Your first job as a leader, your top priority, is to find and train your replacement. And you get bonus points if you find and train two.
That top priority is something I was taught by the President of my first union. And it’s the lead of my first message to the Caucus membership.
Hi – my name is Kristen Browde. I’m an out transgender woman, an attorney living in Miami. I don’t have to tell you that we’re in a battle for our lives. Aside from not killing TikTok, there’s nothing good that we can expect from the Trump Administration.
And here in Florida, where Democrats haven’t fared well in the recent past, our challenges are many. But we do have one thing on which to build.
Data shows that LGBTQ+ voters are the single strongest, most reliable block of Democratic voters in every state of the nation. I see our job in this campaign season as not just energizing and activating those members of our community, but reaching out to the farthest reaches of our community.
We need to reach the vibrant and energetic BIPOC community. We need to reach the various Hispanic LGBTQ+ communities. We need to reach out to the younger LGBTQ+ communities and make sure they’re registered and voting. And we need to see how many of the wealthier and older gay voters who say they’re OK with Trump we can convince to give up the delusion that they’ll be safe under Project 2025.
I know there’s disagreement among us on certain issues. We’re Democrats. We disagree about things all the time – we are the true “big tent” party with diverse opinions. But what we all know is that on almost every issue, Trumpism means disaster.
So I urge you as members of the LGBTQ+ Caucus to do far more than just show your Pride. Reach out. Bring in new members of your communities. Ask them to join us at lgbtqdems.org.
This past year in Florida even though we didn’t do well, we did elect a record number of LGBTQ+ candidates and took back some school board seats. If we continue to build and break the right wing stranglehold on our legislature and Take Back Florida, we can bring vital change.
Please join us, and if you need help or have a specific outreach problem, let me know how the Caucus and our team of Democratic and LGBTQ+ activists can assist. We want to help you succeed, and will do what everything can for that to happen.
With Pride,
Kristen Browde
President, Florida Democratic Party LGBTQ+ Caucus