The Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus held a virtual Get Out the Vote rally for David Jolly and Gwen Graham Oct. 11, welcoming LGBTQ+ advocates from across the state along with celebrities Billy Porter and Hal Sparks.
“Our greatest stars join the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus as we rally to flip Florida and elect a governor who will work for our community, not against us!” organizers shared ahead of time. The event was hosted by Stephen Gaskill, the organization’s past president and current president of the LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus of Palm Beach County.
Gaskill also works with the Jolly-Graham campaign’s LGBTQ+ coalition. He initiated the evening’s program after an ad highlighting Jolly’s campaign initiatives.
“Our politics are broken. We’re more divided than ever before. We wake up each day and our leaders tell us to hate each other, and it’s wrong,” the Democratic candidate says in the video. “You deserve a governor who’s going to put you first, because we’re all worried about the cost of housing, healthcare, food and gas… that’s why I’m running for governor, and I’m asking for your vote.”
“Tonight is so important because we have some amazing guests who want to talk to you about the future of Florida and what it means to all of us as a country, not just those of us who live here,” Gaskill noted. He advised the Jolly campaign is focused on economic fairness, a responsive government and building an inclusive community, “upholding a state where all people are welcomed and respected.”
Gaskill echoed Jolly’s stance that culture wars “have been destroying Florida,” something he first discussed with Watermark Out News last year. He noted “after 30 years of Republican rule… it’s time for a change.”
Gaskill and campaign volunteer Chris Bamonte subsequently welcomed Sparks. The comedian and LGBTQ+ ally played Michael Novotny on Showtime’s “Queer as Folk” and said he has long-running ties to Florida.
Sparks encouraged viewers to vote Democrat in the Nov. 3 election, even in a “red district.”
“Even if it didn’t turn the district blue, even if it made it more obviously purple… the other party would have to run more sensible candidates in the future,” Sparks noted. “You cannot put a full-blown MAGA candidate in a purple district.”
Porter, the singer and actor known for “Kinky Boots,” “Pose” and more, began by sharing his frustration that the community has to “beg people to vote.” He encouraged Democrats to “play the long game” to combat anti-LGBTQ+ and other discriminatory laws impacting the community.
Sparks appeared throughout the program while Bamonte offered Porter’s closing sentiments at its end. “Take pride, breathe, but most importantly everybody execute your power to vote November 3rd,” he said.
Additional speakers included state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith in Orlando. He reflected on the importance of representation on screen via “Queer as Folk” as well as in the Florida Legislature, where he was originally elected to the Florida House in 2016.
“Over the years, that representation for our community has really mattered,” Smith shared. “While we have seen laws like ‘Don’t Say Gay or Trans,’ having queer voices on the Senate and House floor has mattered … to make sure that when young people were tuning in to find out that the legislature was getting ready to ban life-saving care for trans youth, that they were making it a crime for trans people to use restrooms in state-run or public facilities, when they were attacking drag queen performances… they [had] queer representation.
“They wanted to see that we had a seat at the table, and that we were constantly reminding the folks back home, even when we lost those fights — because we were outnumbered — we were telling queer young people, ‘you belong, your voice matters, and you deserve to have a seat at the table.'”
Smith noted that the Florida Legislature has a Republican supermajority, meaning Democrats “don’t have the votes to stop legislation on our own without bipartisan support.” It’s something LGBTQ+ advocates hope to change on Nov. 3.
“We need to flip two state Senate seats in Florida to break the supermajority,” Smith advised. “We need to break five in the Florida House of Representatives to break that supermajority, and with that, it’s going to be about making sure that … we can have more power and influence in the process to stop the Republicans’ extreme agenda.”
Electing Jolly is within shot, he believes. Smith noted “the polls are so close, he’s such a good candidate and Republicans are so disfavored because of what they have done to raise costs and make us hate each other … with their divisive culture wars.”
Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus President Kristen Browde echoed Smith, outlining the organization’s support for Democrats up and down the ballot.
“Imagine if they build up just those two extra Senate seats, those five extra House seats, and all of a sudden we have a no more Republican governor,” she shared. “We have David Jolly as our governor. His vetoes will stand.
“That’s all we have to do, and we have just a few weeks in which to do it,” she continued. “So I hope you will join us … Let’s make it happen.”
Additional speakers included LGBTQ+ candidates like Luis Salazar in Tampa and Samuel Vilchez Santiago in Orlando, who each discussed their experiences on the ground. Equality Florida Action PAC‘s Anita Carson also spoke, noting Florida needs “a governor who can veto harms that are coming out of our legislative bodies so that we have less culture wars.”
Doing so can deter Republicans and “make them more focused on the real things that we need them to talk about, like affordability, like healthcare,” she said. “There’s definitely still work to do, but the outcome is depending on us… Florida doesn’t have to be defined by fear, it can be defined by opportunity, but that’s a future that we have to create.”
View the entire virtual rally here and read Watermark Out News’ interview with Jolly below:
Election Day is Nov. 3 and early voting will be held Oct. 19-Nov. 1 in Orange, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. Visit Vote.org or contact your local Supervisor of Elections at MyFloridaElections.com for additional details and read more about the election in the next issue of Watermark Out News, available Oct. 22.
Sign up for the Watermark Out News eNewsletter and follow us for more:
BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | TikTok | Threads | YouTube
