GAINESVILLE — The Florida LGBTA Democratic Caucus, representing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community to the Florida Democratic Party, applauds our gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum’s selection of Chris King as his running mate.

Caucus President Terry Fleming issued the following statement:

“Chris King is an outstanding running mate for Andrew Gillum, and shows his commitment to taking back Florida from the extremism of the Republicans and Ron DeSantis. Like all Democrats across the state, LGBTA Caucus members are ready to help Andrew Gillum bring it home in November to ensure equality, strengthen our civil rights, and return respect and common sense to Florida government.

“Chris King introduced himself to the Caucus at our 2017 Summer Conference with a powerful story about the discrimination his gay brother faced. Both Andrew Gillum and Chris King have deep personal experiences with the LGBT community, and they’ve shown their commitment to our issues throughout the campaign. We look forward to working with them to strengthen the LGBT community when they’re sworn in next January.”

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Support for Statewide Candidates, Federal and State Legislative Candidates

Membership Threshold Not Met on Gubernatorial Race

GAINESVILLE — The Florida LGBTA Democratic Caucus, representing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community to the Florida Democratic Party, announces its full list of endorsements for the August 28th primary election. Caucus membership voted on these endorsements at our Summer Conference in West Palm Beach on Saturday, July 28, and includes candidates and Constitutional amendments. The announcement was held to notify candidates.

In the state’s most watched election — for governor — no candidate received the required two-thirds vote of eligible voting members participating to receive the endorsement. Utilizing a successive voting process whereby the candidate with the least amount of votes was eliminated each round, the final two candidates were Andrew Gillum and Gwen Graham. Neither secured the two-thirds threshold to win endorsement.

Following is the full list of endorsed candidates this cycle:

Endorsed July 28, 2018:

Federal

CD-6: Nancy Soderberg

CD-7: Rep. Stephanie Murphy

CD-10: Rep. Val Demings

CD-12: Chris Hunter

CD-16: David Shapiro

CD-19: David Holden

CD-20: Rep. Alcee Hastings

Gubernatorial & Cabinet

Governor: No Endorsement

Attorney General: Sean Shaw

CFO: State Senator Jeremy Ring

Commissioner of Agriculture: No Endorsement

Legislative

House District 55: Audrey Asciutto

House District 89: James Bonfiglio

House District 115: Dr Jeffrey Solomon

House District 106: Sara McFadden

Previously endorsed and already announced:

Federal

US Senator Bill Nelson

CD-3: Yvonne Hayes Hinson

CD-5: Rep. Al Lawson

CD-8: Sanjay Patel

CD-9: Rep. Darren Soto

CD-13: Rep. Charlie Crist

CD-15: Andrew Learned

CD-17: April Freeman

CD-18: Lauren Baer

CD-22: Rep. Ted Deutch

CD-23: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz

CD-27: State Representative David Richardson

State

House District 28: Lee Mangold

House District 37: Tammy Garcia

House District 49: Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith

In addition, the state Caucus endorsed candidates recommended by local chapters. These include:

Stonewall Democrats of Alachua County

Senate District 8: Kayser Enneking

House District 21: Amol Jethwani

School Board: Rob Hyatt

School Board: Tina Certain

Dolphin Democrats (Broward County)

