Florida Republican pushes bill that could eliminate state Democratic Party

A Florida Republican this week introduced a bill to require the state Division of Elections to reject the electoral filings of a political party that previously advocated for slavery.

Dubbed "The Ultimate Cancel Act," state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia's plan would automatically notify members of a "canceled" party that it had been dissolved and to change their party affiliations to "no party affiliation," NBC News reported.

The measure would apply to parties that had "previously advocated for, or been in support of, slavery or involuntary servitude," meaning it would affect the Democratic Party, which traditionally advocated for slavery prior to the Civil War. It does not explicitly mention the Democrats, however.

Ingoglia indicated that the measure was a retaliation for Democratic activists "trying to 'cancel' people and companies for things they have said or done in the past," the outlet noted.

Florida has increasingly skewed Republican in recent years, with Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis winning reelection in 2022 by a decisive 19 points in the formerly purple state.

In the wake of that electoral rout, state Democrats tapped Nikki Fried to lead a party teetering on the edge of irrelevance. The Florida Democratic Party, was predictably irate over Ingoglia's proposal.

"Presenting a bill that would disenfranchise 5 million voters is both unconstitutional and unserious," the party told NBC News. "Under Ron DeSantis, Senator Ingoglia is using his office to push bills that are nothing more than publicity stunts instead of focusing on the issues that matter most to Floridians."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.