Corryn G. Freeman (00:00)

Hey, Future Coalition family, and welcome back to another episode of the Future Coalition podcast. I hope that you guys are enjoying the season so far, but today we have a very important topic for you. As the 2024 election approaches, the Harris-Walls ticket has captured the attention of voters across the nation. But who are Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, and what do they stand for?

 

In this episode, we’re taking an in-depth look at the Harris Walls campaign, exploring their policy positions and vision for the future with Ms. Burney-Clark, the Harris Walls Florida State Campaign Director and Florida’s It Girl in politics. Jasmine, how are you?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (00:44)

Well, how are you doing?

 

Corryn G. Freeman (00:47)

You know, as we’re recording this, are preparing for Hurricane Milton. So just kind of trying to calm the nerves during this last couple of weeks of hurricane season. How about yourself?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (00:58)

You know, I’m a native Floridian born and raised here in Florida and so I have grown up and experienced hurricanes my entire life but it does seem like these hurricanes are a little bit different from the ones that I grew up with. So I am taking different types of precaution this time around but other than that I’m doing pretty okay.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (01:17)

See y’all, Floridians know how to just, whew. And as someone who’s from the North, like I normally leave, but I’m doing my best to fight the urge to run and to hunker down knowing that we’re safe. But I’m glad that you’re doing okay. So Jasmine, before we talk about your role with the Harris Walls campaign, can you just tell us a little bit about who you are and how you got started in politics and give the folks your Florida chops? Cause you do the work down here.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (01:47)

I appreciate that. my Florida political career started 15 years ago. My first race was the finance department for Alex Sink for governor in 2010. And it was quite an experience. I had a chance to work with her as she was running against Rick Scott to become governor of the state of Florida. And unfortunately we lost that race. And unfortunately I think we began to see what it looks like to be

 

a Floridian under MAGA control before MAGA was even a thing. We started to see remnants of what a Republican governor looks like under extreme policies. And that was certainly a time to participate in Florida’s electoral process. I then went on to work for a number of different political nonprofits. I was a senior advisor to the National NAACP. I worked to help do

 

some judicial attention work around having to retain our Florida Supreme Court justices. Our courts were under attack at that time, and right now it’s common knowledge that our courts are under attack, but we started to see folks shift their tides to focusing on our courts because people saw that that was our last line of defense in this state, and so they started to really disrupt the retention process around really great Supreme Court justices that were holding the line on a number of different issues.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (02:48)

Mm.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (03:11)

went on to work for organizations like State Voices as their state director, helping to register over half a million voters in the state of Florida through a coordinated table of organizations in this state, helping to also raise funds for different causes. And during my experience across each of those organizations, there seemed to have always been a hole in Florida politics specifically when it came to black voters.

 

But it wasn’t until amendment four, rights restoration passed in 2018. We go into legislative session in 2019. This is 20 years in the making of voter suppression laws that had been created in the state of Florida that had been targeting black voters for so long. But the final straw for me was in 2019 when Ron DeSantis was elected, became governor, and then essentially shifted back or turned back the wheel of voters by saying that

 

You may have your rights restored because we allowed that bill to pass or we allowed that piece of amendment to pass on the ballot in 2018. But before you access that right, there’s a poll tax that’s going to be instituted here. We’re going to put you through some of the most difficult things that you can imagine in order for you to really actualize your access. And I said, enough is enough. And so I started an organization, Equal Grant Education Fund, which is the C3.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (04:22)

Crazy work.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (04:36)

and Equal Ground Action Fund, a C4. These organizations work hand in hand to protect the rights of Black voters and expand access to the ballot box. And we have been doing that every single year, whether that is through voter registration, education, litigation. We are actively fighting, the organization is actively fighting right now to get back a congressional district that was taken away from us during the last redistricting cycle.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (05:02)

Mm.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (05:04)

And so there is no shortage of work here in this state because there is unfortunately no shortage of attacks on black folks in this state, black and brown people. And so my work has really been deeply rooted in protecting my community, but that work also protects so many other folks and their rights to access the ballot box as well.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (05:23)

