The Florida Democratic Party has just presented an image that encapsulates much of the tension the party is experiencing on a national level.
This Tuesday, David Jolly, a former Republican congressman turned Democrat, clearly won the nomination for governor and presented himself as a center-left candidate capable of uniting moderates, independents, and progressives.
On the same day, Angie Nixon, a member of Democratic Socialists of America, unexpectedly secured the Democratic nomination for the Senate.
The two victories are not contradictory. Rather, they reflect a party that is seeking different electoral formulas according to the territory and the type of voter it needs to reach.
In Florida, this process has an additional peculiarity: Cuba and the Cuban-American vote are forcing some Democrats to abandon much of the party's traditional language and adopt much harsher positions against the Havana regime.
Florida, a laboratory for Democrats
The challenge is substantial. Florida has transformed from being one of the country's major competitive states to becoming a clearly Republican territory.
Donald Trump has won the state in three consecutive elections and Ron DeSantis achieved a decisive reelection in 2022. No Democrat has won the governorship since 1994.
Jolly's candidacy is, therefore, a political experiment. The former Republican is trying to rebuild a Democratic coalition from the center, with an emphasis on issues such as the cost of living and public services, and avoiding having the party identified exclusively with its progressive wing. Associated Press has described his candidacy as an attempt to show that Democrats can still compete in Florida.
But the problem is not just about convincing moderate voters. Democrats need to find a way to regain ground among communities that have been decisive for the Republican Party for years, and none is more symbolic than the Cuban-American community.
Cuba: a territory that Democrats no longer want to give away
Cuban politics provides a particularly clear example of that realignment.
Jolly has not tried to reach out to the Cuban-American voter by advocating for a policy of dialogue with Havana. He has essentially done the opposite.
In May, he supported the accusation from the Department of Justice against Raúl Castro for the downing of the planes from Brothers to the Rescue and described that episode as an act of state terrorism. The federal government accused Castro and five other Cuban officials for their alleged involvement in the downing of two American civilian aircraft in 1996.
Later, Jolly stated on Univision that he hoped Donald Trump and Marco Rubio would succeed in achieving "a free Cuba" and expressed his confidence in the Secretary of State due to his knowledge of Cuba and the Cuban-American community in South Florida.
His position is not equivalent to that of Donalds, who has spoken of a "total regime change" and has stated that he would not stand in the way of a potential decision by Trump and Rubio to use force. However, it does represent a significant shift from the traditional Democratic image of Cuba.
The message from Jolly seems to be: a democrat can advocate for a free Cuba, condemn Castroism, and support actions against its leaders without becoming a republican as a result.
Phil Ehr takes that strategy to the limit
The case of Phil Ehr is even more revealing.
The Democratic candidate for Congress in Florida's 28th District announced this week that he would support a «decisive U.S. military action to oust the communist regime» if Congress receives a mission that it deems credible and legally authorized. His proposal also includes a plan for the transition and reconstruction of Cuba.
Ehr does not hide that his strategy is linked to the electorate of his district. District 28 encompasses the southwest of Miami-Dade and the Florida Keys, an area where Cuban Americans make up the most influential political block. In 2024, Ehr lost to Republican Cuban American Carlos Giménez by 64.5% to 35.6%.
His rhetoric was already harsh before the military announcement. In April, he stated that “negotiating with communist Cuba is not the way to free the Cuban people” and that it was necessary to “suffocate the regime to liberate the people.”
Here appears something new: Ehr does not intend to simply moderate the Cuban policy of the Democrats to make it more acceptable in Miami. He aims to challenge the Republicans in the arena of maximum pressure, even on such an extreme issue as the possibility of military action.
And all of this happens while the democratic left is advancing
The shift towards more competitive positions in Florida does not mean that the Democratic Party is moving as a whole towards the center.
Angie Nixon's victory proves precisely the opposite.
