This week, the local parties selected their new chairs.
The Duval Democrats chose Audrey Gibson, State Senator for District 6, as their chair. This was long expected, as Gibson will be the highest-ranking elected Democrat in Jacksonville, following Corinne Brown's defeat to Tallahassee resident Al Lawson last month. Her opposition was Jimmy Deininger who is far less known than Gibson, who's been involved in local politics for over a decade. However, I imagine a lot of Jacksonville still doesn't know who Gibson is. Most of the local elected Dems were there.
http://floridapolitics.com/archives/228316-duval-dems
The Duval GOP chose Karyn Morton as chair. Compared to the Duval DEC race, this was apparently much more contentious: she defeated Cindy Graves, the current chair, by an 82 to 52 vote. Graves was chosen after Lake Ray stepped down to pursue his congressional bid, and her run has overseen successful elections; as I pointed out here (http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,28187.msg457974.html#msg457974), the Republicans have have killed it in their races. AG Gankarski reported that relatively few of the elected Republicans came, and there was open dissention from some attendees; some of the "money people" left after Morton was elected.
http://floridapolitics.com/archives/228319-duval-gop-elects-karyn-morton-chair
Morton's challenge will be to maintain the steam that has led to consistent Republican victories in both district and county-wide races. There's likely to be backlash in the next few years over President Trump, as well as dissension in the ranks from the many Republicans who don't like Trump. To be successful the Duval GOP will need to hold onto their advantages in fundraising and organization.
Gibson seems like a smart, no-brainer pick, but her challenges are much greater than those of the Republicans, as the Dems face major gaps in leadership, organization, and especially money. This year, for instance, they were unable to cash in on Hillary Clinton's historic turnout due to the fact that they didn't run any serious candidates outside of Democratic-majority districts. They have basic and recurring structural problems that will hold them back even if there's a wave of enthusiasm in the Trump era. Gibson certainly has her work cut out for her.
According to Gancarski, the Duval GOP race continues to be contentious. Cindy Graves has spoken very harshly of Karyn Morton and the direction of the local party. Best quote from Graves: "I could not be more thrilled given the current circumstance. I dodged a huge bullet as I would be unable to lead this new group at the REC and am now free to return to my real and very happy life."
http://floridapolitics.com/archives/228448-civil-war-duval-gop