The Florida Primaries Happened Yesterday

Hard-fought wins in north Florida last night-- Angie and Adam

I get sick of repeating it so frequently, so I can imagine if you keep hearing it, you must get sick of it even more, but I'll say it again-- if the Ohio Democratic Party ceased to exist (which would be a really good thing for Ohio Democratic candidates)-- the Florida Democratic Party would be the worst in the country. But I'll add something, now I've never said before: after working with so many Floridians running for office this cycle, I feel confident in saying that the Florida Democratic Party is rapidly catching up-- in terms of over-all wretchedness and willful incompetence-- with the Ohio party.

Yesterday our progressive candidates did exceedingly well in Florida, up and down the ballot. With all the races decided, nearly all the candidates Blue America supported will be in the general election. Our two giant primary winners yesterday were Adam Christensen for Congress (FL-03) and Angie Nixon for state House, who displaced the wicked witch of the north in the hottest Democratic primary in the state. Click on the thermometer on the right to see who all the progressive candidates we're supporting who will be on the general election ballot, including Cindy Banyai and Alan Cohn for Congress, Kathy Lewis, Rachel Brown and Heather Hunter for state Senate, and 15 state House candidates. Only one race remains undecided-- HD-32, where Ryan Morales, our candidate, is slightly behind.

"The primary results last night across Florida show voters are hungry for change," state House candidate Joshua Hicks told us this morning. "They want leaders who will address the important issues around the dinner table; not defend the corporate interests. I'm ready, from day one, to represent my entire community and to go to work every day in Tallahassee fighting for all of us. This race is not about me; it's about the people and the change we can make together in Northeast Florida. Republicans, Independents and Democrats are coming together in District 11 to demand more from their leaders and I'm ready to take on that demand, and get to work for them this November."

Yesterday's early morning ABC News post, before the polls in Florida had opened, by Will McDuffie-- Democratic activists hope down-ballot blitz in Florida pays off up-ballot-- probably created most excitement for his readers in something that wasn't as essential to me: "the tactic could be the key to Dems winning the state," by "Dems," Biden/Harris. Florida had no gubernatorial or U.S. Senate race on the ballot yesterday-- just some congressional races, few of which were seen as competitive-- and a lot of legislative races, an area where the state party has failed miserably year after year after year and seems as eager to fail again. 

Trump is doing himself in in Florida, and polls indicate Floridians-- laid low as a state by his handling of the pandemic-- are going to be unkind to him in November. The polling average shows Trump losing to Biden 50.3% to 45.3% and the most recent public poll (last week), CNBC's by Change Research shows Trump doing even worse-- 44%. "Scarred by narrow defeats at the ballot box in recent years," wrote McDuffie, "Democrats in Florida are planning a different approach this fall: Compete everywhere, no matter the odds." Ummm... "Democrats in Florida?" No! Activists, who the Florida Democratic Party worked against, is a more accurate description of who planned for and fought for that approach. Democrats, though not the incompetent hacks who make careers for themselves by working for the state party, "are touting the fact they have a candidate on the ballot in 140 out of 141 state House and Senate races, a strategy activists there say will spur Democratic turnout this fall, boosting Joe Biden and helping the party chip away at its deficit in both chambers of the state Legislature." Yep, that's the plan-- chipping away at the GOP grip on the legislature and helping reinvigorate a moribund party that has spent too much time in the last 2 decades protecting Debbie Wasserman Schultz and her cronies and no time at all on the offense.

The effort was conceived by Democratic activist Fergie Reid, Jr., who led a campaign in Virginia to register voters and recruit Democratic candidates, which culminated last year in the party's wresting control of the statehouse in Richmond.

The same, Reid believes, is possible in Florida.

"Florida is on the razor's edge," Reid said in an interview with ABC News. "It's not some inherent advantage that Republicans have. Democrats are just not playing hard enough."

In March, noticing that 33 state House and Senate races lacked Democratic candidates, Reid, who lives in California, enlisted activists on the ground to recruit Democrats to challenge for those seats. By the filing deadline in June, his team had filled each race. (One House candidate was disqualified from her race because of a technicality with her filing paperwork; she is challenging in court).

