Charlie Crist spent $30 million running for governor in 2022 and lost Florida by 19 points.
Democrats convinced themselves it was a fluke.
But Young Republicans just knocked on 12,000 doors in one Florida county alone – and what they've already built should end that conversation for good.
20,000 Doors and Counting
Florida Young Republicans launched Operation Ground Game on September 5th.
Fast forward six weeks and volunteers have knocked more than 20,000 doors across the state.
That's not a press release number.
That's boots on pavement, weekend after weekend, across North Florida, the I-4 corridor, Tampa Bay, Southwest Florida, and South Florida.
The operation is targeting three races: Byron Donalds for governor, Ashley Moody for U.S. Senate, and conservative candidates in local races up and down the ballot.
https://twitter.com/FLVoiceNews/status/2108667586141360373?s=20
Ted Veerman, the group's chief of staff, put it plainly.
"Florida Young Republicans are hitting the pavement every day to secure the future of our state and our nation," Veerman said. "We cannot let socialism creep into our Governor's Mansion, the U.S. Senate, and our local governments."
"We will elect Byron Donalds, Ashley Moody, and common sense conservatives up and down the ballot on November 3rd, and are working our asses off to ensure victory," he continued. “I am proud of every young person who has answered the call, and we have more work to get done as we head into the final stretch.”
The Number Democrats Cannot Explain
Broward County – deep blue, Democrat stronghold, the kind of place where Republicans aren't supposed to exist – has produced more than 12,000 of those doors knocked.
That's more than 60 percent of the statewide total from one county.
Brianna Reeves, president of the Broward Young Republicans, didn't sugarcoat what this means.
"Our mission is to recruit, train and elect, and Operation Ground Game is that mission in action," Reeves said. "Young people have plenty of ways to spend their weekends. Across Florida, they're choosing to show up, listen to voters and earn their support. That's how elections should be won."
She added: "The next generation isn't waiting for its turn to lead. They're stepping up and doing the work."
https://twitter.com/FloridaGOP/status/2108945467128349015?s=20
Broward County Democrats spent years assuming young Republicans didn't exist in their backyard.
They were wrong.
Why This Matters Three Weeks Out
Byron Donalds leads Democrat David Jolly by 7 points in the latest polling – and Cook Political Report rates the Florida Senate race as solid red for Ashley Moody.
Republicans are favored to win both races.
But favored doesn't mean automatic.
Florida has burned Republicans before on close margins – and the Democrat playbook in 2026 is to run up numbers in Southeast Florida while hoping Republican enthusiasm fades in the final stretch.
That's exactly where Operation Ground Game is landing.
Deployments in Tampa Bay, Southwest Florida, and South Florida – the specific battlegrounds where Democrats need to win – are running through Election Day, November 3rd.
They have a gap they didn't know existed.
The Story the Media Won't Tell You
Democrats spent two decades building the myth that young people belong to them.
They turned it into an industry – campus organizing, youth summits, TikTok campaigns, and small-dollar fundraising operations premised on the idea that the left owned the future permanently.
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Charlie Crist believed it too, right up until DeSantis won by 19 points in a race that wasn't close by halftime.
What's happening with Florida Young Republicans isn't a blip.
It's the generation that watched leftist policies destroy their hometowns – the inflation, the crime, the open borders, the school board insanity – deciding they're not handing Florida to the people who caused it.
Twenty-three days left.
The doors keep getting knocked.
Sources:
- Frank Kopylov, "Florida Young Republicans knock more than 20,000 doors in Operation Ground Game," Florida's Voice, October 9, 2026.
- "Donalds leads Jolly in 2026 Florida governor's race, new poll finds," NBC Miami, October 2026.
- Cook Political Report, Florida Senate 2026 race rating, 2026.
