Is Florida really in play now?
Now that VP Kamala Harris has entered the race and gained a huge amount of momentum amid rising national poll numbers, I’ve been asked by a few people if Florida is now in play. Suffice it to say that the answer is not “yes” but it’s not necessarily “no” either.
For starters, I’ll tell you how the Harris 2024 campaign views its prospects in Florida. This week it’s hiring a huge number of paid employees in eleven key swing states. Florida is not on the list. This suggests that the Harris campaign does not view Florida as currently being among the eleven most competitive states.
On the other hand, the Harris campaign has also announced that it’s launching thousands of campaign volunteers in Florida. This suggests that the campaign is trying to make inroads in the state in an effort to figure out whether it can be made viable, but the campaign isn’t currently willing to shift salary money away from more competitive swing states.
So, as I said at the top, the answer as to whether Florida is viable is not a “yes” or a “no.” It’s more of a “not yet.” If you live in Florida and you want to get involved as a volunteer there for the Kamala Harris campaign, you absolutely should. Go be the difference in your state.
But if you live anywhere else in the nation, you should keep focusing on the states that are more likely to end up being competitive in the presidential race. That includes the likes of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina, and Virginia. The race will likely run through those key swing states.
As for the 2024 Senate race in Florida? It likely has the same prospects that Kamala Harris’ campaign does in Florida. In other words, it’s not (yet) competitive. If you live outside of Florida, you should focus on the seven Senate races that are already set to be highly competitive: Nevada, Ohio, Montana, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Now let’s go win this.
Bill Palmer is the publisher of the political news outlet Palmer Report