Florida Democrats are pinning their hopes for 2024 and beyond on a $1 million commitment to registering voters in an effort that kicks off in DeLand.

Party Chair Nikki Fried and Executive Director Phillip Jerez will speak to Volusia Democrats at the event, starting at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

"It was an intentional choice to kick off the tour in Volusia County," said Susanne Raines, Volusia Democrats' state committeewoman. "The chair is going to come here and meet with the local Democrats to get us confident that the state party is going to support us."

Statewide, Democrats have seen an advantage in voter registration as recently as 2021, but now trail Republicans by 541,798 voters, as of June 30. In Volusia County, there are 40,000 more Republicans than Democrats.

The Dems have not had control of the Legislature or the Governor's Office for a quarter-century. And a string of narrow margins of victory for Republican governors going back to 2006 was broken by incumbent Ron DeSantis last November, when he won by 19 percentage points over Charlie Crist.

Raines said Volusia County has applied for a grant from the state party for funds to register potential Democratic voters. She believes potential Democratic voters can be found in Volusia County.