Florida Rising is a left-of-center advocacy group headquartered in Miami, Florida, that advocates for a variety of left-of-center economic and social policy stances with an emphasis on criminal justice and environmental policy. The group lobbies the Florida legislature and publishes an annual legislative agenda while also conducting voter outreach and educational efforts about its favored policy stances.

Florida Rising was formed as a result of the 2021 merger of New Florida Majority and Organize Florida and is an affiliate group of the Center for Popular Democracy (CPD). ¹ Florida Rising is a tax-exempt lobbying organization and has a sister organization, Florida Rising Together, which acts as the group’s educational and charitable arm. ^{2 3 4 5}

Background

Florida Rising was formed in 2021 from the merger of New Florida Majority and Organize Florida. The two organizations were affiliates of the Center for Popular Democracy, a national left-of-center organizing group that operates many state and local affiliate groups that were at the forefront of demonstrations against the Trump administration. ⁶

New Florida Majority was a member of the State Power Caucus, a collection of at least 20 similar organizations including California Calls, New Virginia Majority, Washington Community Action Network, and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth that works on organizing and voter registration among left-leaning blocs in states throughout the United States. Jon Liss, a career left-wing organizer and radical-left ideologist, co-founded the Caucus. ⁷

Both Organize Florida and New Florida Majority were focused on organizing around and promoting issues including affordable housing, abortion, healthcare, civic engagement, electoral organizing, and Hispanic and Puerto Rican engagement. ⁸

Merger

In 2021 the Center for Popular Democracy announced that New Florida Majority and Organize Florida had merged to become Florida Rising, effectively combining the CPD’s organizing efforts in the state into a single organization. CPD’s announcement stated that “Florida Rising will be a new and powerful model on how Black and Brown communities, women, femmes, LGBTQ+ and every voice left out of decision making can be liberated.” CPD also touted the groups’ engagement in the 2020 election and its fight for a $15 minimum wage. ⁹

In effect, the merger folded the organizing activities of Organize Florida into New Florida Majority, with New Florida Majority changing its name to Florida Rising and the New Florida Majority Education Fund becoming Florida Rising Together. ^{10 11}

Activity

Florida Rising’s organizing includes a “Clean Air on Every Block in South Florida” campaign that advocates for the closure of trash incineration plans in Miami-Dade County. The group also operates a “Justice on Every Block” campaign, which includes a list of environmental policy “demands” for different counties in the state. ^{12 13}

Legislative Agenda

Florida Rising’s 2024 legislative agenda included promoting a variety of left-of-center legislation on areas including housing, election administration, criminal justice, and abortion. The group supports same-day voter registration, delayed evictions for pregnant tenants and tenants with children, and a variety of environmental measures aimed at curbing the use of trash incineration facilities. ¹⁴

Leadership

Andrea Cristina Mercado is the executive director of Florida Rising and was previously president of New Florida Majority prior to the merger of New Florida Majority and Organize Florida.  Mercado was a co-founder of the labor activist group National Domestic Workers Alliance. A career left-wing activist, Mercado had previously worked for Miami Workers Center, the San Francisco-based left-wing organizing group Mujeres Unidas y Activas, and a Brazilian group campaigning against international trade. ¹⁵

1. “Florida Rising Joins CPD’s Growing Network of Affiliates!” Center for Popular Democracy. March 2, 2021. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.populardemocracy.org/blog/florida-rising-joins-cpd-s-growing-network-affiliates
2. “Home.” Florida Rising. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://floridarising.org/#
3. “Florida Rising Together.” Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/453956785
4. “Florida Rising.” Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/270167620
5. “2024 Legislative Session.” Florida Rising. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://floridarising.org/2024-legislative-session/
6. “Florida Rising Joins CPD’s Growing Network of Affiliates!” Center for Popular Democracy. March 2, 2021. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.populardemocracy.org/blog/florida-rising-joins-cpd-s-growing-network-affiliates
7. Liss, Jon. “Toward a Movement 40 Million Strong.” Portside, June 24, 2019. https://portside.org/2019-06-24/toward-movement-40-million-strong.
8. “Our Issues.” Organize Florida. Accessed July 17, 2017. http://www.orgfl.org/our_issues.
9. “Florida Rising Joins CPD’s Growing Network of Affiliates!” Center for Popular Democracy. March 2, 2021. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.populardemocracy.org/blog/florida-rising-joins-cpd-s-growing-network-affiliates
10. “Florida Rising Together.” Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/453956785
11. “Florida Rising.” Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/270167620
12. “Justice on Every Block.” Florida Rising. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://floridarising.org/justice-on-every-block/
13. “Clean Air.” Florida Rising. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://floridarising.org/cleanair/
14. “2024 Legislative Session.” Florida Rising. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://floridarising.org/2024-legislative-session/
15.  “Andrea Mercado.” Florida Rising. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://floridarising.org/andrea-mercado/