Florida House Representative and Democratic Whip Ramon Alexander of District 8 filed Monday to become the next House Democratic leader. Alexander filed after the previously anticipated candidate, Rep. Ben Diamond, decided to run for the seat in the U.S. House vacated by Charlie Crist in his campaign for Governor in 2022.
Having experience as a House Rep. since 2016 and as the Democratic Whip since 2018, Alexander received support from multiple elected officials and told Florida Politics that he was “overwhelmed by the amount of support from our caucus.” Alexander also gained experience in statewide electoral politics with his involvement in Barack Obama’s reelection campaign in 2012.
During the current session, Alexander has strongly opposed controversial bills, including the elections bill (SB 90) which changed vote-by-mail rules and the anti-riot bill (HB 1) that Democrats viewed as criminalizing civil disobedience.
Regarding SB 90, Alexander and other House Democrats indicated that the bill is a deliberate attempt by House Republicans to suppress mail-in voting and that directly affects communities of color. According to The Floridian, Alexander and other African-American House Democrats felt like they were being left out of the decision to pass the bill. Alexander stated, “Sometimes I feel I’m at the back of the room, at the back of the bus.”
As for HB 1, Alexander was very vocal about his criticism of the anti-riot legislation saying, “It is centered around a specific motive… and the motive is centered on the banner of law in order.” Alexander was alluding to his view that the justice system has often suppressed people of color of their right to assembly, protest, and free speech. He argued, “If it wasn’t for civil disobedience, I wouldn’t be drinking from from the same water fountain that you’re drinking from today… the way we move America forward is not through divisive things like this.”
Caucus members look to vote on the Democratic leadership position during the Special Session that begins next week.
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Casey Owens is a writer at The Florida Capital Star. Follow him on Twitter at @cowensreports. Email tips to caseyowensreports.com.
Photo “Florida Senate Capitol” by Michael Rivera CC 3.0.
