Florida Democrats Recruiting NBA Hall of Famers Dwyane Wade, Grant Hill to End Longstanding Losing Streak, Per Report

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Florida Democrats are recruiting two Hall of Fame basketball players to challenge incumbent Republican Senator Rick Scott.

According to NBC News, former Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade and Orlando Magic forward Grant Hill are being sought out to end the Democratic Party’s long losing streak in the Sunshine State.

Per the report:

The party operatives and donors see the need for a moonshot-type candidate to reverse the trend of Republican dominance in the state, in which most recently Gov. Ron DeSantis won re-election by a double-digit margin. Yet even they acknowledge that getting either one of them is a long shot.

“Grant Hill has great name ID. He would raise a boatload of money and is one of the smartest guys you will ever meet,” said John Morgan, an Orlando-based trial attorney and national Democratic donor, who has spoken directly with Hill about his desire for him to run. “Grant Hill would beat the s— out of Rick Scott.”

…

Democratic donor groups have openly discussed the idea of recruiting Wade, who played 13 seasons with the Miami Heat, to run for the Senate.

Beyond having star power in the state, Wade has become an outspoken advocate for transgender rights. His 15-year-old daughter, Zaya, is a transgender model and activist. Wade’s support of his daughter comes at a culture war-infused moment in time in which Republicans across the country have filed legislation taking aim at that community. Florida Republicans filed more than 15 anti-trans bills alone during the 2023 legislative session, which Wade said prompted him to leave the state.

“My family would not be accepted or feel comfortable there,” Wade said on Showtime’s “Headliners with Rachel Nichols” last month. “And so that’s one of the reasons why I do not live there.

Democrats last won a major statewide election for a Senate seat or the governor’s mansion in 2012, when Senator Bill Nelson was reelected. Since then, Rick Scott won reelection as governor in 2014 and unseated Nelson in 2018, Senator Marco Rubio has won reelection twice, and Ron DeSantis has won two terms as governor.

Democrats have not won a gubernatorial race in Florida since 1994.

Despite the wishes of some party insiders, though, it is “much more likely” that a traditional candidate will be tapped to take on Scott, given their vested business interests. Hill is currently a co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks while Wade is a co-owner of the Utah Jazz. Wade is also not currently a Florida resident.