Biden campaign chair reveals that Florida is unlikely to be a key battleground state in 2024.

In a new interview, President Biden's campaign chair indicated that Florida is not a battleground state in 2024, implying that the white flag has been waved early on.

According to Jen O'Malley Dillon, Florida was not viewed as a battleground state during the campaign, as stated by Puck's John Heilemann on his podcast.

Heilemann joked about being afraid Dillon would "tell lies" and thanked her for her honesty.

Biden's remark contradicts the rhetoric of other top Democrats, including those who said Florida is in play nationally, as he told supporters in Tampa in April.

Dillon stated on "Impolitic with John Heilemann," released Friday, that the campaign's objective is to maintain as many battleground states in play for as long as possible in order to adapt to any changes in the race.

Dillon informed Heilemann that she considered North Carolina a battleground state and concurred that Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada were crucial campaign objectives. In 2020, Biden won all of those states except North Carolina, ultimately defeating Trump.

Dillon, who managed Biden's 2020 campaign, appeared to concede Florida early in the 2022 election.

Florida has been a contentious battleground for many years, with former President Trump winning the state in 2016 and 2020. The state's shift from purple to red was further solidified when Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis won a landslide re-election in 2022, after narrowly winning in 2018.

In 2018, Florida elected its first two Republican U.S. Senators since Reconstruction, with Rick Scott and Marco Rubio both winning re-election in 2022 over their respective Democratic opponents.

The large number of electoral votes in Florida makes it a valuable prize for political campaigns, despite its high cost to advertise and campaign in due to its size.

At least one progressive communicator was furious that Dillon's interview seemed to indicate she was abandoning Florida, according to Politico.

Kevin Cate, a former Obama spokesperson, criticized a Puck News article that dismissed Florida's importance in the 2020 presidential election while Florida For Biden staff were actively organizing on the ground. Despite the lack of staffers, consultants, or organizers being able to speak out, Cate called the article an unnecessary and demoralizing blow.

Despite poor voter registration indicators and recent major election results where Democrats were thumped, Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison was bullish on Florida in a local ABC affiliate interview.

""I am here now because Florida is in play," Harrison said to ABC Action News last week."

Florida has historically been a crucial state in presidential elections, with the winner of the state often winning the White House. However, this trend changed in 2020 when Trump lost the general election to Biden despite winning Florida.

In 2012, Barack Obama won Florida in a presidential election by defeating Mitt Romney by a margin of less than one point.

Dan Kanninen, the battleground states director for the Biden campaign, stated that Florida is a potential win for President Biden and Democrats across the board.

"While their extreme agenda continues to increase costs and rip away Floridians' freedoms, Trump and his out of touch loyalists are taking the state for granted," he stated.

Planet Chronicle Digital reached out to the Biden campaign for additional comment.