democrats. Anyone telling you Florida is in play for Democrats should not be taken seriously."
The last time Florida went blue in a presidential election was for President Obama in 2012, when he won by about a single percentage point.
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