As of June 30, registered Democrats in Florida outnumbered registered Republicans by more than 250,000, according to the Florida Department of State's website.

The problem is, many rarely see enough Democrats on their ballots.

In 2016, 21 state House and Senate races went uncontested by Democrats, according to Florida Division of Elections archives. Donald Trump won Florida by only 113,000 votes, capturing 29 electoral votes in a key swing state that likely will prove critical again in 2020.

Democrats in Florida have suffered other losses by the thinnest of margins. In 2018, Republican Rick Scott edged incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson by about 10,000 votes, while Ron DeSantis beat out Democrat Andrew Gillum in the race for governor 49.6% to 49.2%.

Democratic activists have said flooding local races with candidates can erase those margins by producing a "reverse coattail" effect.

"The further down-ballot you have candidates, the more it helps up-ballot," Reid said. When Democrats don't have a Democrat to vote for, "They have to vote for the Republican, or just choose not to vote. And those people who choose not to vote, maybe they just don't go vote at all. And that causes depression at the top."

Down-ballot candidates can engage voters in a way candidates running for statewide or national office typically don't, according to Janelle Christensen, president of the Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida, and a key player in the effort to recruit candidates to run for Florida's state legislature.

"When people have relationships with people locally who are running for office, they feel more engaged in the election process. They're more likely to vote, they're more likely to pay attention," Christensen explained.

...Beyond boosting Biden, Reid and Christensen hope that running more candidates will produce gains in the state Legislature, where Republicans hold a six-seat advantage in the Senate and a 26-seat advantage in the House.

The strategy, they said, is simple: The more races you compete in, the better your odds of winning seats.

They worry, however, that Democrats in the state have historically ignored races the party deemed unwinnable, focusing attention and funds on more competitive races in the state's urban centers, allowing Republican candidates to run up the score in rural counties.

"The argument I push back on the most is, 'That district is not winnable,'" Reid said. "That argument is asinine to me. How can you expect to win if you don't play?"

That argument, though, surfaced last month when State Sen. Gary Farmer, the incoming Democratic Leader in the chamber, published a Tweet that dismissed races like Butler's in District 1 as "long shots" and suggesting that the party should not fund them. "I'm guided by science and reality. Contesting every race is great if you have $ to do so. We simply don't & won't until we achieve majority," he wrote.

Farmer didn't respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

"I disagree with him," said Eubanks, of Escambia County. "Because if Democrats don't have anyone to vote for, when are we ever going to get more people who will run for office and be able to win seats?"

On Wednesday, with the primaries over, the Florida Democratic Party plans to introduce new investments as part of its "elections program," created in June to assist Democrats in down-ballot races statewide. Rosy Gonzalez Speers, the FDP's [incredibly incompetent and venal] senior adviser for down-ballot elections, is optimistic that the party can flip some state legislative seats blue, while also boosting turnout for Biden.

One thing is absolutely certain, if Rosy Gonzalez Speers, Party chair Terrie Rizzo and party executive director Juan Peñalosa all moved to Columbus and went to work for the Ohio Democratic Party, it wouldn't make that party any worse, but it would at least offer Florida Democrats a way out of the deep, dark hole it has dug for itself with years and years and years of mismanagement and terrible, defensive, loser strategy.

Bob Lynch is the general election candidate against entrenched Trumpist incumbent Daniel Perez in Miami-Dade. This morning he told me that he's "very glad that ABC News and other reporters are starting to dig around in Florida. There is a Pulitzer waiting for a reporter willing to strike the main nerve. The most important thing is to get Biden/Harris elected. If we don’t do that, none of the rest of it matters." 

But then he took a different tack than one normally hears from a first-time candidate about to embark on a general election campaign: "Between the reluctance of mega donors wanting to contribute to the state party due to the fraudulent PPP fiasco, sitting legislators telling Latina women not to run to make it easier for their Republican friends [the Republican "friend" lost her primary in a landslide last night, by the way], and senior level MDC and other county officials saying it is a waste of time and money to support female black candidates, we are facing an uphill battle. Meanwhile, people are dying and starving. Our teachers are in danger. Our national Senators are completely corrupt and helping the Russians. We have the historic chance to flip Florida and coupled with the Census, we can change the state for a decade. For whatever reason, our own party doesn’t even think it is worth a shot to help candidates unless they can raise enough money to get their preferred consultants and vendors paid. I knew going into it that politics was going to be a dirty game. I just never thought that one of the biggest fights was going to be against people who are supposed to be on our same side."