Thank you so much for that. And the veil in Florida is so thin. Like it is very clearly targeted at black and brown folks, people who have historically been marginalized from the ballot box. And your work has largely centered on civic engagement initiatives at the state level here. What motivates you to concentrate your organizing efforts locally? And why do you believe that the state focused approach is so significant in political organizing?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (05:53)

It’s interesting. I talked about redistricting in the work that we’re doing and fighting for at Equal Ground. But a lot of people don’t know that for 30 of the 37 years that I have been alive, my own congressional district has been at the center of litigation in the national Supreme Court, in the state Supreme Court. Where courts are saying that we cannot determine if Black folks are deserving of a Black congressional district or not, and representation in Congress. And I knew then that…

 

Corryn G. Freeman (06:11)

Mmm.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (06:23)

to prioritize home first because it was so closely connected.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (06:26)

So hold on, run that back. So the courts are saying what now?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (06:29)

The courts are saying that we are using your voter registration and voter turnout data to determine if you deserve to have a black congressional district and therefore black representation in Congress. And if turnout data and voter registration data says that black folks aren’t signing up and they aren’t turning out, you then don’t deserve your districts and we’re stripping them away from you. And that is how they’re justifying it. I’m saying that as plainly to you here today, but

 

That is not exactly how obviously people are hearing it, but we are seeing it. And like you said, the veil is being lifted and we’re clear about the attempt on our voting rights, the attacks that are happening. And so that is why the local work has been so important for me because my own congressional district has been at the center of this discourse.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (06:58)

Wow.

 

But I think what you just did in putting it in language that can be plainly understood instead of the legal jargon and the textbook language that we hear it in that is so confusing and largely unintelligible. You’re speaking to impact and the way that it is actually impacting communities to the listening of the everyday average person. And so you’re hearing here and now, not just how

 

the state-based approach is so necessary, but the local approach to actually be accurately represented in politics, we are fighting for that in Florida and in states across the country. So the political fight, it’s like you progress forward at any point in time. Those rights are not just guaranteed because you did a hard fought win as we experienced, like you said, with Amendment 4, right?

 

It’s so easy. We passed a ballot measure with more than 60 % of Floridians voting for it. And then the governor just decides we’re going to poll tax these people and go on a witch hunt for people who were registered to vote and voted without any kind of consequence really for the supervisors of elections. But for me, that’s a whole other conversation.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (08:10)

Yep.

 

Yeah, it’s a whole, it’s a different conversation. It’s a dangerous conversation. It’s one that we see in project 2025. It is literally an example of people who are living and breathing and experiencing what a project 2025 policy rule looks like in this state. And Florida has been subjected to it since, you know, 2019, but the rest of our nation could be exposed to this and remnants of it are happening across legislative.

 

bodies and courts across this nation. So no one is safe from these policies, but we do see a ballooning effect if January 2025 does not allow for us to elect Vice President Harris and Governor Walz into the White House.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (09:12)

And that is a perfect segue into the need for this federal oversight, federal reform, so we can make some of these larger scale sweeping reforms. I wanna hear a little bit about what attracted you to the Harris-Walls campaign. And I know that you actually got into this before Kamala Harris was the nominee. So what got you excited to be the state director for Florida, initially for the Biden-Harris campaign?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (09:19)

Yes.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (09:39)

And now, what excites you about the Harris Walls ticket?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (09:43)

You know, I share with you a little bit about my background and the work that I did across the state of Florida over the past few years. But it was this year being so intimately involved and engaged in our legislative process on behalf of my community that I felt like I needed to take my work to another level. I needed to take all the things that I had been doing specifically because I am a Floridian. I have been working hard on behalf of Floridians for so long that it felt like an obligation, a moral one.

