Fentrice Driskell Sees the Meaning for All Black Women if Kamala Harris Becomes Democratic Nominee

The first black woman Leading a party faction in the legislature is a way to make history.

Minority Leader Fentrice Driskella Democrat from Tampa, said it’s personally important to her to see Democrats rally around Vice President Kamala Harris for President. More importantly, she sees a base that could produce America’s first female President, a woman of color at that.

“Black women are often praised for being the backbone of the Democratic Party, so the potential of the Democratic nominee being a Black woman means extra much to me,” she said.

Politically, she believes Harris’ candidacy could energize key groups of voters and be instrumental in winning the fall. Black, female and Asian-American people can all identify with Harris, a half-Indian-American and half-African-American, as a candidate.

“It certainly opens up possibilities in Florida, and maybe even North Carolina. Maybe Georgia starts to look different,” she said. “I think having a Black woman at the top of the ticket makes states competitive that the campaign previously didn’t seem to be in the game.”

President Joe Biden announced on sunday his withdrawal of the 2024 presidential election amid intense political pressure. He signed Harriswho now has the support of the vast majority of Florida’s delegates, and who apparently faces no significant opposition to his nomination.

As the leader of the Democratic Party in the Florida House of Representatives, Driskell said she sees benefits to the ballot box change, including in many races for seats in the Florida House of Representatives. She noted that Democrats turned around a seat in the Central Florida House of Representatives flipped from red to blue earlier this year, largely on the basis of the Democratic Tom Keens Support for the right to abortion.

Driskell said Harris has been particularly elegant on the issue of reproductive rights.

“The fact that Vice President Harris is at the top of the list is a boost because the vice president is so good at talking about the abortion issue in a positive way, with relatability and credibility,” Driskell said.

During a Democratic press conference, Senator Shevrin Jones noted that Harris was a member of Alfa Kappa Alfaportion of the Divine Nine group of traditionally black brotherhoods and sisterhoods. Driskell, a member of the Delta Sigma Thetasaid the Divine Nine has been especially important in reaching out to professional blacks and getting them involved in politics. “They are college-educated people who are committed to seeing excellence and progress in the community,” she said.

She recalled that when Biden named Harris as her running mate, a network of Divine Nine leaders sprang into action to raise money and campaign for the ticket. Also known as 20 The pearls that Harris often wore became something of a symbol of Divine Nine members’ support for the campaign.

Driskell also expects Republicans to use her race and gender against her. Some far-right activists are already questioning Harris’s natural-born citizenship, as former President Donald Trump once questioned that of the former president Barack Obamathe country’s first black president.

“We know it’s rooted in racism and xenophobia and, frankly, rooted in fear,” Driskell said. “It tells us a lot about the Republican Party today, that the party, and I’m not necessarily talking about Republican people, but the party, is willing to go as low as it can go and sink lower than I ever thought possible.”

She noted that Trump’s mother emigrated from Scotland, which makes the accusation particularly laughable.

She also told Florida Politics that she would be surprised if Republicans did not address racial and gender discrimination.

“What’s encouraging is the speed at which Harris’ support has been consolidated,” Driskell said. “That kind of unity, excitement and enthusiasm can overcome any misogynistic rhetoric that’s been thrown her way.”

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