Florida Democrats selected former state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried as their new party chair on Saturday, hoping to move past a disastrous midterm performance in the onetime presidential battleground state where high-profile Gov. Ron DeSantis has helped cement Republican control.
If one member of the Florida Legislature has his way, the state’s Democratic Party would be canceled over its past support of slavery.
State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a Republican from Spring Hill, filed the so-called “Ultimate Cancel Act” that would call of the state’s Division of Election to cancel the filings of any political part that "has previously advocated for, or been in support of, slavery or involuntarily servitude."
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"For years now, leftist activists have been trying to cancel people and companies for things they have said or done in the past," Ingoglia said in a statement to NBC affiliate WPTV-TV. "This includes the removal of statues and memorials and the renaming of buildings. Using this standard, it would be hypocritical not to cancel the Democrat Party itself for the same reason."
If passed, the legislation would take effect July 1 and automatically change the affiliation of any voters who are registered as Democrats to no party affiliation. Since Florida is a closed-primary state, any registered Democratic voter would be shut out of the primary election unless they change party affiliation.
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Ingoglia claims the Democratic Party had pro-slavery positions on their platform during presidential elections from 1840 to 1864 during its national conventions.
"Some people want to have uncomfortable conversations about certain subjects," Ingoglia said. "Let's have those conversations."
Nikki Fried, the state’s former Agriculture Commissioner who was recently selected as chair of the Florida Democratic Party, told reporters she was “not surprised” by the new legislation.
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"Shame on the radical Republican party for initiating some type of a piece of legislation of this magnitude," Fried said. "This is what a dictator does. This is what a fascist does."