 

to stand up for Floridians in this way as well. Now, let’s be clear. I signed up to President Joe Biden, to reelect President Joe Biden. You know, when we started this process in April, when I came on, it was to ensure that he maintained his role in the White House because we had seen the progress that had been made. He will go down as probably one of the greatest presidents that we have ever had in this nation, not just simply

 

Corryn G. Freeman (10:13)

Mm.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (10:41)

because of his ability to transfer power to Vice President Harris, but also the work that he was able to accomplish during his time in the White House. And so for me, it was ensuring that we maintained a certain level of decorum and decency, and that Floridians had a voice in this process. When we think about the national landscape, we know that Florida is a breeding ground for MAGA policies.

 

And I know all too well what those have looked like in this state. And that is what made it so easy for me to sign up for this task and then continue it with the transition that happened in the campaign. So really, really excited about being able to do this work and the transition that occurred.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (11:24)

And just like as a small caveat, I remember when you took on the job, I was like, I’m so proud of you and I don’t know, sis, I’m struggling. But you have remained so clear minded about the importance of this election and understanding the consequences of this election in the event that Joe Biden, the Democrat, whoever was the Democratic nominee in the event that they were not successful.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (11:34)

Big.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (11:51)

and winning the presidency, you were always very clear-minded on what those consequences were and have been advocating fiercely ever since. I’m really interested to hear what are the most pressing issues that you’re hearing Floridians and constituents talk about. So on the road, when you’re talking to people, or when surrogates are talking to people, or when VP Harris, if she’s been in state, like what are we hearing Floridians caring most about, specifically if you know young Floridians?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (12:21)

Yeah, yeah. you know, we have been hearing very critical issues around kitchen table topics. So when we think about the fact that groceries are high, rent is too expensive, you know, for many people who live in Florida, and we think about Vice President Harris, who has laid out plans to address this, I also think about the fact that, you know, we are impacted firsthand.

 

as a result of Trump’s extreme abortion ban here in the state of Florida. So many people are impacted by it, young folks, but not just about the abortion ban, the fact that the freedom to choose is a healthcare decision. you know, Vice President Harris is invested in safeguarding our fundamental freedoms and rights to choose, no matter what the issue may be. But also what I’m hearing is that we in Florida experience climate change firsthand.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (12:52)

Mm.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (13:15)

We’re in the middle of experiencing one of our third hurricanes of the season, one of our third most critical hurricanes of the season. And so we know young voters want to know what their leaders are doing to make sure that our planet is habitable for the next generation, that it is safe and can be accessed by those who come after us. But also many young voters are feeling the crushing burden of student loan debt.

 

And they’re hoping that they can count on their leaders to make college more affordable and remove the burdens of the costs that come along with it. I would also say that another issue we are hearing a lot on the campaign trail is gun violence. It hits very close to home. Here in Florida, where we’ve experienced Park Lane, where we’ve experienced Pulse, where we’ve experienced Trayvon Martin.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (13:40)

Say that.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (14:04)

You know, there are so many different situations here in this state where gun violence has impacted people at so many different levels. Students need to feel safe when they go to school or when they go to the movies or when they go to attractions. And Vice President Harris has been supporting a lot of red flag laws, universal background checks, and assault weapons bans to just make sure that we keep guns out of the wrong hands. And so the mission here in Florida is pretty critical.

 

around a lot of the issues that people care about. And so we are definitely making sure that we stockpile that information, that we build programming around it and ensure that we can deliver for Vice President Harris on these issues and engage as many people as possible through outreach, organizing, hosting events, and focusing on our new volunteer base that has also been blossoming in the state as well.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (15:01)

Well, speaking of the engagement on these issues, I do know that the Harris Walls campaign has recently launched a Reproductive Freedom Bus Tour, and that is a massive issue to young people all across the country. So can you tell us a little bit about that initiative and its goals in the state of Florida?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (15:18)

Yes. So the Reproductive Freedom Bus Tour kicked off here in the state of Florida, roughly about a month ago. And so what we are doing is making sure that voters know that Vice President Harris trusts women and is fighting to restore the right for every woman in this country to have the freedom to make their own reproductive health care decisions. And as well, we want to remind them that reproductive health care crisis that we have in our country is a direct result of Trump’s Supreme Court.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (15:37)

