November 4, 2020

Delray Beach, FL — Stephen Gaskill, president of the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus, issued the following statement on the results of the 2020 General Election:

“Florida is heartbreaking. As the sun rises on the day after the election, a tough reality is that the time, effort, and money Democrats put in to this election was a mammoth achievement, but not enough to overcome a similar effort on the other side. Many of our losses were expected, given that we ran candidates in nearly every race and in solidly red districts. But there were notable if surprising successes as well, including Daniella Levine Cava’s win as Miami-Dade Mayor, and clear decisions to raise the state’s minimum wage and defeat proposals for jungle primaries and raising the bar on constitutional changes.

“Fort Lauderdale’s Mayor Dean Trantalis and Vice Mayor Steve Glassman both won handily, keeping the heart of Florida’s LGBTQ community under LGBTQ leadership. We elected Shevrin Jones as our first openly-LGBTQ state senator, and Michele Rayner as our first openly-LGBTQ Black state representative. But those wins are balanced by the loss of State Representative Jennifer Webb, the first open lesbian in the Legislature, as well as other notable LGBTQ Legislative candidates.

“The Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus and our 21 chapters around the state worked hand in hand with our DECs, our state and national partners, and individual candidates and campaigns to turn out our voters and change the direction of Florida, and of the country. We won’t stop fighting based on the results of one election. Our civil rights and our lives are on the line. Yes, we have more work to do — there’s always more work to do. Our Caucus, our members, and our community are fighters for equality, which is always on the ballot. We are not finished.”

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