Bob Graham & Bill Nelson lead list of Florida Dems endorsing Joe Biden for president

By: Mitch Perry - July 29, 2019 11:25 am

Former Vice President Joe Biden; presumptive Democratic nominee for president. Credit: Wikipedia.

Early polls show Joe Biden to be the favorite in Florida’s Democratic presidential primary next year, and the former vice-president is continuing to lock up more big endorsements in the Sunshine State going into this week’s debates in Detroit.

Former U.S. Senators Bob Graham and Bill Nelson head a list of 13 Florida Democrats who now are supporting Biden according to a press release from the Biden campaign on Monday.

Other elected officials now backing Biden include state Sen. Lori Berman from Palm Beach County and Jason Pizzo from Miami-Dade County. They join 23 of their legislative colleagues that POLITICO Florida reported in May were endorsing Biden.

“Each and every one of these leaders are trusted voices in their communities and I am proud to have earned their support,” Biden said in a statement which included endorsements from four other states. “Their endorsements are crucial to this campaign. I look forward to standing alongside them and speaking with voters in their communities about rebuilding the backbone of our country- the middle class – and unifying America.”

While extremely early in the process, Biden is dominating the other 24 Democrats running for president in the Sunshine State in endorsements and in the polls.

A Quinnipiac poll taken last month in Florida shows him with a 27- point lead over his next closest opponent, Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, 41 percent to 14 percent.

And a Florida Atlantic University poll taken in June shows Biden also leading Sanders and Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren by 27 points, 39 percent to 12 percent.

Florida is not exclusive Biden Country. Last month, South Florida Congressional representatives Alcee Hastings and Frederica Wilson endorsed California U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris for president.

And in the Legislature, while North Miami Rep. Dotie Joseph has not officially endorsed anyone for higher office, she did introduce Elizabeth Warren at a town hall meeting in Miami last month and stood with her on stage during the question-and-answer session

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Mitch Perry

Mitch Perry has covered politics and government in Florida for more than two decades. Most recently he is the former politics reporter for Bay News 9. He has also worked at Florida Politics, Creative Loafing and WMNF Radio in Tampa. He was also part of the original staff when the Florida Phoenix was created in 2018.