Hmm.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (15:47)

overturning Roe v Wade. He has bragged about this. This is something he calls a beautiful thing. And in fact, that is the most dangerous thing. We’re seeing stories of women across this nation who are coming forward and talking about what’s happening to them, what they’re experiencing. then unfortunately there are women who don’t have the benefit of coming forward because their lives have been cut short as a result of this decision. But in general, you know,

 

Corryn G. Freeman (16:04)

Mm-hmm.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (16:14)

This is something that we believe doing the work on the ground through community leaders, being vocal to ensure that voters know that this is an issue that Vice President Harris cares about. She is incredibly committed to restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade. And so when a bill to restore those protections reaches her desk as president, she has made it very clear that she plans to sign it into law and we must keep the government out of our doctor’s offices and exam rooms.

 

and allow women, men, and families to make the best decisions for themselves.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (16:47)

Absolutely. And can you say, like, how does that commitment compare to her opponent, the Trump Vance campaign?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (16:55)

Yeah. So, you know, Trump has made it very clear that that Roe v Wade was probably one of his shining moments to have that overturned and is playing for a nationwide abortion ban. So not planning to restore it, not planning to make exceptions for women who have been assaulted or have other situations that may occur in their lives. Instead, they’re making it more dangerous, more harmful to act

 

the reproductive healthcare that women and families need in order to stay alive and thrive in their communities. That is a stark difference between what Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are planning to do on their ticket. so restoration is what we need to be focusing on and ensuring that we don’t turn back the hands of time, because we are experiencing it right now.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (17:46)

Absolutely. We are experiencing it in real time right now. And Donald Trump’s talking point, so I’ve heard around this, is returning it back to the states. Everyone wanted this return to the states. Well, I can say as a black woman, states’ rights have never been that girl for us. And historically, when the states have access to legislate our human rights and our civil rights, it has turned out badly. It’s been very bad for marginalized communities.

 

disabled populations, women, black people, immigrants, right? So we don’t necessarily want to return those civil and human rights decisions to each individual state. Instead, we want to make sure that those rights are constitutionally protected. And by making this case, he’s really allowing the Supreme Court to strengthen the ability for more states to take other rights away that are federally protected.

 

that have benefited marginalized communities and the communities that we care about so much and legislate away those rights based on the interests of conservative leaders. I think that’s really important for our listeners to understand.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (18:53)

That’s it. Yep. Yep, that is exactly it. And I will also say that it is also keenly important to be aware of the entire ballot. You must have a president and vice president who are willing to protect our rights, and you must have a Congress coupled with that to get that work done. And so we are thinking about the top of the ticket all the way down to the bottom of the ticket in order to ensure that, like you said, states

 

Don’t take away more rights because this is only the tip of the iceberg. There are so many other things that we are seeing and experiencing when they’re in the hands of the state that we have to protect at the federal level.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (19:32)

Absolutely, and we often feel the impacts of those state-based elected officials and those local elected officials first in our daily lives, right, before we feel the larger sweeping impacts of the federal elected officials. Speaking of another issue that matters a lot to young people, and a big part of Future Coalition’s route is climate, right? The climate crisis is so real, and as we opened up, we’re both talking about

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (19:41)

Thank

 

Corryn G. Freeman (20:03)

preparing for Hurricane Milton and I know that there are two more hurricanes in the Atlantic that are coming up before the end of hurricane season. How is the Harris Walls campaign addressing these issues both in general and specifically in Florida especially given our state’s vulnerability to rising sea levels? Is there any specific plan?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (20:24)

So while Donald Trump and JD Vance continue to spread the outrageous and dangerous lie that climate change is a hoax, we’ve seen the impacts, like you said, of climate change. Yes, yes, they are around here. Climate nire.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (20:34)

