Can this Miami Latina prove that Florida isn’t out of reach for Democrats?

ORLANDO, Fla. – Former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell took the stage during Florida Democrats’ annual gathering this fall to “La Gozadera,” a boisterous party anthem, and paired it with a message about the possibility of a long-awaited statewide victory for Democrats in the Sunshine State.

“Floridians, you know it’s true, you have been living in ground zero for attacks against our democracy,” said Mucarsel-Powell, who is challenging Sen. Rick Scott for his seat, one of Democrats’ few pickup opportunities in 2024. She told a cheering crowd 2024 would be the year Democrats “took our state back.”

“Rick Scott has never run against a strong Latina like myself. Back home in Miami, they call me ‘DMP,’ which stands for ‘don’t mess with my people.’”

Mucarsel-Powell is on track to lead the Democratic ticket in Florida in 2024 as Democrats up and down the ballot try to regain ground in a state that has grown increasingly red. The Miami-Dade Latina, an immigrant from Ecuador, is also hoping to stem Republicans’ inroads with Hispanic voters in Florida by dispelling misinformation and connecting with voters on issues directly impacting their families like caregiving and gun safety.

Mucarsel-Powell is also supporting a proposed referendum to enshrine reproductive rights in the Florida constitution. Such measures have been a boon for Democrats elsewhere, raising the possibility that Florida could become competitive once again in 2024.

The one-term congresswoman was courted by party leaders and has a clear path to the nomination to face Scott, a powerful Senate Republican and former state governor whom analysts predict is likely to win reelection. To have a chance, Mucarsel-Powell must overcome disillusionment among political donors in and outside of Florida who for years watched the state slip away from Democrats.

Her pitch is that Scott has never been as vulnerable as he is now.

“This is a different year,” Mucarsel-Powell said in an interview with The 19th on her way to speak at a gathering of local Democratic party chairs. “He’s never run in a presidential year. He’s never won by more than a percentage point. We’re going to have an abortion ballot initiative that’s going to really galvanize voters,” she adds.

“And truly, he’s never run against a candidate like me before — Florida hasn’t had a Latina at the top of the ticket. All of that, combined with making sure that we can mobilize people on the ground — it’s gonna be a different year.”  

Mucarsel-Powell became the first Ecuadorian and South American-born member of Congress when was elected in 2018, knocking down incumbent Rep. Carlos Curbelo in a district that covered inland Miami-Dade and the Florida Keys. It was only her second campaign for public office after a failed bid for the state Senate. Mucarsel-Powell had come to politics after a career in the nonprofit sector, including at a coral restoration organization and Zoo Miami, and later, as a high-ranking official at Florida International University, the state’s third-largest university.

On Election Day 2020, Mucarsel-Powell was among the group of Florida Democrats swept from their seats in what the Miami Herald called “a bloodbath.” While former President Donald Trump fell to Joe Biden elsewhere, Florida became one of two states where he bested his 2016 performance, and Trump’s gains, particularly among Latinx voters, left Democrats reeling.

Mucarsel-Powell chalked up the outcome of that election primarily to targeted misinformation. Many Republicans, she said, succeeded at tapping “the fear of socialism, the fear of communism” among voters from Latin America, suggesting Democrats were a threat to the freedom and opportunity they or their families came to the United States for.  

“Latinos are diverse,” she said. “But at the same time, what unites us are the values of family, of safety, of freedom, of liberty and democracy. So many of our community members are here fleeing political corruption, political violence.”

She said her story is one that will resonate broadly. “That story of leaving everything behind, fleeing violence, really just working hard and just wanting to provide for their children — it’s a story that connects.”

This story was originally published on 19thnews.org and republished with permission.