I suspect we're going to be hearing a lot more from Bob between now and November-- and beyond. And from Adam Christensen as well. It was close and a late call-- around noon today-- but...

FLASH: Incumbent Democrats Who Have Drifted Right HATE Primaries

I think primaries are really important and really democratic-- especially in one of the scores of districts where the only realistic accountability is through a primary challenge. Obviously, many incumbents hate them. Wouldn't it be nice to not have to worry about being accountable to the constituents! I might go for the idea, if "none of the above" was an option in every election. But, no incumbent is ever going to vote for that one!

Yesterday, defeated long-time-- and out-of-touch-- incumbent Eliot Engel (New Dem-NY), who was handily defeated by progressive reformer Jamaal Bowman, warned his House Democratic colleagues that primary opponents are the boogie man. He was furious that some of his colleagues supported Bowman against him. "I think that it's a very dangerous thing for party unity if members are going to start putting up primary challenges to other members in the same caucus. I think it's not something that should be done... Who is going to (be able to serve) in a caucus if there are people sitting right in there who want to get you defeated? I would be reluctant and other people would be reluctant to say what they feel. I just think it's not something I would do."

Bernie, Elizabeth Warren, AOC, Ayanna Pressley, Katie Porter were among the Dems who backed Bowman. Bowman beat him 30,709 (60.7%) to 18,012 (35.6%), although Engel raised $3,198,520 to Bowman's $2,315,175. As for independent outside spending, most of it was on behalf of Engel. By far, the biggest spender was AIPAC-related scumbags Democratic Majority for Israel financed by a few very rich, very right-wing conservatives-- Stacy Osterman of Sampson Energy in Tulsa, Gary Lauder of the Bay Area, lowlife Long Island real estate developer Milton Cooper. The group, which had earlier spent $1.4 million smearing Bernie, spent $646,155 smearing Bowman (and another $927,187 advertising in favor of Engel)-- $1,566,532 for Engel in all. The total amount spend on behalf of Engel by outside groups (conservatives including Republicans) was $2,213,885 and the total amount from outside groups (progressives) backing Bowman was $1,382,967.

In 1988, Engel himself was victorious in a Democratic primary against an incumbent congressman, Mario Biaggi, who had been convicted on racketeering charges a month before the primary.

I asked Alan Grayson, who has both primaries an incumbent and been primaries as an incumbent. "Well," he said, look at what the article said [about Engel primarying Biaggi in 1988]. "And before that, Charlie Rangel and Adam Clayton Powell.  And before that, Elizabeth Holtzman and Emanuel Celler.  And before that, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. The 'ins' want to stay in, and the 'outs' want them out.  Sometimes there’s more to it than that, and sometimes there isn’t. If you want to know what happened in Engel vs. Bowman, see the map:

Of course this doesn't happen just at the congressional level. Angie Nixon is running for a Jacksonville state legislative seat held by a fake Democrat. Kim Daniels, a notorious anti-Semite and right-winger who once famously gave a speech about the joys of slavery. Many people are shocked that the Florida Democratic Party supports Daniels... but those people aren't acquainted with the rot that afflicts the Florida Democratic Party. This morning Angie told me that "It’s important to challenge incumbents, especially when they aren’t doing their jobs. Over the past few years I have watched my community’s regression and it’s due to the lack of accountability of our current State Representative. The only time we’ve seen her was during campaign season when she’s giving away free stuff, basically buying votes. It’s time out for bandaids and it’s time for us to elect people that will work year round to produce systemic change." (Blue America has endorsed Angie and you can contribute to her campaign here.)

This cycle, on her second attempt, progressive reformer Marie Newman ousted reactionary Republican-lite Blue Dog Dan Lipinski, who was heavily backed by the Democratic establishment, while many of the same people who backed Bowman had backed her. "Primaries," she told me, "allow districts to always ensure their representative is in alignment on issues. It also allows for constituents to have options and select the best possible fit. Districts are like people they evolve and change. The representative in any district should do the same."