Y’all heard that? Y’all heard that? If we have a climate denier that could potentially become the president of the United States, y’all, a climate denier.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (20:45)

While we’re in the middle of a hurricane, directly feeling the impacts of not just a Category 5, but a potential new Category 6. This is a real thing. And so we’re experiencing it. We’re seeing the impacts of climate change first here, firsthand in Florida. And as our storms get more frequent and get more destructive, like you said, with the ones that we’ve already seen and the ones that are coming,

 

Vice President Harris knows that the climate crisis is an existential threat to our planet. And so under the Biden-Harris administration, they were able to deliver the most ambitious climate, clean energy, conservation, and environmental justice agenda in our nation’s history. I want to be very clear about that, that they are taking this incredibly seriously. It is clean energy, it is conservation, it’s environmental justice.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (21:26)

Okay.

 

Run that back. Say it one more time.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (21:36)

It is all of the issues that impact our planet. And VP Harris has also helped to stand up a first of its kind U.S. Climate Corps. And so what this does is it has already put 15,000 young Americans to work on projects to tackle the climate crisis. That includes young folks here in Florida.

 

It allows for the restoration of coastal ecosystems, it’s strengthening urban and rural agriculture, there’s investments in clean energy and energy efficiency, and then there’s also improving disaster and wildlife preparedness to include a number of other different important issues that we need to tackle under the climate crisis.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (22:20)

Well, thank you so much. We know that Vice President Harris has a long history in law enforcement, serving as a prosecutor, district attorney, and attorney general. Can you share some examples of how her experience informs her current approach to criminal justice reform, another very important issue to Americans and young people in particular?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (22:42)

So you’re right. She does have a very long history as a prosecutor, a district attorney, and attorney general. Kamala Harris has fought to ensure everyone has the right to safety, dignity, and to justice. And she also knows that everyone should have the freedom to live in safe communities. And that’s why Vice President Harris has been fighting to keep our community safe from gun violence. She’s created the first of her kind, actually a gun violence prevention office.

 

that was done in partnership with Congressman Maxwell Frost, the youngest congressman in our nation. Because that’s how critical she sees the issue. So it’s gun violence and crime. She is prioritizing securing our borders and fixing our broken immigration system. She talks quite significantly about the fact that Donald Trump worked to sabotage an immigration system that was bipartisan, that had the support of both parties and chambers.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (23:15)

Mm-hmm.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (23:40)

And she’s also planning to tackle the opioid and fentanyl crisis. She wants to ensure that no one is above the law to include the president of the United States. So she is taking on a number of different issues to prioritize our criminal justice system.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (23:50)

very important.

 

With so many great policy platforms that have already been fully formed and not just concepts of a plan, like some people we know, what do you see as some of the main challenges that are currently facing the Harris Walls campaign and how are you addressing them? The campaign at large and then anything particularly in the state of Florida?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (24:03)

Thank you.

 

So I will start with the state of Florida, right? It is no secret that Florida has been counted out by national pundits. We got it. We’ve got our work cut out for us. We know that if we want to take our state back, Floridians have to determine Florida’s path. And it’s as simple as that. We have an incredible team here on the ground in the state and an army of volunteers, 154,000 people.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (24:25)

Mm-hmm.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (24:46)

has signed up since July 21st, strong and ready to have conversations with voters across this state, of which we have quite a few Republicans and independents registered to volunteer with us as well. So they’ve been working tirelessly to speak to voters in every corner of the state of Florida. You know, I believe that Florida is going to surprise a lot of people come November 5th. We are also thinking about the…

 

Corryn G. Freeman (24:50)

Wow.

 

Okay.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (25:14)

I am not calling anything.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (25:16)

Go off sis, go off sis, okay? I hope that you are correct. I hope that you are correct.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (25:22)

I pray that we are correct. Our campaign talks about multiple paths to 270 electoral votes, but I am also keeping in mind all of the races down the ballot, not just the top of the ticket. We have to keep in mind that we have a legislature that needs to break its supermajority. We have school board races that have been directly targeted by Ron DeSantis. We just came out of a primary election where voters rejected.

