President Joe Biden made the bold statement during a visit to Tampa in April.
“Nationally, I think Florida is going to be an issue,” Biden told a packed house of supporters at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, who erupted in applause.
Three months later, the presidential campaign He’s optimistic about Florida. In an interview with Puck News on Sunday, Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon was asked if Florida was a battleground state.
She responded: “No.”
The comments came during a discussion of the states that will decide the outcome of November’s election: Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina and Georgia.
Republicans have long downplayed Democrats’ chances of flipping Florida in November. Recent polls show Trump leading the state by at least 5 points. Republicans have a seven-digit voter registration gap with Democrats. Earlier this year, Ron DeSantis laughed when asked if Biden could win the state.
Asked about the comments, the Biden-Harris campaign said it continues to invest in Florida.
“Florida has been an issue at every turn in this campaign for President Biden and the Democratic Party,” campaign battleground states director Dan Kanninen said in a statement. “Trump and his unrealistic supporters have taken Florida for granted, but their extreme policies continue to drive up costs and erode Floridians’ freedoms.”
Asked about O’Malley Dillon’s comments, Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried said the party is working hard to take Florida back from Republicans.
“While we are not ignorant of the challenges ahead, we are laying the foundation for Democratic success not only during this election cycle, but for the years and decades to come,” Fried said in a statement. “Do not take Florida lightly.”
Democrats have been optimistic for weeks. They have fielded candidates for every House seat this election, and Biden’s campaign has recruited more than 20 people in Florida. Democrats on both sides of the aisle point to the two efforts with pride. In a statement, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee predicted there was still a path to victory in Florida, even though abortion will be on the ballot this year.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison visited Florida last week with a similar message.
“The stars are aligning, the planets are aligning, and Florida, Florida, Florida is going to be in the mix,” Harrison told WPTV, “and it’s going to be one of the states that people across the country are going to be very, very focused on in November.”
