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Can college students help this Gen Z Democrat flip a central Florida House seat? • Florida Phoenix

Posted on by Josh L
Can college students help this Gen Z Democrat flip a central Florida House seat? • Florida Phoenix

Nate Douglas, 23, who is running for the Florida House of Representatives, is counting on college students to help him win the election in a tight race to unseat GOP Rep. Susan Placencia.

The race in House District 37, which covers parts of Orange and Seminole counties, is one of the most competitive this cycle, but Douglas believes if University of Central Florida students get to the polls, he can turn the district blue. again after Plasencia’s victory in 2022.

“We’re always on campus, and this time on campus the answers, students are definitely willing to get out there and vote, but you know, it always takes a lot of hard work because compared to a lot of campuses, UCF tends to have lower voter turnout,” Douglas said in an interview with the Florida Phoenix.

“And you know, for me at the moment it’s a competition. We need to get all students in Florida to vote, but we especially need to get UCF to vote.”

According to campaign finance reports, Douglas topped Placencia by more than $172,000 in campaign funds for candidates and auxiliary political committees.

Young voter turnout could tip the race

UCF is Florida’s largest university by student enrollment over 69,000 students. Although about 12,000 live on campus, even a few thousand voters could help decide this election, UCF political science professor Aubrey Jewett told the Phoenix in a phone interview.

Republican Rep. Susan Placencia of Orange and Seminole counties. (Photo courtesy of the Florida House of Representatives)

In 2022, Placencia won the newly redrawn district by a margin of 2,068 votes. The Republican has lived in the UCF area for 25 years, according to her campaign website, and recently became executive director of the Orlando Regional Realtor Foundation. Her brother, Rene “Coach” Placencia, served in the Florida House from 2014 to 2022.

Ahead of this year’s election, Democrats have a narrow 729-vote lead over the Republican Party, according to voter registration data.

“Of course, not every UCF student is a Democrat, but there is a disproportionate number of young voters who tend to be Democrats, and for Douglas, if he’s going to win this race, he needs to at least have a solid turnout,” Jewett. said “And if he wants to have the best chance, he needs a big turnout from the UCF region, and especially among students who would be a natural voter for him because he’s so young.”

Douglas’ upbringing and political experience

Besides being young, Douglas says his platform of protecting reproductive rights, investing in public education and lowering housing costs will appeal to the district’s older voters. His upbringing as the son of a public school teacher in a family that struggled financially during the Great Recession shaped his views on education and housing.

He criticizes Placencia for her vote to support the state’s six-week abortion ban and bill, which she co-authored in 2023 allocation of public funds so that families, regardless of income, send their children to private schools.

Plasencia told other media about this her views on abortion don’t matter because voters will decide whether they want to enshrine access to the procedure in this year’s election. However, lawmakers would need to implement Amendment 4 and could narrow the measure’s reach, as they did after 2018, when voters approved an amendment that restored voting rights to most Floridians with felony convictions.

In terms of age, the largest demographic of voters, approximately 23%, is in HD37, according to 20 to 29 year olds Data from the US Census Bureau.

Nate Douglas is the Democratic candidate for Florida’s 37th congressional district. (Photo via Douglas X’s account)

“Republicans like to say that my youth is my inexperience, but that just shows that they don’t understand their district very well and who they represent,” Douglas said. “Because young people deserve a seat at the table and there are many people like me who have enough experience to represent us.”

Douglas had previously successfully run for office. When he was 19, he won his bid for the Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District. However, it was removed after lawmakers approved score in 2022, the reduction of terms for districts from four to two years. This bill also required candidates to be actively involved in agriculture or be retired from that industry.

What are college students thinking?

UCF Dems President Laurel Richmond said it was exciting to see a young candidate on the ballot. The student group organized events with Douglas, state Sen.-elect Carlos Guillermo Smith and state Rep. Anna Escamani to discuss what’s at stake in this election. Douglas attends events to promote his campaign and support U.S. Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost, the first Generation Z.

“I think it’s going to be a big deal to flip that chair,” the third-year student said. “The boundaries changed a lot to include a lot of Seminole County, and we saw what happened when they showed up and the UCF students didn’t show up, and it became a red seat. So, I think as students come forward and voice their concerns, we’ll see changes in leadership that will be more representative of our values.”

Although UCF also has a Republican group working on the ballot, Placencia has not communicated with students, UCF Republican Party President Mary Connolly wrote to the Phoenix.

“I spoke to some people from her campaign. We haven’t really done much but we’re openly supporting her and we just put up a bunch of signs for her outside the Live Oak polling center last week,” she wrote.

Plasencia’s campaign manager, Victor Martinez, did not respond to Phoenix’s requests for an interview with the candidate. According to her website, her priorities are reducing the cost of property insurance; expansion of technical education and reform of professional licensing; protection of parents’ rights to education and expansion of school choice; placement of police officers in each school; and protecting the rural boundaries of Seminole County.

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