National Democrats ramp up efforts in Florida ahead of midterms

National Democrats are putting new attention — and resources — into Florida, with party leaders joining candidates on the ground in South Florida as they look to compete in key congressional races.Incumbent Congressman Jared Moskowitz and political newcomer Pia Dandiya met with voters on Friday, with national Democrats bringing money and manpower to the state.National Democrats had largely written off Florida in the last few elections. Now, they are back, seeing signs that Florida’s red tide may be turning.The roundtable with Moskowitz was a long one. The Democratic incumbent met with Hispanic voters over croquetas, saying he believes they are ready to turn away from rising costs and the kind of immigration enforcement they never expected.“Republicans are doing everything they can to talk about something other than the economy, but every month the bill comes due,” Moskowitz said.Moskowitz is the Democratic incumbent, though Florida’s Republican Legislature redrew his district and three others to favor Republicans.His challenger is former Boca Mayor Scott Singer, who is running on a Trump-leaning agenda.“They drew these four seats thinking these would be easy pickups for them,” Moskowitz said. “The reason they are spending all this money against me is they have seen the numbers.”U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., said she is in Florida because the path to the majority runs through the state, including Florida’s 25th Congressional District.DelBene is the campaign chair for Democrats in Congress. Her appearance is part of a show of national support Florida Democrats have not had in the better part of a decade, working to protect the incumbent here and support the challenger in another district.Dandiya, a former teacher and public policy staffer at the White House and Apple, is running against Republican businessman Casey Askar for the open District 22 seat.“The through line to all these parts of my service journey — how do we create a democracy where that American dream my family lived is actually in reach for others,” Dandiya said.DelBene also spoke at Dandiya’s roundtable, pointing to issues including tariffs, what she called “the big ugly bill” and the war in Iran.One of the hallmarks of these Florida midterms has been the lack of big debates. There has been a lot of drama and finger-pointing about who will and who won’t debate and why.But in the end, Florida voters will not be seeing the candidates side by side debating the big issues.