August 13, 2023
As two special elections to the Florida House of Representatives are underway in vastly different areas of the state, a motif has emerged to unite the two: a stunning lack of a platform.
These Republicans are trying to win elections without telling the people about any meaningful plans, because they do not have any. Florida Republicans are trying to sweep their past record under the rug and campaign on sweet nothings, hoping that the voters do not see the truth.
If elected, every single one of these Republicans will prove to be a warm body and nothing else as they blindly support the failed Republican agenda that they are so ashamed of, while continuing to ignore the pressing issues faced by the people.
Empty platforms
The Republicans running for these seats have websites with comically little information.
“The way Republicans seem to campaign for state legislative races has become to use a few buzzwords, such as ‘true conservative.’ On top of that, they will not do any other campaigning whatsoever. They will usually not show up to debates or forums, and therefore you don’t know what they support,” said Democratic House District 35 candidate Rishi Bagga.
Erika Booth, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for House District 35, has no platform on her barebones campaign website, other than the phrase, “Erika Booth Puts Students First.”
That is an insult to the voters of House District 35, as they cannot possibly make an informed decision given a five word platform that is both already accomplished (Republicans passed every pro-voucher, parents’ rights bill imaginable during the legislative session) and so artfully vague as to merit a place in the Louvre, next to the Mona Lisa.
Mike Redondo, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for House District 118, has a platform that, once one gets past the innumerable grammatical errors, contains just five bullet points, which make vague references to “Maintain a pro-business climate,” “Modernize public school curriculum,” “Continue to build on Florida’s financial Integrity,” and similar empty phrases. Even the antagonists in the novel 1984 would be amazed at Mr. Redondo’s ability to seek power with such meaningless words.
Just as importantly, all of those were done earlier this year.
Republican House District 35 candidate Ken Davenport, meanwhile, has a nine-point platform, some parts of which contradict each other. He claims, “All new government actions must be with the citizens’ best interest in mind,” but also that he will “support alternatives to abortion,” in a befuddling twist, given the deaths and healthcare costs resulting from the state’s abortion ban.
Once one gets past the insurrectionist endorsements and graphically nauseating pictures on Republican House District 35 candidate Scott Moore’s website, meanwhile, there are such gems of a platform such as calling the Second Amendment a “sacred right,” and a claim that, “Small businesses are being smothered by taxes and regulatory burdens.”
For him to say such a thing in Florida, a famously low-tax, low-regulation state, is nonsense. Of course, this is the same candidate who claims that life begins at “inception,” which is patently incorrect terminology, and opposes abortions completely, which stands in stark contrast with his plan of “advancing liberty where…free exercise of religion [is] encroached by government,” given the many religions that support, and even encourage abortion, such as Judaism.
Mr. Moore also appears not to know what office he is running for. He filed for House District 35, but is campaigning on congressional term limits while wearing a congressional campaign shirt.
Just as importantly, none of these candidates address the state’s property insurance crisis. The fact that the preeminent issue faced by Floridians is completely ignored is symbolic of Republicans’ failure to manage the state and the crisis during the 25 years in total control of the state.
“They haven’t done anything about property insurance. Then they had this special session last year, and said, ‘Just give us some time for our policies to take effect because that will help.’ In fact, it’s just the opposite. Rates have actually increased last year,” pointed out Democratic House District 35 candidate Tom Keen.
Comparing to Democrats
In contrast to the shenanigans happening on Republican campaign websites, Democrats have real ideas for putting forth change. The first platform point on all three lifelong Democratic special election candidates’ websites is to address Florida’s searing property insurance crisis. Whether available in digestible bullets, like on House District 35 candidate Tom Keen’s website, or paragraphs of facts and analysis, like on Mr. Bagga’s website, this proves that Democrats actually understand the issues close to the people.
Their other platform points include everything from protecting reproductive freedom to expanding Medicaid to help hundreds of thousands of Floridians and save the state billions in healthcare costs, and preventing environmental degradation by enforcing protections on the books.
These real issues actually impact Floridians, unlike the abstract social conflict rife on Republicans’ websites. Notably, the platform points are not easily copied and pasted – reflective of their comprehensiveness.
Democrats’ websites also reflect the needs of the district. For example, whereas Mr. Redondo’s website is only available in English – inadequate for a district where most residents speak Spanish, Democratic House District 118 candidate has even gone so far as to put out press releases primarily in Spanish, then English – meeting the district where it is.
Perez’s failures
To be clear, this does not shine a good light upon Florida House Republican ‘leadership.’ The man widely expected to be the next speaker, Representative Danny Perez of Westchester, is continuing to build upon a Republican legacy of failure.
As the speaker-designate, he leads the House Republican campaign arm, making him personally responsible for the actions and success or failures of Republican candidates in all 120 House districts where they may run candidates.
Mr. Bagga said, “It’s telling, especially when the speaker-designate endorses these people right out of the gate, and they don’t have any plans at all. This is just proof that if Republicans are going to be elected, they’re just going to continue with the status quo. What happens on the Republican side is that they get their marching orders from the top.”
Already, Mr. Perez is using the House Republican Campaign Committee to boost his preferred candidates – Ms. Booth and Mr. Redondo. On Ms. Booth’s website, Mr. Perez is the sole endorsee listed, while Mr. Redondo has no endorsees listed.
These candidates may be the frontrunners in their primaries, but their inability to deviate from the marching orders set by Mr. Perez and his current boss, Speaker Paul Renner, and his boss, Gov. Ron DeSantis (all Republicans), means that their messaging reveals their inability to govern rather than any ability to meet the people where they area.
“When they go to Tallahassee, they forget what their constituents sent them up there to do. That’s to be the voice of their community, and they’re not doing that,” said Mr. Keen.
Of course, one may not be able to forget what one never intended to do in the first place.
The omission of property insurance as an issue means that under Mr. Perez, Republicans will continue their decades-long obsession with failure at all costs.
It is time for a change.
To learn more about these special elections, please visit Mr. Bagga’s website here, Mr. Farias’s website here and Mr. Keen’s website here.
A binder of floor notes informs Rules Committee Chairman Danny Perez of parliamentary procedure to close the legislative business day in an extremely scripted moment. Charles Horowitz for Policy Reform Now
By Charles Horowitz
Policy Reform Now 
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