![\"Victricia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/7f535d106a6b47dc79ffae01dd5e664c.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nFor years, Florida has been written off as a lost cause for Democrats.<\/p>\n
That conclusion doesn\u2019t hold up to what\u2019s happening on the ground.<\/p>\n
Recent special elections show it clearly: Florida isn\u2019t a solid red state. It\u2019s a collection of highly competitive swing districts, where elections are being decided on the margins, and by voters who don\u2019t belong to either party.<\/p>\n
In Palm Beach County, Democrat Emily Gregory flipped a district Donald Trump carried by double digits just two years ago. In Tampa, Brian Nathan won in a district where Republicans hold a 22,000-voter registration advantage. Both were first-time candidates. Both ran on issues that directly impact people\u2019s daily lives: housing costs, health care, and the rising price of groceries. And both won.<\/p>\n
The simple explanation is that these victories are a referendum on Trump, but that misses a critical point about where political power is actually shifting in Florida.\u00a0 These wins didn\u2019t happen by accident.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Victricia Simmons canvassing neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
More than a quarter of Florida voters now identify as No Party Affiliation (NPA), and that share has grown steadily over the past decade. These voters are key constituencies – younger Millennials and Gen Z, more diverse, less ideological.<\/p>\n
They are not looking for party loyalty. They are looking for solutions to our hardest daily problems: unaffordable housing, huge utility bills, poor air quality, families forcibly separated, eroded voting rights, and the cost of just simply getting by.<\/p>\n
These Democratic victories reflect years of consistent, on-the-ground organizing, the kind of work groups like Florida Rising<\/a> have been building across the state. Any organization or candidate that spends time building trust in Florida\u2019s communities, district by district, can win in this state. But you have to be out there, block by block, consistently showing up and working with people on solutions to the problems they\u2019re facing.<\/p>\n If you do, voters will ride with you, and even a few points gained with independent voters is enough to tip the election for anyone this year. That\u2019s what just happened in Palm Beach, Tampa, and the I-4 corridor. That\u2019s what happened in Miami when Eileen Higgins was elected mayor after nearly 30 years of Republican dominance. And it\u2019s what will continue to happen as these margins keep shifting.<\/p>\n For nearly two decades, a Republican supermajority in Tallahassee has governed in ways that prioritize corporate interests while making it harder for everyday Floridians to afford to live in their own communities. Voters are responding to that reality \u2013 not through ideology, but through lived experience.<\/p>\n Screenshot of Victricia Simmons at Statewide Peoples Assembly.<\/p>\n Florida is not lost, and the question isn\u2019t whether Florida is competitive. The real questions are whether there\u2019s enough investment in Florida to do the long-term, hard work of implementing solutions that address our very real and present problems.<\/p>\n That\u2019s what will make Florida a true swing state.<\/p>\n That\u2019s what will determine whether Democrats continue to write off Florida, or recognize it for what it is: a state where power is still up for grabs.<\/p>\n Victricia Simmons<\/p>\n Victricia Simmons is the executive director of Florida Rising, a statewide organization focused on building political power so everyday Floridians can shape the decisions that impact their lives.<\/p>\n JOIN THE CONVERSATION<\/p>\n Send letters to the editor (up to 200 words) or Your Turn columns (500- 550 words) to\u00a0letters@tallahassee.com<\/a>. Please include your address for verification purposes only, and if you send a Your Turn, also include a photo and 1-2 line bio of yourself. You can also submit anonymous Zing!s at\u00a0Tallahassee.com\/Zing.<\/a>\u00a0Submissions are published on a space-available basis. All submissions may be edited for content, clarity and length, and may also be published by any part of the USA TODAY NETWORK.<\/p>\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/d02dece0d78944bb5ea48a735f5bb1bd.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Victricia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/a1ccbc7c104a22df255e492a2c82d011.jpeg\"\/)
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