Florida Democratic Party raises $1.3M in first quarter

Florida’s Democratic Party said Tuesday that it raised $1.3 million in the first quarter of 2024, according to a release first seen by The Hill. 

The state party said it received 5,271 contributions in the first quarter, prior to the Florida Supreme Court rulings on abortion last week. The party said it “generated tens of thousands of dollars” following the rulings.

The latest fundraising haul is higher than any point last year. 

“In the past six months, the Florida Democratic Party has recorded back-to-back million dollar quarters,” said Phillip Jerez, the state party’s executive director. “With two consecutive seven-figure fundraising hauls raising $1.1 million in Q4 2023 and $1.3 million in Q1 2024, we are entering the presidential election cycle with a strong foundation to build out our campaign to take back Florida.”

The latest fundraising numbers are a boon for the state party, which has struggled in recent years to compete with Republicans who have increasingly dominated the state. 

Florida, once a prominent swing state, found itself in the presidential election spotlight last week after the state Supreme Court rulings on abortion.

One of the rulings upheld the state’s 15-week abortion ban and allowed a ban after six weeks of pregnancy to go into effect next month. The other ruling gave the green light to a ballot measure that would protect access to abortion in the state if passed in November.

In response to the development out of Florida, President Biden’s reelection campaign rolled out a memo last week saying it will target flipping the state in November. Further down the ballot, Senate candidate and former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Fla.) called the decisions “a gamechanger” in the Senate race.