Florida Democrats’ new party registration director won’t provide plan when questioned

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – The Florida Democratic Party’s new voter registration director, Krisellys Estanga, did not provide Florida’s Voice with a response on how she plans to increase party numbers as Florida Republicans hit more record levels.

Florida’s Voice CEO Brendon Leslie asked Estanga on social media how she was going to “stop the bleed” as 55 of 67 counties are currently Republican controlled.

Jefferson County most recently flipped Republican.

She responded by saying that her first step is to “not spend my time on Twitter explaining anything” and then to “get to work.”

“I’ll take that as there is no plan,” Leslie responded.

He again provided her the opportunity to comment on her plans, which she did not respond to.

The party named Estanga as their new voter registration director on Monday.

“It’s time to fight hard because we love hard,” Estanga said on X, formerly Twitter. “This one is for our communities.”

In a statement from Politico Playbook, the party’s chair, Nikki Fried, commented on how the new hire was a way to help Democrats expand their “field operations with a dedicated focus on voter registration.”

Estanga is a progressive activist and campaign organizer who has worked on multiple campaigns in national and Florida politics, including for Elizabeth Warren’s and Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaigns, Andrew Gillium’s gubernatorial campaign, as well as several state legislators such as Rep. Michele Rayner, D-St. Petersburg, and former Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando.

However, the Venezuelan-born political organizer claimed to transition from partisan to nonpartisan governance as she helped Tallahassee City Commissioner Jacqueline Porter get elected in 2020.

Additionally, Estanga served as president of the Jacksonville Young Democrats and on the Florida Young Democrats executive board.

Florida Democrats have made several attempts to increase voter registration, such as launching the “Take Back Florida” campaign, in hopes of engaging the party’s base and driving out voter participation in the upcoming 2024 election.

“This tour is about firing up Floridians and empowering them with the tools and training to help take back our state,” Fried said in a statement.

“Unlike Ron DeSantis, we are actually here – working on the ground and talking to voters about the issues they really care about.”

The Florida Democratic Party currently faces an uphill battle as the Florida GOP greatly increased the number of registered Republicans in the state.

Currently, Florida has more than 500,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats, on top of multiple counties flipping Republican, such as Jefferson County.

“It’s another great day to be a Republican in the free State of Florida,” Republican Party of Florida Chairman Christian Ziegler told Florida’s Voice after Jefferson County shifted.

He explained that it’s a “big win for freedom” that Democrats now have “just 12 counties as Republicans hold 55 counties.”