Advertisement

Hillsborough County Democrats assess what went wrong Nov. 8

Party voters showed up in low numbers even as Democrats fought off an expected red wave nationally.
 
Hillsborough County Democratic Party chairperson Ione Townsend
Hillsborough County Democratic Party chairperson Ione Townsend [ WILLIAM MARCH | Photo courtesy of Ione Townsend ]
Published Jan. 7, 2023

The Hillsborough County Democratic Party is taking steps to try to find out why its voters didn’t show up to the polls Nov. 8, resulting in a surprising Republican takeover of the board of county commissioners and legislative seats.

The party will hold a retreat Jan. 28 with “stakeholders — community representatives, Black and Hispanic voters, union reps, donors, and club and caucus presidents — to find out what they’re hearing from their own communities,” said Ione Townsend, Hillsborough County party chairperson.

The party is also hoping for new survey data from its phone banking firm, which contacted voters during the campaign in a voter turnout effort. The firm will call back voters who said before the election that they didn’t plan to vote and ask them why.

Only 52 percent of registered Democrats in Hillsborough turned out to vote Nov. 8, Townsend said.

Two countywide commissioners, Kimberly Overman and Mariella Smith, who both comfortably won their seats in 2018, lost to lesser-known political newcomers, Josh Wostal and Donna Cameron Cepeda, giving the Republicans a 4-3 majority on the board.

Republicans Jay Collins and Danny Alvarez also unseated Democratic legislators, former Sen. Janet Cruz of Tampa and Rep. Andrew Learned of Brandon, respectively.

The county also voted comfortably for Republicans for governor, senator and all statewide offices.

Experts and Democratic insiders say Democratic turnout was down statewide, and Republicans also benefitted from an influx of new GOP-oriented residents in the last few years.