Florida Democrats running to boost Biden from the bottom up

 Before coronavirus pandemic sickened Florida's ecomy, and before Black Lives Matter movement widened her eyes to racial injustice, Kelly Johnson h little interest in politics except to occasionally cast a ballot. In 2018, she voted for Republican in Florida goverr's race, and four years ago she supported Donald Trump.

w, unemployed, white single mor of eight is running for office — as a Democrat — in a bid to oust a state legislator who is one of Florida’s rising Republican stars. She kws it's a long shot, but Johnson hopes even a loss will serve a purpose for Democrats: boosting turut in race to evict Trump from White House.

“re’s a greater good happening," she said. "And I’m gl to be part of that.”

Johnson's campaign is part of a major change in strategy for Florida Democrats. Long accustomed to being on losing side of razor-close races, state Democrats are mounting challenges in Republican strongholds — t necessarily to win but to lose by less.

party is fielding its largest slate of legislative candidates in deces, with Democratic candidates vying in all but one of 141 statehouse seats up for election in vember. (One Democrat is challenging her exclusion from ballot after being disqualified because of a technical issue.)

“We need to start thinking of candidates as field organizers, people who are on ground and connecting with community,” said Janelle Christensen, a state party activist in charge of candidate recruitment.

By most accounts, Florida is a must-win state for Trump. While his newly opted home state has tilted Republican in recent years, COVID-19 outbreak is threatening to reshape political landscape. Democrats hope to seize opportunity to retake state, and its 29 electoral votes, ever mindful of ir prior disappointments.

For years, Florida Democrats largely have focused on running up score in heavily Democratic urban precincts in South Florida — in Miami-De, Broward and Palm Beach counties. While y've scrapped with Republicans for independent voters in central Florida, y've mostly ceded huge swaths of Florida long dominated by GOP.

That concession has h consequences.

While a quarter of Florida’s 13.9 million voters have party affiliation, registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 275,000.

But Republicans control both chambers of Florida statehouse. A Democrat hasn't occupied goverr's mansion in 20 years, and both state's U.S. senators are Republicans.

Four years ago, Trump prevailed over Democrat Hillary Clinton by a little more than 1 percent point — t even closest of recent heartbreak races for Democrats. In 2018, Republican Rick Scott ousted incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson by just 10,000 votes out of nearly 8.2 million cast.

“se margins are microscopic for such a large state as Florida," said Dr. Fergie Reid Jr., a Democratic activist whose voter registration campaign is often credited with helping flip Virginia Legislature from red to blue.

This past spring, Reid set his sights on replicating that success in Florida and began reaching out to Democratic groups across state to help field candidates in every legislative race. By filing deline, 29 House seats and seven Senate seats that were previously uncontested h contenders in place.

“Florida is ripe for taking. All we have to do is take it,” said Reid.

Conventional wisdom says it's candidate at top of ticket who draws voters to polls. But Florida Democrats are hoping that enthusiasm rises from bottom up and compounds quickly.

“If only for fact that if that person’s friends and family might equal 50 people and you d that up across state, that’s eugh to turn more than one election,” said Kevin Cate, a Democratic consultant who worked for only Democrat currently in statewide office, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.

Republicans scoffed at tactic.

“y are fielding candidates just to say that y have candidates in races. We’re fielding candidates to win races, and we think that Trump will win Florida," said Florida Republican Party Chair Joe Gruters, who is running for reelection to his state Senate seat.

“y’re going to have a great time coming toger on election night and crying on each or’s shoulders," he said.

But Democrats are pressing on. On stump and on social media, Democrats running in red districts are campaigning on tritional party mes — protecting environment, expanding Medicaid, limiting access to guns and promoting racial equity.

But y are also appealing to Trump voters who have soured on president and his close ally, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, for ir handling of pandemic.

“At first re were some good things about Trump. A lot of things me sense early in his presidency," said Johnson, who became a community activist after losing her job because of outbreak and struggling to get benefits from state’s broken unemployment system.

"But re was this underlying tone of t all people in America are created equal -- and I didn’t like that. w with pandemic, things have just totally fallen apart.”

In Florida's conservative Panhandle, ar Democrat says Trump prompted her to run — making her first Democrat to compete in Senate District 1 in two deces.

“You can’t be on sidelines and complain to your friends on Facebook," said Karen Butler, a 20-year Air Force veteran running in a region with a strong military presence.

In an overlapping House district, Democratic candidate Angela Hoover says she's clear-eyed about her chances.

“I don’t care what anybody says. I did research. I kw demographics, I kw issues. And I kw odds," said Hoover, first Democrat to run for House District 3 since 2010.

“We don’t just campaign for ourselves,” she said. “We’re also campaigning for party and everybody up ticket. When we talk about Joe Biden, we don’t just put ourselves out re. We’re all campaigning for each or.”