Florida Dems Try A Half-Court Shot

Things are so bad in Florida right now for the moribund, decrepit, and non-functional Democratic party in Florida that people are seriously considering drafting NBA legends to try to run against GOP Sen. Rick Scott in 2024.

 

NBA legends Dwyane Wade and Grant Hill have rocketed to the top of the recruitment lists for some Florida Democrats looking for a strong candidate to run against Sen. Rick Scott in 2024.

There have been separate active efforts to get both to consider forays into state politics, which have not been driven by either the state or national parties, three sources familiar with the situation said.

The party operatives and donors see the need for a moonshot-type candidate to reverse the trend of Republican dominance in the state, in which most recently Gov. Ron DeSantis won re-election by a double-digit margin. Yet even they acknowledge that getting either one of them is a long shot.

“Grant Hill has great name ID. He would raise a boatload of money and is one of the smartest guys you will ever meet,” said John Morgan, an Orlando-based trial attorney and national Democratic donor, who has spoken directly with Hill about his desire for him to run. “Grant Hill would beat the s--- out of Rick Scott.”

Scott's team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It is much more likely that a more traditional candidate — such as current or former members of Congress or the state Legislature — ends up being the Democratic nominee against Scott, an incumbent and former two-term governor with the ability to self-finance. But some in the party see recruiting a candidate who is overwhelmingly known and popular in the state — and has the ability to self-fund — as an option that could help reset the political narrative.

Morgan brought up the idea of Hill’s running for the Senate over dinner Sunday night with Larry Grisolano, a partner and the CEO of the David Axelrod-founded Democratic consulting firm AKPD Message and Media, at the home of Bob Mandell, who was the Obama administration’s ambassador to Luxembourg from 2011 to 2016. Morgan said it is rooted in the idea that few other Democrats in Florida could challenge Scott and help the party regain its footing.

“That’s what Larry and I talked about — Grant Hill,” Morgan said. “I’m not sure it’s his time, but he would be great. He’s competitive. I think he sees LeBron James as a billionaire and Magic Johnson almost a billionaire, and it gets his competitive juices flowing. I am not sure he is done with business.”

Hill, who played seven seasons with the Orlando Magic and lives in the Orlando area, has not been publicly political on a regular basis. He campaigned with Hillary Clinton in Jacksonville in 2016 and has criticized former President Donald Trump over comments he made in 2019 slamming the city of Baltimore.

Hill did not respond to a text message seeking comment. He and Morgan are business partners.

 

Now I've been a Grant Hill fan since I was in high school in Durham and Duke beat Michigan for the title, back before Coach K completed his Sith Lord turn. I'd think he'd make a fine Democratic leader. D-Wade too for that matter.

But we're talking about this, I guess (and this is Jonathan Allen here, so salt grains the size of boulders need to be taken) because the biggest political force fighting Ron DeSantis and the Florida GOP right now is the thoroughly evil global entertainment conglomerate founded by the raging antisemite.

The Florida Democratic party is a cruel joke when we need them the most, and they can't even figure out how to win in Miami-Dade. So you know what, I'll take Grant Hill for Senate if that what it takes to get the Dems back on the board in Florida.

It's not like the state has a deep bench, and this is coming from the guy in Kentucky, where at least Dems can win a statewide office or two one.