- April 26, 2024
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Florida Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum spoke to a sold-out, standing-only crowd of about 420 people at the Flagler County Democratic Party’s Blue Barbecue event at the Palm Coast Community Center on Sunday, Sept. 30.
“I think it will energize the party more than we’ve been able to do up to this point,” Flagler County Democratic Party Chairwoman Stephanie Capehart said of the event, thanking the volunteers who’d helped organize it. “Having leadership at that level, and not just Mayor Gillum but Rep. Sean Shaw, we had Rep. Patrick Henry, and then to have our candidates including our Democratic candidate for Congress, ambassador Nancy Soderberg — folks in Flagler County are beginning to see that they can have an impact on local politics and state and national politics, and once that feeling is realized, then their actions will follow.”
Gillum has been mayor of Tallahassee since 2014. He’s running against Republican Ron DeSantis, and has been ahead so far in statewide polling. DeSantis represented Flagler and portions of the surrounding area in the U.S. House of Representatives until he resigned his position Sept. 8, saying he wanted to focus on his campaign.
The gubernatorial race has drawn national attention: Gillum won the endorsement of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary, and DeSantis received the backing of President Donald Trump.
The Blue Barbecue was also a fundraiser, and Capehart estimated that it had raised $10,000. The party has been stepping up canvassing efforts and efforts to reach young voters, she said.
“We have knocked on over 2,000 doors,” she said. The party is also organizing a high school Democratic club and some locals are organizing a Young Democrats club. “Nobody’s going to reach a millennial like another millennial, nobody’s going to reach a high school student like another high school student,” Capehart said.