In California, where there are jungle primaries, several progressive Democrats will be facing Democratic incumbents in November. One is David Kim in Los Angeles, who is up against Jimmy Gomez. "When community-oriented, progressive challengers run for office in all-blue districts," David told me this morning, "it forces do-the-bare-minimum corporate incumbents like Jimmy Gomez to make good on the promises they made during their campaigns, or face losing their job when voters choose a new leader who does represent their interests. For example, when I started hosting town hall live streams after the first stay at home order, my opponent started doing the same. When my campaign started text banking to alert constituents to their options if they couldn't pay rent, my opponent once again followed suit. It's important that our elected officials be kept accountable and put on notice that they can be replaced if they don't do their jobs. If incumbents like Jimmy were working for a company, they would be fired in the first 90 days."

Blue America has just 2 House primaries against Blue Dogs left-- one in Nashville and one in Arizona's humongous 1st district. There are two truly awful GOP-lite Blue Dogs, Jim Cooper and Tom O'Halleran, trying to fight off, respectively, progressives Keeda Haynes and Eva Putzova. No big name Dems have jumped in to support either challenger. Blue America is trying to do what we can. Please use the 2020 Primary A Blue Dog thermometer above to give their campaigns a hand. Meanwhile, here's the new ad Blue America just started running in Nashville last night:

Did You Ever Imagine Supporting A Nixon For Office? It's Hard To Imagine NOT Supporting Angie Nixon

Back in May when Blue America endorsed Angie Nixon for a Jacksonville-based state legislative seat, much of our decision was based on the wretched incumbent, arguably the worst member of the Florida legislature. Since then, we have gotten to know Angie better. Every discussion with her has confirmed my original impressions:

1- Angie will be an outstanding progressive leader in a legislature that doesn't have many
2- Angie would be an incredible candidate even if her opponent was not such a villain
3- Angie is going to win this race

The last time we spoke she told me that she hadn't been able to attend to any of her campaign duties because she had spent the whole day at the hospital dealing with her pregnancy. A few days later she told her supporters-- including me-- that she had tested positive for COVID-19. In an e-mail, she wrote that "It has been a very eventful June/July. Heck, all of 2020 has been one for the record books! I intended my latest email to be about how my daughter Natalie just turned 13, how I was organizing against the RNC coming just 4 blocks away from our smoothie/sandwich shop, how I am smashing it in my fundraising goals and have racked up A TON of endorsements for my campaign. Unfortunately, I come bringing pretty crappy news. My opponent just dropped a ton of her own money into the race, (very interesting to say the least)." Then the bombshell:

AND, I recently tested positive for COVID-19.

Since the outbreak, I have been wearing and advocating for the mandated use of masks in public spaces. I have traced my exposure back to someone that came within my personal space with no mask and tested positive prior to me.

Over the past few months, our state and community’s leadership in the response to mitigating the spread of COVID-19 has been a complete failure to say the absolute least.

As many residents in our community, I am a full-time mom, expecting my second child at the end of August. I am a small business owner. I work a second job full-time. And I am running for office to represent our community.

We must do better and mandate the use of masks so we can all stay safe and healthy.

My frustration is not just for me and my family. My frustration is primarily for those who don’t have access to quality healthcare. Those who can't afford a mask and those who do not have the means to travel to a testing site.

My frustration is for those who work at jobs that are not required to provide them PPE or have socially distant standards in place.

My frustration is for people who can not take one single day of paid sick leave so they can be healthy for their coworkers and their families. The system is broken. And we must come together to fix it.

Blue America has endorsed 9 candidates for state legislative seats around the country-- out of the 1,972 state senate seats and 5,411 state House seats across the country. Angie is one of them-- and a future leader of Florida and the U.S. Please consider contributing to her campaign by clicking on the 2020 state legislative thermometer on the right.


NOTE: Angela is going to be on the radio with Nicole Sandler and I at 5:30 today (2:30 PT). Tune in.

