Florida Labor Letter – The (Primary) Results Are In! (Week of 8/21)

Daniel Diaz |

Welcome to another edition of the Florida AFL-CIO’s weekly Florida Labor Letter for the week of 8/20. This week we finally wrap up the Florida Primaries! Rejoice as your mailboxes and televisions receive a temporary reprieve from the onslaught of campaign materials. It won’t last for long though, as now it’s time to head into the general! For this special edition, let’s get into some of this week’s primary results and what they mean for Florida’s working families as we get on the road to November!

🗳️Florida Primary Recap🍊

Florida Voters Show Out

Any other Kornacki Cam fans out there?

This week, over 1.3 million Floridians turned out to vote on Tuesday, bringing the sunshine state’s total participation in the FL Primary to 3.38 million voters, or just over 25% of the electorate. This beats the 22% that came out in 2024, but falls just shy of the 26% who came out for 2022’s mid-term primaries! How’s that? For the fellow data lovers, here’s a helpful chart of how that broke down courtesy Fresh Take Florida:

Solidified Leads and Surprising Upsets!

Soon after the polls closed this Tuesday, Floridians didn’t have to wait very long to see the fruits (oranges?) of their labor in the results. Within the hour, news outlets across the nation were quick to cover results in Florida that came as expected for some, and shockers for others!

In the Governor’s race, the FL AFL-CIO’s endorsed candidate David Jolly took home the Democratic nomination with 61% of the vote, solidifying his place as the presumed party front runner. Opposite him, Republican Byron Donalds brought the much covered and contentious Republican gubernatorial primary to a close, taking home 47.8% of the vote, with Florida Lt. Governor Jay Collins behind him securing 25% of the vote. The Florida GOP primary was noteworthy for its wide spread of candidates and as well as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ choice to not endorse any candidate to succeed him as he approaches his term limits.

The headlines of the night though weren’t just focused on the Governor’s mansion though, as the surprise victory of Democratic candidate and former state lawmaker Angie Nixon over retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Alex Vindman took both parties by surprise in the race for Florida’s open U.S Senate seat. Vindman’s campaign had significantly out-raised both Nixon and incumbent GOP Senator Ashley Moody (who secured her own primary victory on Tuesday as well.), raising more than $16 million dollars to Nixon’s $975,000. Money doesn’t vote however, and Nixon’s surprise victory was decisive, taking home 56.1% of the democratic voting electorate to Vindman’s 43.9% (an over 150,000 vote difference.)

Nixon’s victory continues a trend we’ve observed all year long across the nation’s primaries, with election day results resulting in vastly different outcomes than what many polls have been predicting. While we will leave the larger political implications of these results and polls to the pundits, we highlight these stories to re-iterate that ultimate truth we’ve harped on all year (and will continue to): at the end of the day it’s you the voters, not the dollars nor the polls, that decide elections, and until then no victory (or loss) is set in stone.

Victories for Labor 2026 Candidates!

The primaries weren’t just newsworthy for the parties either, but also for our Labor 2026 candidates! Alongside a massive host of CLC and locally endorsed candidates for offices like seats like mayor, county commissioners, and school board candidates, a number of candidates formally endorsed by the Florida AFL-CIO have secured a primary victory and now proceed onto the general election, (or in some cases, straight to office) including but not limited to:

  • David Jolly, Governor
  • Annette Taddeo, Chief Financial Officer
  • Amanda Green, CD 3
  • Rachel Grage, CD 5
  • Leela Gray, CD 13
  • Kelly Kirschner, CD 16
  • Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, CD 20
  • Pia Dandidya, CD 22
  • Lois Frankel, CD 23
  • Oliver Gilbert, CD 24
  • John Lowndes SD 10
  • Fentrice Driskell, SD 16
  • Ashley Gantt, SD 34
  • Audrey Gibson, HD 13
  • Samuel Vilchez Santiago, HD 43
  • Jose Alvarez, HD 46
  • Kyandra Darling, HD 62
  • Jacqueline Coffie-Leeks HD 63
  • Luis Salazar, HD 64
  • Mitchell Rosenwald, HD 98
  • Lucia Baez-Geller, HD 106
  • Gloria Romero Roses, HD 113

These candidates will join the host of other FL AFL-CIO endorsed candidates on the ballot in November as we work to elect a slate of lawmakers ready to fight for a brighter Florida for all of our working families! Thank you to all of our members who have put in the work for these victories so far. We’re excited to solidify them later this year!

✊The Union Contribution!

Pictured: FL AFL-CIO President Kim Holdridge with UNITE HERE! Orlando members this week as they canvassed for Tuesday’s elections!

The victories at both local and statewide levels were made possible of course by the efforts of not just voters, but organizers like you! As Labor 2026 gets underway, many of our brothers and sisters have already began the hard work of canvassing their members and labor community to ensure we are registered and have a plan to get out there and vote! We are proud to see so many of you ramping up the excitement among your labor siblings, and applaud the hard work of so many of you so far. As we get closer to November, you are showing true the maxim that when we fight, we win!

Fundraising for the General!

