TAMPA, Fla. — Following months of pressure and a catastrophic 2022 election cycle for Democrats, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party, Manny Diaz, announced Monday that he is retiring, “effective immediately.”
In a letter sent to Democrats around the state, Diaz did not mince words about why he thinks the party has not been effective.
“We cannot win elections if we continue to rely on voter registration to drive turnout, build field operations only around elections, and expect to get our vote out without engaging voters where they live,” Diaz wrote.
“During my tenure, I hoped to address these issues,” he continued. “Instead, I found obstacles to securing the resources and a long-standing, systemic and deeply entrenched culture resistant to change; one where individual agendas are more important than team; where self-interest dominates and bureaucracies focus on self-preservation.”
In November, Democrats lost every statewide election in Florida, marking the first time since the late 1800s that all Florida-wide positions were held by Republicans. Republicans also recently surpassed Democrats in the number of Floridians who are registered to vote with their party for the first time in state history.
Diaz also wrote that many people in the party “continue to lose sight of our mission — to win elections not arguments.”
He closed with this: “I wish my successor Godspeed.”
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