MIAMI — Florida and Texas often duke it out for conservative supremacy. President Donald Trump won both states by nearly identical margins in 2024. Both have large Latino populations that have trended to the right.
But only Florida has a recent swing state past. And Tuesday’s primary for Senate showed that, for now, everything’s bigger in Texas when it comes to attention for Democrats.
The race had a record turnout for Democrats, especially among Hispanics. It left some Florida Democrats elated about what’s possible. But others worry their own statewide candidates aren’t harnessing the same viral online strategy seen in the Lone Star State primary to capitalize on voters’ energy for the midterms.
The winner in Texas’ Senate primary, seminarian and state Rep. James Talarico, was interviewed by popular podcaster Joe Rogan, appeared with TikTok Spanish-language influencer Carlos Espina and participated in an online segment on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
“We need something similar in Florida," said one Democratic county leader, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “We need candidates who are willing to engage everywhere and with everyone,” meaning outside of Democratic clubs and caucuses so “people feel like their vote matters.” The person added: “We don't have the luxury of picking and choosing who we engage with.”
A Democratic operative in Florida, also granted anonymity, said candidates were too worried they were going to "alienate the left” by agreeing to go everywhere and lamented that “the energy has never been there” for Florida statewide candidates in several recent cycles.
One of the reasons to go “everywhere” when running statewide is because older voters get their information from cable news and younger voters from social media and podcasts, said Jayden D'Onofrio, who chairs Florida Future Leaders PAC focused on young candidates. With Talarico’s media strategy, he said, “You almost feel like you know the guy — and he seems like a really nice guy because of how they did their content.”
But the media push must be paired with field organizing, voter registration and locking in vote-by-mail participation, stressed D’Onofrio, also a candidate for the state House. Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried added that being “genuine and authentic” with style and delivery was key because voters see through “politicians who just speak to speak.”
“They want to know that you are listening to them, that you're willing to fight for them, that you've got solutions for them,” she said.
It’s still early — Florida’s primary is August 18. The gubernatorial campaign for Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has said it’s focused on talking directly to voters about his leadership, with campaign manager Dylan Doody telling Playbook last week that, “If Twitter was real life, we’d be in a very different world.”
But other campaigns are mirroring the Texas strategies. Senate candidate Alex Vindman has appeared on podcasts including the progressive “Meidas Touch,” the politics and pop culture “The Back Room with Andy Ostroy” and the military-themed “MT's The Gedunk Show.” Campaign adviser Chris Meagher said he’d appear on a wide array of media "to ensure he is showing up everywhere and voters are seeing and hearing from him wherever they get their news and information.”
Angela Simaan, spokesperson for the Senate campaign for state Rep. Angie Nixon, said she’d appear across podcasts, Substack and traditional media. She pointed to Nixon’s large social media following and said she’s “planning to lean hard into those relationships to activate a massive, organized and fired-up base of supporters who will help lead fundraising and both online and offline field engagement.”
Gubernatorial candidate David Jolly started posting videos this week about being on the campaign trail and being a father. His “town halls are packed, and people are really looking for some hope,” said state Sen. Tina Polsky (D-Boca Raton), a campaign co-chair. Of Jolly’s media strategy, she added, “I don’t think there’s an outlet that he would be afraid to go on.”
But Democratic operative Beth Matuga cautioned that the party’s problems in Florida were far more significant given Republicans’ nearly 1.5-million voter registration advantage and their cash trove.
“No amount of virality, charisma and charm is going to dig you out of that hole,” she said. “There is one thing that is going to dig you out of that hole: A long-term voter registration plan.”
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