Nixon, a member of Democratic Socialists of America, defeated former Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman in the Democratic primary for the Senate despite having significantly fewer resources. Her platform includes Medicare for all, public education, universal childcare, affordable housing, an increase in the federal minimum wage, and higher taxation on millionaires.
His victory comes at a time of growth of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party in various states. This does not mean that socialists control the party or that their candidates are necessarily competitive in general elections. However, it does demonstrate that the party today has a leftist faction that is much more organized and electorally visible than it was a decade ago.
The outcome in Florida summarizes, therefore, a paradox: the same party that just nominated a socialist for the Senate selected a former Republican for the governorship who is trying to win with a moderate image.
It's not just a fight between progressives and moderates
Reducing the internal debate within the Democratic Party to a struggle between "left" and "center" would be inadequate.
There is also a growing movement that seeks to uphold progressive positions, but with a less ideological language and a greater focus on concrete results.
During the 2026 midterm elections, Democratic strategists have promoted a strategy focused on issues such as inflation, housing, and the cost of living, seeking to present the party as more pragmatic and less centered on ideological disputes.
In this context, Gavin Newsom also stands out as an interesting reference. The governor of California remains clearly liberal on numerous issues, but he has attempted to blend that profile with a more populist and pragmatic rhetoric, along with an increasing willingness to challenge the so-called "purity tests" of the Democratic left.
She has even taken positions that have caused discomfort within progressive circles, such as her criticism of the participation of transgender athletes in certain sports competitions.
Newsom is not a "moderate" in the classical sense of the term. It is more accurate to see him as a progressive who seeks to broaden his electoral appeal and avoid getting trapped in the more rigid positions of his party.
That nuance is important because the democratic realignment does not seem to be moving toward a single ideological center. It resembles more an attempt to build a party capable of speaking different languages depending on the electorate.
The Cuban-American community as proof of that adaptation
In Florida, Cuba is one of those testing grounds.
Republicans have been utilizing their opposition to Castroism as part of their political identity in South Florida for decades. This advantage has been strengthened in recent years, especially after the strong shift of Miami-Dade towards the Republican Party and the consolidation of Florida as a stronghold for Trump.
But now some Democrats are coming to a different conclusion: to win back the Cuban-American voter, they don't necessarily have to moderate their stance on Cuba; they might need to harden it.
Jolly does it from the center. Ehr has gone much further. And both are trying to prove that opposition to the Cuban regime and the defense of a democratic transition can be part of a democratic platform.
The electoral aim is clear: to prevent the Republican Party from presenting Cuban policy as exclusively theirs.
The difficulty is also there.
The Democratic Party would need to maintain that discourse on Cuba without alienating its progressive wing, which holds more cautious views on military interventions and foreign policy. Ehr, for example, occupies a position that hardly represents the national Democratic left.
Jolly has an advantage in that regard: he can condemn the regime and advocate for a free Cuba without having to commit to military intervention. That approach aligns much better with his strategy of seeking moderates and independents.
The paradox of November
The election between Donalds and Jolly will therefore be more than just a contest between two candidates.
It will also be a test of what kind of Democratic Party can compete again in Florida.
Donalds benefits from a state that has decisively shifted towards the Republicans and has Trump's support. Jolly attempts to show that there is still room for a moderate Democrat capable of rebuilding a broad electoral coalition.
Meanwhile, Nixon's victory demonstrates that the party is not abandoning its left wing, and Ehr's candidacy shows that, at least in Florida, some Democrats are willing to adopt positions on Cuba that until recently would have seemed almost exclusively characteristic of the Republican Party.
The underlying issue is, clearly, broader than just Cuba.
The Democratic Party is seeking the formula to be simultaneously more competitive, more pragmatic, and able to maintain the enthusiasm of an increasingly influential left.
Florida could become one of the most interesting laboratories for this process. And Cuba, due to the electoral weight of the Cuban-American exile community, is likely one of its most important experiments.
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