 

more than half of his school board choices in that election. That’s remnants right there to tell us that there is something brewing in Florida. It may not be all the things that we want, but there is something that’s happening. And so we are organizing, we are gaining momentum every single week, and we’re creating a large coalition of voters to occupy this really big tent. And so in August, we rolled out Republicans for Harris.

 

And we are organizing them across the state. They are, you know, coming to this campaign in droves. They are in democratic offices that we have across the state saying, we want to volunteer. We want to help. We want to have conversations with voters. We want to talk to people about our own experiences within this party. Let us share our stories. And we’re doing exactly that.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (26:36)

I mean, look, I plan to do my part and I also hope that we are pleasantly surprised. I do think that the momentum shifted when Joe Biden made the honorable decision to step down and allow VP Harris and through the full weight of his endorsement behind VP Harris. And just to like give folks a little bit more information about Florida and it no longer being a swing state priority, which in my humble opinion is quite foolish because

 

the Republican party pretty much needs Florida in order to win a pathway to the presidency in their electoral strategy. And so you would think that funders and people who are investing in the state of Florida would really put so much more energy and time into the state. And can you speak to Florida’s voter registration breakdown? If I’m correct, it’s pretty much broken into a third, a third, a third of like NPAs.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (27:07)

Yeah.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (27:34)

Democrats and Republicans, is that correct?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (27:37)

So, no. Right now, Republicans do have a million more voter registration folks on the rolls on the books than Democrats do at this particular time. And so that is a challenge. But even with that increase in voter registration, that large gap, I bring you back to our primary election, where we didn’t see a large influx of Republicans turn out.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (27:38)

Okay.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (28:06)

And we didn’t see overwhelming support of Republican-backed school board races. So, you know, I wouldn’t let those numbers impact you too much. They’re important to be aware of and to keep our eyes on. And we have to do the work to register as many people as possible. But voter suppression laws in this state make it hard. But we should just keep our eye on the fact that we’ve got a base of voters that we need to be having conversations with and we need to be turning out.

 

no matter what happens in this state. And we can’t let voter suppression impact that whatsoever.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (28:42)

So what I’m hearing is we should really be taking this kind of as a call to action to not just go vote, but like tell your friends and family to vote, go vote, and don’t just do that. Like help them build out their vote plan and also get involved in getting your neighbors to go vote. Is that correct?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (28:58)

That’s correct. Making a plan to vote is the best thing that anyone could do and to help with others. If you are in a position where you’re like, want to do something, I can’t do all of the things, I may not be able to show up to a campaign office or I may not be able to go to an event, helping people make a plan. What day, what time, what location, what method? Is it early voting? Is it on election day? Is it voting by mail? We still have the opportunity for you to request your vote by mail, valid.

 

just a few days prior to Election Day. And you have until 7 p.m. on Election Day to submit that vote by mail ballot. Here in Florida, we have mandatory early voting across eight days in the state. So you have the opportunity to early vote over the course of eight days. And then on Election Day, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. is the timeframe with which you get to vote in the state of Florida. So there are multiple options. We should not.

 

create obstacles for ourselves, we should be making plans for ourselves, our friends and our family to be able to vote.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (29:59)

Absolutely. for some, for many young people and many listeners at large, they weren’t necessarily wowed by Joe Biden, at least on its surface, right? And how would you say that this campaign is differentiating itself, if at all, from the current administration? What are the changes that we are seeing that we think are attracting all of the volunteers that have signed up? And

 

What changes can you amplify to maybe get some of those people who still have some of that unfavorable taste in their mouth around Vice President Harris and this administration?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (30:37)

Anyway.

