Republicans took Miami-Dade County in the midterm elections of 2022 for the first time in 20 years. The Democratic infighting has now started.
The Florida Democratic Party at the state level has been requested by ten party officials in the state’s most populous county to audit the county party for alleged campaign finance “improper activities.” The request was made after Republicans won almost all of the county’s races, which Hillary Clinton had previously won by a margin of over 30 percentage points. The area has always been seen as a stronghold for Democrats.
Robert Dempster, chair of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, has stated that an audit of the county party is in progress, but the group of ten claim they would like to transfer those responsibilities to the state party. There are 257 total members of the Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee.
According to former Miami-Dade County Democratic Chairman Juan Cuba, “many signers of this letter have been sounding the alarm for many months that Robert Dempster was unqualified to lead our Party.” And even after Miami-Dade lost every contest in November, there has been no self-reflection and no attempt at accountability.
Although the county party is overdue on audits, Dempster noted that the “10 signatories are well aware of that” and that they were due before he took office. He added that during his tenure as county party chairman, Cuba likewise lagged behind on audits.
Since we appointed a new treasurer a few months ago, Dempster added, “we have been incredibly honest with our membership regarding our finances, reporting, and our efforts to reconcile any good faith errors, and can give meeting minutes as such.”
The group warns that if Florida Democratic Party Chairman Manny Diaz does not order an audit, they will turn the case over to the Florida Elections Commission and the Miami-Dade County Inspector General’s Office.
We sincerely hope that no unlawful campaign activity had place while he was chair of the DEC, but if the audit reveals misconduct, we demand that Robert Dempster be immediately suspended and removed from his position.
A request for comment from Diaz was not answered. After a disastrous election cycle in which Republicans took legislative supermajorities despite underperforming across the country and Gov. Ron DeSantis won by a historic 19 points, he is now facing calls from within his own party to step down.
Cuba, former Democratic state representative Cindy Lerner, former state representative Robert Asencio, and Miami-Dade Democratic Black Caucus president Verlance Echoles are among those who have signed the petition.
In the letter to Diaz, it is claimed that the county party failed to declare no expenses for the second quarter, $61,000 in contributions, $107,000 in expenditures, and a contribution made to unsuccessful Miami City Commission candidate Quinn Smith that was registered two months after the election.
Losing Miami-Dade County was probably the single worst symbolic blow to Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections, which were a complete disaster for them overall. Even while there had been indications that Republicans were gaining ground in one of the state’s historically bluest counties in recent years, the county’s switch to red was nonetheless perceived as a major setback for Florida Democrats.
Diaz, the state party chairman, is a former mayor of Miami who was chosen by party officials with the expectation that he would aid in boosting fundraising efforts. However, this never happened. In almost every big midterm race, Republicans raised much more money than Democrats, but Diaz has thus far refused to resign.
The audit must be finished by January 20 in order to coincide with a Florida Democratic Party organisational convention when party leadership for the 2024 presidential election cycle would be chosen, according to the 10 signatories.