Now we meant it when we said that dollars don’t vote, but it is also true that no matter who leads an election, one thing is for certain, elections cost money! Whether it’s paying for staff, travel, mail, or even the small things like balloons and stickers, campaigns of every kind rely on money to stay alive and succeed. That includes our Labor 2026 campaign! As the general approaches, every day and donation counts towards turning out our working families this November.

If you are willing and able, please consider a donation to the COPE Action Fund. This fund is 100% dedicated towards executing member to member programming for Labor 2026. Every single dollar spent by this fund is used to turn out the votes of our workers, whether that be through the production of materials for your CLCs, educational information on the candidates running, voter registration initiatives for locals, and more.

🗓️On the Horizon

As Labor 2026 gets underway, make sure you are not just making a plan to vote, but staying tuned to our FL AFL-CIO Mobilize to see the latest ways you can get involved in local actions, canvassing efforts, and more! See below for some important dates and visit Mobilize for the full breakdown!

  • Statewide
    • Important GENERAL Election Dates!
      • The primaries are over! On to the general! Wherever you are on the aisle, you should know these important election dates from the Florida Division of Elections:
        • Deadline to send vote-by-mail ballots to UOCAVA voters: September 19, 2026
        • Deadline to send vote-by-mail ballots to domestic voters:  September 24 2026 – October 1, 2026
        • Deadline to register to vote:  October 5, 2026
        • Deadline to request that ballot be mailed: October 22, 2026
        • Early voting period (mandatory period):  October 24 – 31, 2026
        • Election Day:  November 3, 2026
  • Digital
    • First Monday of every Month: FLARA Monthly Meetings
      • The Florida Alliance of Retired Americans (FLARA) invites any and all to attend their monthly zoom meetings. FLARA meets on the first Friday of every month at 10 AM EST, and features guest speakers and relevant information for retirees from national and state governments as well as important information on demonstrations, partner activities, etc.
      • Those interested in attending FLARA meetings should contact tammy@flara.org in order to get the monthly invitation.
  • Regional

🛠️Business Board

Let’s Get Medicaid Expansion On the 2028 Ballot!

Attendees of our COPE Convention may recall one of our signature workshops by the Florida Policy Institute’s Chief Strategy & Development Officer, Holly Bullard, on the important topic of Medicaid Expansion in Florida. Off of the positive reception to her workshop, we wanted to make sure that all of you knew about the important and growing fight to finally get it done in Florida.

Over 15 years, Medicaid Expansion bills have been filed in the Florida Legislature, and have gone nowhere. This is all despite the fact that 75% of Florida voters support expansion, including a majority of Republicans. All the while, years of inaction have left over 3.5 million Floridians in a growing gap with no healthcare, increasing premiums, and billions left on the table in federal funds that could easily alleviate the issue. It’s time to change this un-necessary and awful reality, and Florida’s working families are key to getting it done.

Florida Decides Healthcare is leading a citizen-led ballot initiative to expand Medicaid and cover over one million Floridians who fall through the cracks: workers who earn too much for Medicaid but too little for private insurance. These are our siblings who show up every day and still can’t afford to see a doctor. With an unresponsive legislature, it’s time the voters forced action on the issue themselves. Since the legislature cracked down on citizens having a say in their own constitution last year, we’re hitting the ground early on this effort for 2028. Here’s how you can help:

Here’s the ask. It takes one minute:

  1. Request your petition at https://floridadecideshealthcare.org/aflcio/
  2. It arrives by mail. Sign it.
  3. Mail it back. That’s it.

Your signature moves Medicaid expansion one step closer to Florida voters, and one step closer to healthcare for a million of your fellow Floridians. In a state that seeks to silence its voters, every single signature counts, so feel free to share the link with your coworkers, family, neighbors, and union siblings statewide.

All Florida workers deserve affordable healthcare. This is how we show up and make it happen.

  • P.O.W.E.R Trainings and Pledge: Labor 2026 represents not just a statewide, but a national opportunity for change to build a better future for all of those in organized labor. To achieve victory, we’ll need as much help as we can get! Ahead of November, take the P.O.W.E.R pledge to:
    • Protect: Protecting the vote and ensuring every member can safely cast their ballot.
    • Organize: Organize new labor strongholds led by workers.
    • Win: Win crucial races that determine the future of workers’ rights.
    • Engage: Engage our baseline through authentic peer-to-peer contact.
    • Right Now: Mobilize Right Now. Action today creates victory tomorrow.

📸Bonus Bulletin

Labor Day Approaches!

Though this special edition has been heavily election focused, the approach of September means that there is another big day on the horizon for our working families: Labor Day! In the battle for a better way of life, this important day is meant to highlight and honor the contributions of all of our working families both who came before, and those who continue to show up today. This joyous day of solidarity and celebration is one we look forward to spending with you, so make sure to mark those calendars for September 7th! We look forward to sharing more news of our Labor Day celebrations soon!

That concludes this week’s roundup! Thank you for reading and as always, In Solidarity!

Got any tips, actions, or messages you’d like to see in this email?

Please email Daniel Diaz at ddiaz@flaflcio.org

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