Rick Baker leads Rick Kriseman by 11 percentage points according to a leaked memo written by a Florida Democratic Party staffer.
The memo, drafted by FDP political director Roosevelt Holmes, also notes that Kriseman is struggling with the black vote, requiring the FDP to add two more staffers to the two it already hired to get out the vote in black community.
The memo says that Baker leads Kriseman, 44 percent to 33 percent.
The contents of the memo were first reported on by Leslie Wimes with Sunshine State News.
“The over all race seems to be headed in the right direction. However, many problems in the African-American community remain.” writes Holmes. “Some feel that Mayor Kriseman ignored this community during his term and the sewage issue was the last straw.”
“Moving forward, the campaign will continue discussing Kriseman’s accomplishments during his term as mayor, increase volunteer recruitment, and inform voters that Rick Baker is a Republican,” the memo continues.
The Kriseman team released a statement on Friday titled “Day 778 of Baker’s Cowardly Silence,” referring to thirteen different controversial policy positions or statements made by President Donald Trump to which Baker did not respond.
The memo also says that “our current staff on the ground believes that expected turnout in the African-American community will be less than 10 percent.”
A call to the Kriseman campaign for comment was not immediately returned.
