President Biden’s campaign proclaimed Florida “winnable” in the 2024 elections after the Republican-led state Supreme Court issued two critical decisions on Monday.
Why this matters: The court put an abortion referendum on the November ballot in the state, where former President Trump received 51% of the vote to Biden’s 48% in 2020. Trump also won Florida by a narrow margin in 2016.
The court also approved a six-week abortion restriction enacted by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). DeSantis won reelection by over 20 points in 2022.
The bigger picture: Biden campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez stated in a document released by NBC News that abortion rights will be “Front and Center in Florida” during the election cycle.
“This new, extreme abortion ban — one that Donald Trump personally paved the way for — will now amount to a ban for the entire Southeast,” Chávez Rodríguez added.
“Women in need of reproductive care throughout the region now face a choice between putting their lives at risk or traveling hundreds or thousands of miles to get care.”
She dubbed Florida “Ground Zero for Trump’s MAGA Blueprint,” citing gun laws and book bans in the state as examples of controversial policies.
“Similar to other states, including those with exit polls, we fully expect that many of those voters will not vote for Trump and are winnable for President Biden this November,” he said.
“Make no mistake: Florida is not an easy state to win, but it is a winnable one for President Biden, especially given Trump’s weak, cash-strapped campaign, and serious vulnerabilities within his coalition.”
In the 2012 presidential election, former President Obama was the last Democrat to win in Trump’s adoptive state of Florida.