Chardo Richardson

Chardo Richardson

Election night watch party

Jim Langford October 19 2022.

The PDA/P4DA Advisory Board and the Orange Co Democrats (ODDEC) invite our Orange Co, Florida and Florida CD-10 friends and colleagues to join us on Tues Nov 8 at 7pm for a combined Election Night Watch Party.

Maxwell Frost, Anna Eskamani, Wes Hodge, Rita Harris.

JohnPaul Easton, Jen Cousins, Egan Carter, Hillary Keyes, Guerdy Remy, Terri Falbo, Leslie Klein, Nadia B. Ahmad, Kevin Parker, Anthony Nieves, Chad Albritton, Joshua Weil, Russell Giambrone, Richard Thripp, Tamika Lyles, Austin Valle, Paul Truman, Grayson Lanza, Corrine Daly, Jay Jurie, Stephan Christian, Carolina Ampudia, Elizabeth Atlee Hall, David Bonilla, Eddie Geller, Cavla Johnson, Michael Calder, Kira Elise, Ione Townsend, Jochy Cora-Santia, Laurie Woodward Garcia, Ricardo Williams, Chardo Richardson, Charles T. Myers, Linda Longmire, Taylor Alex Weeden, Danielle Dodge.

Justice Democrats

Chardo Richardson was endorsed by Justice Democrats for 2018.

Orlando DSA electoral work, 2018

In 2018 Democratic Socialists of Orlando supported Chardo Richardson for U.S. Congress in Florida’s 7th district and Robin Harris for Orange County Commissioner.

Richardson is an Air Force veteran and lawyer who has served as president of the Central Florida ACLU while working for a local teachers’ union. Richardson supports single-payer healthcare, free public college, a $15 minimum wage, an end to U.S. involvement in regime-change wars, and a complete restructuring of the criminal justice system leading to the end of the War on Drugs. Richardson is challenging incumbent congressional representative Stephanie Murphy in a Democratic primary. Murphy, a “blue dog” conservative Democrat, voted for Kate’s Law, which punishes undocumented immigrants for returning to the United States after deportation, and for the recent bank deregulation bill. She has also consistently refused to support single-payer healthcare.

DSA canvassers

Chardo Richardson June 28 at 8:33 PM · Instagram ·

Thank you so much Orlando DSA and all the volunteers who came out to canvass! They reached out to 428 Sanford voters today--sign up at chardo2018.com to help us reach them all!

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsement

Chardo Richardson, June 28 at 11:07 AM ·

It's an honor to receive this official endorsement from the face of the new Democratic Party, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She's an absolute powerhouse and her support means the world to me. We share a passion to serve the people of our districts rather than the companies and PACs who donate to our opponents' political campaigns. Here in #FL07, our electorate is more diverse politically, but still Democrat-dominated. It's this very reason I believe we can win the general election--when you try to please both sides of the aisle all the time, you end up satisfying no one. Our campaign brings a bold, progressive message that is of and for the People--dynamic and ready to jump into the fray, rather than standing on the sidelines, wringing our hands and wishing we could do more. If we can bring that message to the Democrats and Independents of #FL07, we can win their votes. Help us bring real change--not more politicking--to our district and government at chardo2018.com!

Bullock/Kennedy connection

From Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. Chardo Richardson with Dwight Bullard and Tomas Kennedy, May 2018.

Going left

Stacey Abrams, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Benjamin Jealous and others appear to be part of a trend among minority candidates who have defeated moderate Democrats by campaigning on liberal policy priorities.

Key to that strategy is mobilizing people who don’t vote regularly, mostly people of color and progressive white voters. “You do that by organizing,” Jealous said. “We will build an army of organizers across our state to turn out voters by talking to them.”

Part of that strategy is recognizing the that there is often a gap between eligible Democratic voters and the margin of victory, said Steve Phillips, author of "Brown is the New White: How the Demographic Revolution Has Created a New American Majority".

In Maryland, he said, only 800,000 Democratic voters turned out for Hogan’s 2014 election, compared to about 1.1 million who turned out to elect former Governor Martin O’Malley.

Those voters, Phillips and others have argued, could be swayed to turn out with a progressive agenda of economic and social justice.

Jealous said that as the former president of the NAACP, he knows how to bring out voters.

Like Ocasio-Cortez, he campaigned on Medicare for all, as well as free tuition at public colleges and universities in Maryland, police reform and legalizing the recreational use of marijuana.

Other Democratic candidates using this strategy include David Garcia, who is running for governor in Arizona, Chardo Richardson running in Florida’s 7th Congressional District and Cori Bush, running in Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District.

While candidates of color have embraced this strategy the most, Phillips said that white candidates “can and should” use it as well, citing New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio and U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, as examples of those who are.

“Unfortunately much of the Democratic white establishment does not believe in this strategy,” Phillips said. “They still harbor this notion that you can win back Trump voters without the empirical evidence.”