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Can college students help this Gen Z Democrat win a seat in the Central Florida House of Representatives? • Florida Phoenix

Posted on by Bobb
Can college students help this Gen Z Democrat win a seat in the Central Florida House of Representatives? • Florida Phoenix

Nate Douglas, a 23-year-old candidate for the Florida House of Representatives, is counting on college students to help him win a tough election to unseat Republican Rep. Susan Plasencia.

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

“We’re on campus all the time, and based on the responses this time around on campus, students are definitely ready to get out and vote, but you know, it’s always going to take a lot of pressure because compared to a lot of college campuses, UCF tends to , has lower voter turnout,” Douglas told the Florida Phoenix.

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

When candidates’ campaign funds and political committee support are taken into account, Douglas outscored Plasencia by more than $172,000, according to campaign finance reports.

Young voter turnout could shape election race

UCF is Florida’s largest university by student population, with more than 69,000 students. Although the campus population is about 12,000, even a couple thousand voters could help decide this election, UCF political science professor Aubrey Jewett said in a phone interview with the Phoenix newspaper.

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

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

Democrats hold a slim 729 voter lead over the GOP heading into this year’s election, according to voter registration data.

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

Douglas’s upbringing and political experience

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

He criticizes Plasencia for her vote in support of the state’s six-week abortion ban and bill she co-sponsored in 2023 providing public funds to families, regardless of income, to send their children to private schools.

Plascencia told other news outlets that her views on abortion doesn’t matter because voters will have to decide whether they want to enshrine access to this procedure in this year’s election. But lawmakers would need to implement Amendment 4 and could narrow the measure’s scope, as they did after 2018, when voters approved an amendment restoring voting rights to most Floridians with felony convictions.

Regarding age, according to HD37, the largest group of voters (about 23%) are people aged 20 to 29 years. US Census Bureau data.

Nate Douglas is the Democratic candidate for Florida’s 37th District. (Photo from Douglas X’s account)

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

Douglas had already successfully run for president. He won the bid to create the Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District when he was 19 years old. However, he was fired after lawmakers approved check in 2022, the time frame for reducing districts from four to two years. This bill also required applicants to be actively involved in agriculture or leave the industry.

What are students thinking?

UCF Democratic Party President Laurel Richmond said it was nice to see a young candidate on the ballot. The campus group held events with Douglas, state Sen.-elect Carlos Guillermo Smith and state Rep. Anna Eskamani to discuss what’s at stake in this election. Douglas is involved in promoting his campaign and supporting U.S. Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, the first Gen Z member of Congress.

“I think moving this seat will make all the difference,” said the third-year student. “The boundaries changed a lot to include most of Seminole County, and we saw what happened when they showed up and the UCF students didn’t, and then the place changed to red. So I think as students come forward and voice their concerns, we will see changes in leadership that reflect more of our values.”

Although UCF also has a Republican group working to get out the vote, Plasencia is not working with students, UCF Republican Party President Mary Connolly wrote in Phoenix.

“I talked to some people from her campaign. “We haven’t really done much, but we’re openly supportive of her and just put up several signs in her honor outside the Live Oak Voting Center last week,” she wrote.

Plasencia’s campaign manager, Victor Martinez, did not respond to Phoenix’s request for an interview with the candidate. According to its website, its priorities include reducing the cost of property insurance; expanding technical education and reforming professional licensing; protecting parental rights in education and expanding school choice; stationing police officers in every school; and protecting Seminole County’s rural border.

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