Endorsement Alert: Angie Nixon (Jacksonville)

Yesterday we talked briefly about Florida state Rep. Kimberly Daniels, one of the worst "Democrats" we've run across in many years. As I mentioned, Blue America has endorsed the progressive Democrat running for Daniels' seat this cycle, Angie Nixon. Another candidate for the state legislature, Robert Lynch, from the Miami area, told me that his chief advisor, Dr. Fergie Reid helped him "identify a number of races here in Florida of strategic importance. We can assure a win for Angie in a matter of weeks if we can raise enough money to show the Republicans that we mean business. We want to send them a message that we aren’t messing around and are coming for every seat they thought was safe." Lynch put his money where his mouth is and gave each candidate a substantial contribution from his persona funds. I invited Angie to introduce herself with a guest post here at DWT. If you like what she has to say, please consider contributing to her campaign by clicking on the 2020 Blue America state legislative thermometer way at the bottom of this post.

I know, I know. You read that headline about Daniels thanking God for slavery and thought, there’s just no way someone, especially an African American woman, could, let alone would, go on record stating that they’re happy slavery existed. Well, it’s true and if you think that’s the only zany thing she’s said or done, sadly you’re mistaking. There’s more. A whole lot more.

Meet Kimberly Daniels. Former Jacksonville City Councilmember and now current State Representative. Kim Daniels came onto the Jacksonville political scene touting herself as “Mike Mike’s Mama” Mike Mike, being Ex-NFL football player Michael Jennings who would later be arrested during a drug raid.

During her time on Council, Daniels spoke out against the Jacksonville Human Rights Ordinance which allowed protections for the LGBTQ community, and even went so far as trying to link the bill to bestiality. She was later unseated, but not before getting into verbal and alleged physical altercations with other city council candidates.

Daniels, a pastor, evangelist and self-professed “demon buster,” has been on a mission to bring uber conservative Christian values back into politics and into public schools. Unfortunately, she’s been successful, far too successful.

She’s doing it all while running in what’s considered a Black Democratic stronghold, by pushing a narrative full of wedge issues based on religion, homosexuality and abortion. This lawmaker has pushed anti-choice legislation that is jeopardizing the lives of young people, attempted to make it easier for pedophiles to receive civil citations as opposed to felony charges and totally disregarded the concept of the separation of church and state. She even admitted to filing false financial records.

Daniels has a history of being backed by GOP donors, including those running private prisons. She truly has an issue with ethics and accountability. Her district office isn’t even located in the district. It’s right next to the Republican mayor’s office in city hall and another state legislator that happens to be a Republican-- as well as conservative Congressman Al Lawson’s office. Daniels is currently being sued by her former district aide for wrongful termination and using taxpayer money via a state of Florida attorney to represent her. On top of all this, a pastor she’s reportedly been romantically linked to is being sued by the state of Florida related to a bill she championed. She continues to hustle and has used her church to assist with this.

-Howie



Why is a Black Florida Democratic state lawmaker being funded by Trump supporters? Probably because she has publicly stated she “Thanks God for Slavery” and has publicly lambasted the LGBTQ community
  -by Angie Nixon

Roughly 12 years ago, my favorite cousin, Breon, was killed. I was only a year out of college and I lost him to the school-to-prison pipeline. We were practically raised together. The only difference was the type of public school we attended. He attended all of his neighborhood schools and my mom bused me over an hour across town for elementary school to attend a magnet school. I never quite understood why she made the decisions she made regarding my education until I asked her if I could I attend the same high school that practically everyone on both sides of my family attended, even my older brother Tony. Her response makes me cringe, still to this day. My mom stated, "No you can't attend Raines High School. I don't want to make the same mistake I did with your brother." I was devastated, but I totally understood where she was coming from.

While attending a magnet school across town in elementary school and then academic magnets placed in low-income neighborhoods where many of the students from the neighborhood couldn't attend, I noticed some staunch differences. I often had different books and course offerings than the other kids in the neighborhood. The schools I attended were full of resources and updated technology, while my friends who lived on my block had no idea how to use certain programs we had, let alone qualified to attend the number one high school in the nation I graduated from.

Looking back on this... I get so pissed off every time I think about it. Especially because I know my cousin would still be alive if he would've followed my same path. He started getting into trouble in middle school, but some of the same things he was punished for and suspended for, students who attended my school often got slaps on the wrist for. I decided that after my cousin was killed by his "friend," I had to do more than get pissed off. I had to work to ensure that my daughter wouldn't lose her favorite cousin, Breon's son Cy'kai to the school to prison pipeline too.