Senate District 34: Gary Farmer

House District 92: Paulette Armstead

House District 93: Emma Collum

House District 96: Saima Farooqui

House District 97: Jared Moscowitz

House District 98: Andrew Dolberg

House District 105: Javier Estevez

Hillsborough County LGBTA Democratic Caucus

House District 59: Adam Hattersley

House District 60: Debra Bellanti

House District 63: Fentrice Driskell

Commissioner District 4: Andrew Davis Hillsborough

Lee County LGBTQA Democratic Caucus

House District 76: David Bogner

House District 78: Parisima Taeb

School District Seat 4: Debbie Jordan

Fort Myers City Council Seat 4: Christopher Pierce

Pasco LGBTA Democratic Caucus

County Commission District 2: Kelly Smith

County Commission District 4: Brandi Geoit

Stonewall Democrats of Pinellas County

Senate District 16: Amanda Murphy

House District 66: Alex Heeren

House District 69: Jennifer Webb

County Commission District 6: Amy Kedron

School Board District 6: Matt Stewart

Rainbow Ridge LGBTA Democratic Caucus of Polk County

Senate District 22: Bob Doyel

Senate District 26: Catherine Price

House District 42: Barbara Cady

County Commission District 4: Karen Cooper Welzel

School Board District 3: Sarah Fortney

Constitutional amendment positions approved by membership on July 28, 2018 are listed below. The Caucus had voted earlier to support Amendment 4, the Voter Restoration for Felons Initiative.

The Caucus SUPPORTS:

Amendment 3: Requires voter approval of casino gambling

Amendment 9: Bans offshore oil and gas drilling and vaping in enclosed indoor workplaces

Amendment 13: Prohibits betting on dog races

The Caucus OPPOSES:

Amendment 1: Grants an additional $25,000 homestead exemption for homes worth $125,000 or more.

Amendment 2: Makes permanent what currently is a temporary cap of 10 percent on annual property value increases for vacation homes, apartments and commercial property, effectively limiting increases on tax bills. (2nd homes and commercial) property assessment increases permanent

Amendment 5: Requires 2/3 vote of legislature to impose or increase tax or fee instead of a simple majority.

Amendment 6: Adds a Marsy’s Law (victims’ rights) to state constitution, increases judicial retirement age; prohibits judges from deferring to administrative agencies to interpret law

Amendment 7: Requires death benefits for first responders and military members, a supermajority vote for college fees, and adds state college system structure to constitution

Amendment 8: Establishes school board term limits; allows state to operate non-board established schools; requires civic literacy

Amendment 11: Repeals some obsolete language; repeals a provision saying that changes to a criminal statute are not retroactive

The Caucus took NO POSITION on:

Amendment 10: Prohibits counties from abolishing certain local offices, changes start date of legislative sessions, and adds an executive office and executive department to constitution

Amendment 12: Prohibits public officials from lobbying for compensation while in office and 6 years thereafter.

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Summer Conference Hotel Reservation

Conference Registration

Gainesville FL — The Florida LGBTA Democratic Caucus, an arm of the Florida Democratic Party representing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Democrats, announced its first round of endorsements for federal elections during the primary season.

“Florida’s candidates and elected officials know that the LGBT community can be the margin of victory in their races, and that our members work hard to elect our endorsed candidates,” Caucus President Terry Fleming said. “In such a highly charged political year, our involvement has a definitive impact.”

The Florida LGBTA Democratic Caucus, representing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Democrats in Florida, presents its 2018 Summer Conference, July 27 through 29, at the Hilton Palm Beach Airport Hotel. Caucus conferences bring together a wide range of politically active Democrats to hear from state, local and national elected officials and candidates, party officials, allied activists, and issue experts for an invigorating and productive weekend. Our conferences receive statewide media coverage that underscores the experience and commitment our members bring to Florida politics.

July 27-29, 2018
Hilton Palm Beach Airport Hotel
150 Australian Avenue
West Palm Beach, FL 33406

Tentative Schedule
Friday, July 27, 2018
Welcome Reception Hosted by Rusty Gordon LGBTA Democratic Caucus

Saturday, July 28, 2018
Summer Conference with Continental Breakfast – 8:00am
Morning Session with Presentations and Trainings – 9:00am
Sponsored Lunch – 12:00pm
Afternoon Session with Presentations and Trainings – 1:00pm
Membership Meeting – 3:30pm
Adjourn – 5:00pm
Cocktail Reception – 6:30pm
Leadership Dinner – 7:30pm

Sunday, July 29, 2018
Farewell Brunch – 10:00am

Conference Registration
Register for the conference by clicking this link.

Leadership Dinner Tickets
Purchase your individual or table tickets to the Leadership Dinner online.

Join us as we prepare for victory in 2018! Additional event details will be announced as they become available.