Brevard County Democrats hope for resurgence with Harris as presidential nominee
Local Democrats are hoping for a resurgence in the 2024 election, with Vice President Kamala Harris heading the ticket in November as the presumptive nominee for president.
Republicans currently fill most of the elective offices in Brevard County, including all five County Commission seats and all seven Florida Legislature seats in which the office-holder's district includes part of Brevard. The only Democrat on the five-member Brevard School Board, Jennifer Jenkins, is not seeking reelection in November, after a shift in School Board boundaries that put her outside the district she was elected to represent.
Still, Democratic officials say they are optimistic about the November election, including the prospects for local gains.
With last weekend's announcement that President Joe Biden would not seek reelection and would endorse Harris, the Democratic Party ― both locally and nationally ― was rejuvenated with new contributions and new volunteers.
Pamela Castellana, chair of the Brevard Democratic Executive Committee, said she has seen "an excitement and commitment" to work for the election Democratic candidates at a level she has not seen since the Barack Obama presidency.
That excitement was evident by the large turnout at the Brevard Democratic Executive Committee's monthly meeting on Wednesday in Viera. More than 200 people packed the Brevard County Commission chambers for the meeting, with about 25 of them attending for the first time.
"There wasn't a face in the crowd that wasn't happy and smiling," said Palm Bay resident Phil Moore, who is Brevard County's Democratic state committeeman, as well as a former candidate for the Florida House of Representatives and the Palm Bay City Council. "They couldn't hold a poker face if they tried. They saw a path for a brighter future. I think it's been well-received. There will definitively be more engagement. The excitement is definitely there."
Moore said having a younger person heading the ticket removes the issue of Biden's age of 81 as a liability, and opens up the possibility of new segments of voters volunteering for the campaign, then coming to the polls to vote Democratic.
'Fired up and ready to go'
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"Everybody is just fired up and ready to go," said Yvonne Minus, who has served on the Melbourne City Council for the past 10 years and this year is running for the District 3 seat on the County Commission. "The atmosphere, the attitude. Everything is just astronomical. It's just amazing. It really is."
Minus said that, since the Biden and Harris announcements, she has gotten unexpected calls from people interested in volunteering for her campaign for seat now held by Republican John Tobia, who cannot seek reelection due to term limits and is running for Brevard County supervisor of elections. Minus will face the winner of an Aug. 20 Republican primary between Kim Adkinson and John Dittmore.
"Everybody wants to help," Minus said. "It is overwhelming. The announcement just rejuvenated everyone."
There has not been a Democratic county commissioner since District 1 Commissioner Robin Fisher completed his second four-year term in 2016, representing north Brevard.
In addition, Brevard's voter registration figures favor the GOP ― with 45.2% Republican, 26.5% Democrat, 25.0% "no party affiliation" voters and 3.4% members of minor political parties.
Minus said a key will be getting more NPAs and members of minor parties to vote Democratic this November.
While Minus said the current political landscape in Brevard "is as red as blood," she believes having Harris at the top of the ticket will encourage more women, people of color and younger people to go to the polls this year — something that could help Democrats.
"That news definitely rejuvenated everyone," Minus said.
Minus said, while visiting with local Democratic and independent voters this past week as part of the Democrats' door-to-door campaigning, she was "very well-received," as a result of Harris running for president.
Castellana — who also is one of eight local delegates to next month's Democratic National Convention in Chicago and chair of a nine-county regional coalition of county Democratic chairs — said, in the past week, she has noticed a positive difference in the mood among Democratic supporters.
"Everybody is excited, reenergized and looking to make a difference," Castellana said.
Impact on Florida races
Aubrey Jewett, an associate professor of political science at the University of Central Florida, said having Harris at the head of the ticket could provide Democrats some gains in state and local races in Florida — and could put Florida back in play as a swing state in the presidential election, rather than being a likely Republican win for former President Donald Trump.
"With Harris, Democrats will be more excited, more mobilized, and there will be more turnout," said Jewett, who also is assistant director of UCF's School of Politics, Security and International Affairs. "It would be an upset, but not impossible," for Harris to win in Florida.
Jewett said Florida Republicans took the lead in voter registration for the first time in history in 2021, and now hold a 39.1% to 32.0% advantage, which amounts to more than 956,000 voters. The rest are NPAs or members of minor parties.
There currently are 84 Republican and 36 Democrats in the Florida House of Representatives, and all the House seats are up for election this year. But 13 of the seats currently held by Republicans are in districts that voted for Biden in 2020, so they and others could be flipped this year to the Democratic side, Jewett said.
In the Florida Senate, there are 28 Republican and 12 Democrats. Only half the seats are up for election this year, and voters in only one of them voted for Biden in 2020, a district in the Tallahassee area.
The Florida delegation to the U.S. Congress has 20 Republicans and eight Democrats, and Jewett doesn't expect any change in that after the November election.
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is seeking reelection this year, and is favored to win over the likely Democratic candidate, former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who has three opponent in the Aug. 20 primary. Jewett said Scott is leading in recent polls and has the financial advantage, but does not have a particularly strong approval rating.
"So it's not like a lock," if Democratic voter turnout is strong, Jewett said.
A wild card that could affect voter turnout are the two high-profile state constitutional amendments that will be on the November ballot — Amendment 3 to legalize the use of marijuana for persons at least age 21, and Amendment 4 to allow abortions in the time frame before "viability" of the fetus.
As for Brevard races, Jewett said, with the GOP voter registration advantage, it will be a challenge for Democrats to win Senate, House or county races, but there potentially could be some seats flipping to Democrats.
Palm Bay resident Jerard Kelley, secretary of the Brevard Democratic Executive Committee and a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, said he was in a depression a few weeks ago over the prospects of a potential Trump victory over Biden.
But, like many in the party, he now is enthused about the Harris presidential campaign.
"Everybody is so excited, and ready to support her," Kelley said, with more volunteers joining the effort. "New people are ready to knock on doors and get out the vote."
That includes not just the Nov. 5 general election, but also the nonpartisan Brevard School Board races, and the Palm Bay and Titusville municipal races that will be on the ballot in the Aug. 20 primary.
The key, of course, will be who shows up to the polls and how they vote.
"We know we have a job to get done," Moore said.
Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at [email protected], on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: With Harris as presidential nominee, Democrats aim for resurgence