This is why I became a community organizer. I wanted to ensure underserved and under-represented communities had the same access to resources and opportunities that the more wealthy sides of town had. It's been a struggle but one of the roles of an organizer is an agitator. We have to agitate folks to realize that they deserve equity and parity in terms of access to opportunities, quality education, living wage jobs, clean neighborhoods and affordable healthcare, just to name a few. For instance, my mom knew I deserved better but she knew that all all the other neighborhood kids did as well. This is why it's so important to highlight the disparities that exist in these communities, while working to diminish them. Again, I realized I couldn't just be mad, so I had to start doing something and leading by example.

Over the years, I turned my passion and love for the community into a 10 year career as a community organizer. I have created place-making events that provided access to healthy food options in food deserts, brought in educational opportunities and training opportunities for small business owners, and created family-friendly environments that focused on the overall health and well being of residents.

In 2013, I co-founded and operated Northside & LOVE (Lifting Our Various Enterprises) for a few years, which was a summer arts and vendors market that took place in the district at Lonnie Miller Park, sponsored by VyStar and Aetna. I also founded and organized Kidpreneur Fest, an annual event that showcases kid entrepreneurs and allows them to pitch their businesses for a chance to win funding for their business. I partnered with State Representative Tracie Davis and the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce on that event.

I am also the organizer and co-founder of The Melanin Market. The Melanin Market is in its fourth year of operation and serves the community by providing small business owners with resources to grow their businesses, providing healthy food options in a food desert and connecting residents to resources and services needed to enhance the community's quality of life.

In 2017, I raised over $10,000 for single moms affected by Hurricane Harvey and Irma. As a single mom, I understand the daily struggles even without severe weather shutting down our cities.

I currently serve as Director for the Florida Public Service Union’s Higher Education Campaign (SEIU-FPSU) and previously the State Field Director for the Service Employees International  Union of Florida (SEIU FL). I have also served as the North Florida Regional Organizer for New Florida Majority.

As the Higher Education Director, I am working with adjunct professors and getting them organized as we fight for access to quality education and work towards free college. Currently I am a member of a Higher Education Task Force where we are working to draft a plan for reopening our colleges and universities to present to the governor and his official task force. The disparities that exist between larger universities and smaller community and state colleges are comparable to those that I witnessed between magnet and neighborhood schools. This is one of the reasons I entered this race-- to fight to fully fund public education.

In addition to fighting to fully fund public education, my now 12 year old daughter and I travel the country hosting writing workshops in low income communities. This was a direct result of her having issues with reading and insecurities. We wrote a mini-comic book series called The Adventures of Moxie McGriff while she was 7 to increase her love for literacy and diversity in literature. We have now opened a sandwich and smoothie shop in a food desert to assist in lowering the rates of food insecurity. We plan on hiring teens to help them gain real world job experience.

As a former district aide to Florida State Representative Mia Jones, in House District 14, I remember what it was like to have a full time representative and someone who really worked for the community. It is my goal to once again bring a level of professionalism, ethics and accountability to the seat. It is my goal to win this election and take a more hands-on approach in the position.

Upon election, I will move my office back into the district. The current State Rep does not have her office in the district, but rather the mayor's office thereby making her virtually inaccessible to residents. I will also establish a District 14 advisory committee comprised of diverse residents, business owners, students, parents and community leaders to help me craft and drive policy that affects our community. I also plan to have monthly community conversations and town halls in different areas around the district, so that I can be fully accessible to residents.


I also plan to work to reform the cash bail system. Individuals charged with misdemeanor offenses should not sit in jail due to an inability to pay bail, but that is the case for too many of those living in poverty in this state. I recently served as the deputy director for the national Represent Justice campaign where we fought for comprehensive criminal justice reform.

Florida ranks near the bottom of all states where healthcare access and affordability are concerned, and more than 2 million Floridians are without any form of health insurance coverage. Last year I served on the leadership team for the Medicaid Expansion Campaign in the state of Florida. I plan on continuing that fight to ensure low income families have access to quality healthcare.

