New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, two potential Democratic candidates for president in 2028, will headline the Florida Democratic Party’s (FDP) annual Leadership Blue Gala next month at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, officials announced Thursday.
Booker, who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, made history last month when he stood on the Senate floor and gave a 25-hour speech protesting the actions of the Trump administration. It was the longest floor speech in the history of the U.S. Senate.
Beshear is the popular two-term governor of Kentucky who has shown an ability as a Democrat to win in a red state. He is believed to be seriously considering a run for president in 2028.
“Senator Booker and Governor Beshear are two of the brightest starts of today’s Democratic Party, and their visit to Florida is more proof of the party’s commitment to the future of our state and the importance of the South,” said FDP Chair Nikki Fried in a written statement.
The event is considered the FDP’s premier fundraising event of the year. It will take place with the party once again back on its heels following the defection two weeks ago of one of its legislative leaders, South Florida Sen. Jason Pizzo, who turned independent, saying that the state party was “dead.”
The Republican Party of Florida is holding its Florida Freedom Forum on Aug. 2 at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando, which will feature U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, Attorney General James Uthmeier, and U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, among others.
The FDP’s Leadership Blue Weekend is scheduled to take place from June 20-June 22.
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Written by Mitch Perry, who covers politics in Florida. This story appeared in the Kentucky Lantern, and is republished from the Florida Phoenix, a sister publication to the Kentucky Lantern and part of the nonprofit States Newsroom network.
