Florida Legislature gets its first DSA member in Ashley Herrmann

During the just-concluded midterm elections, Republicans told Florida voters they were the only thing standing between keeping the “free state of Florida” free and having socialists and even communists take over the Sunshine State.

“THE COMMUNISTS ARE COMING!” Moody pushed out on social media last week, retweeting a social media posting that asked for progressive canvassers to come to Florida to support Democrat Angie Nixon’s campaign for Senate.

Such messaging has been a staple for Republicans campaigning against Democrats in South Florida over the years, where the population includes people who fled authoritarian governments in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

Moody focused on Nixon, who joined the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) this summer, although she never received the group’s endorsement.

But there was a DSA-backed candidate on the ballot in Hillsborough County Tuesday — Ashley Herrmann — and she upset Republican incumbent Danny Alvarez in the House District 69 race, winning 52%-48%.

Herrmann, 36, qualified for the seat on the last day possible, June 12. She explained she ran because she saw that Alvarez was going to run uncontested, “and that didn’t sit well with me.”

She’s a climate activist who ran on a platform opposing data centers, holding developers accountable, and raising teacher pay.

On the campaign trail, Herrmann boasted she was the only candidate on the ballot in Florida who had been endorsed by the DSA. She joins St. Petersburg City Council member Richie Floyd as the only elected DSA-backed candidates serving in Florida politics.

She said she knocked on 30,000 doors in her campaign, and said voters were excited to greet her “and we came up with voting plans together.”

Although state House Democrats had a big night Tuesday, netting 15 seats, they’ll still be part of the minority party in that chamber when they convene in Tallahassee to reorganize the Legislature in the next few weeks.

“It’ll be tough with a lot of Republicans and some Democrats owned by corporate interests, but they have to deliver for voters as well,” she said. “We cannot remain 50th for teacher pay and continue to ignore the insurance housing crisis.”

Herrmann says she is willing to work with Republicans, and noted that, during the stormy weather Florida saw on election night, she and her campaign manager spent several hours with Republican Congressional District 14 candidate Mike Beltran directing traffic and helping cars get unstuck from the mud.

“I’ll also make sure the House minority acts like an opposition party fighting for the priorities of everyday working people,” she said.