A Floridian making minimum wage would need to work 108 hours each week–the equivalent of 3 full-time jobs–to be able to afford the average 2 bedroom apartment in the Sunshine State. I will continue working with unions across the state advocating for an increase in the minimum wage to a living wage.

These are a few of the policies and projects that I have worked on and will continue working on. Being elected would only expand my ability to do more! I would appreciate your support in my efforts to flip this seat BLUE! Please visit my website at angienixon.com to learn more about me and vision for the community.

Worst "Democrat" In America... Think Florida, Of Course

Exorcist and state Rep Kim Daniels (D-FL)

You may not be a fan of Democrats like Joe Biden, Kyrsten Sinema, Debbie Wasserman Schultz or Joe Manchin, but it would be hard to find a worse example of a "Democrat" than the Bronx's Rubén Díaz, Sr., but we've come up with... well someone at least as bad: Jacksonville, Florida state Rep. Kim Daniels. Another anti-choice, Trump-loving, homophobic crook, Daniels is a "former" Republican, supported by Republicans in an all-blue district.

Where to start? How about the infamous, blacks were lucky to have been slaves remark? Snopes checked this one out and has all the proof crazy-lady said it. Did I mention that-- like Díaz, Sr.-- this delusion psychopath and fountain of hatred is a pastor? She "preached about demonic possession, claimed that Halloween candy was 'prayed over by witches,' and virulently opposed inclusiveness towards the LGBT community. In March 2018, the website Patheos drew attention to one explosive proclamation of Daniels’ in particular, reported in an article headlined “Black Florida Lawmaker Thanks God for Slavery”:

Florida State Rep. Kimberly Daniels thanks God for slavery, claiming “if it wasn’t for slavery, I might be somewhere in Africa worshiping a tree.”

State Rep Daniels-- like I said, a Republican through and through despite the "D" next to her name-- is no fan of Obama's. That slavery remark in context: "I would love to see a black president. I would love to see a black president, but not one that’s going to cost me my soul. And let me add this-- my babies, my boys, they don’t have to see a black man sitting in the president’s seat to know who they are. It’s in Him that I live and move and have my very own being, and if a black man [never becomes] president, Jesus is Lord and the Greater One is [inside] me. And what black people need to do is get back what the devil has stolen from them, and stop making it worse by working with unrighteousness… And let me say this to you-- I thank God for slavery. I thank God for the crack house. If it wasn’t for the crack house… God [would never have been able] to use me [as] he can use me now. And if it wasn’t for slavery, I might be somewhere in Africa, worshipping a tree."

Needless to say, someone with this kind of a diseased brain is also an anti-Semite. "And you can talk about the Holocaust, but the Jews own everything. We go through some things, but let me tell you something-- when you go through, you qualify to get paid back. You don’t need the government to give it back, God will give it back." And, apparently, no fan of reparations, Social Security or Medicare... let alone UBI.

Aside from Republican money, how does this crazy wing-nut remain in the state legislature representing a district whose electorate is made up almost entirely of Blacks (53.4%) and Hispanics (35.6%)? The Florida Democrats are apparently happy enough with her, having made her the ranking member of the Oversight, Transparency & Public Management Subcommittee. Last year Florida Times-Union columnist Nate Monroe-- in a piece titled Please, deliver us from Kimberly Daniels-- remarked on Daniels' staying power. "She rose to public office under the Jacksonville Democratic political machine run by ex-U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, who is now in federal prison. That machine made it a priority to elevate mediocrities like Daniels so Brown would never need to worry a competent rival might one day emerge. That strategy worked well for Brown for years, though it ultimately proved disastrous for the local party-- which now has a small bench of talented politicians and multiple former ones disgraced by high-profile scandal. And like Brown, Daniels pads her blighted political career with money from fixtures in Jacksonville’s Republican donor class, who are perfectly happy to look the other way for yet another stooge in Tallahassee who will support a pet cause or two."

Enough of this shit? Duval County Democratic Party vice-chair, Angie Nixon, a full-on progressive (a Bernie supporter) resigned from her party position to run for the seat Daniels is occupying. The primary is August 18. Blue America just endorsed Angie and we'll be offering you more information about her this week. But isn't this post enough to make you want to support her already?