 

You know, so the vice president has been very clear that this is an election about the future versus a former president hell bent on dragging this country backwards. And so while she is proud of the historic achievement she helped deliver during the Biden Harris administration, like pulling us out of a pandemic and helping our economy recover better than any country in the world, she is her own person.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (30:51)

Mm.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (31:06)

with her own experiences and priorities. And she’s been very clear about her goals if she were to become president of the United States. And with that, you know, very clear stance, you know, she is thinking about, again, our personal freedoms. She is trying to ensure that we protect our democracy, that we protect education.

 

She is thinking about the demonization of our LGBTQ plus community and denying existence again around climate change. So she wants to make it very clear to young voters that she is committed to keeping the government out of our personal decisions, protecting our democracy and addressing climate. And in addition to that, I may have mentioned this earlier, the issue on gun violence is close to home for her here in Florida.

 

She wants to make sure that young voters know that as well and that that is a priority for her. Again, a project that started under the Biden-Harris administration that she plans to continue. She’s also a supporter of common sense gun reform. So the vice president is doing, I think, the work to definitely differentiate herself, but she’s also building on the achievements that she was able to accomplish during the Biden-Harris administration.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (32:20)

I appreciate you bringing up all of those differentiation points and then building upon points from the previous administration. also think many young people don’t seem to understand all that President Joe Biden was able to accomplish. So you taking the time to kind of name the building block points, I think, is enlightening for many of the listeners that we have here. And can you tell us about what’s upcoming on the campaign trail? Are there any?

 

key initiatives that are happening in Florida or nationally that the Harris Walls campaign has planned and how can folks get involved?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (32:58)

Yes, so the campaign is headed on an HBCU tour across the nation and we are excited to have that tour stop here in Florida at FAMU’s homecoming on November the 2nd. So it’s always a good time. I’m a graduate of Florida A University so that’s a proud moment for me. And so we are going to have a really great opportunity but

 

The campaign itself will also be at all of the other homecomings across the state, making sure that students are prepared, they’re making their plans to vote on or before election day. But we have a number of coalition events. I’m really proud to say that we have a Caribbean vote director, a Hispanic vote director, we have a black vote director, we have labor and our seniors community are being represented in this campaign.

 

So there are number of different coalition directors who are hosting events across the state, as well as calls that you can dial into on a weekly basis to get the information that you need. We also have a plethora of surrogates who have been coming into the state, visiting folks in campaign offices, attending events and having round tables. And we are focused on a huge statewide GOTV push for early voting and leading up to election day. We just want to continue our acts of organizing across the state.

 

to make sure that people know that 154,000 volunteers have shown up in this state. We have nearly 20 campaign offices across the state of Florida. And just this past weekend, we hosted one of our largest weekend of actions with 325,000 calls to Democratic voters and undecided voters in the state of Florida. So there is no shortage of ways to get involved and to…

 

support any of the upcoming events and initiatives, find an office closest to you, and let’s get involved.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (34:51)

Yeah, a lot of opportunities. It sounds like there’s an affinity group for however you choose to identify. What would you say are the campaign’s primary goals with less than 30 days to election? What are you really focusing on?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (35:05)

I’m really focused on connecting with voters in every corner of our state. We’ve been intentional about not just focusing on our democratic stronghold. I think you’ve seen us go viral in the villages with our golf cart parades. Yes.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (35:16)

and did wild also to see there that happening.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (35:22)

People are showing up and it’s a bipartisan effort, but we are also, you know, particularly focused on those who aren’t as politically engaged as well. We want to communicate with them on why we are working so hard to get Vice President Harris elected and how dangerous a second Trump presidency would be for our nation. But most importantly, get Floridians out to vote, vote early and turn in their vote by mail ballots as soon as possible.

 

We are being impacted by climate change in real time and we don’t want disruptions to impact our ability to be able to vote either. Our state is not prioritizing our access and therefore we are making sure that we do that for this election cycle.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (36:08)

appreciating all of that hard work and when it comes to connecting to the voters are you prioritizing face-to-face? Is it door knocking? Is it phones? Is it social and digital media? Like how are you breaking up that goal of connecting with people?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (36:23)

It’s actually all of those components. So it is face to face, it’s rallies, in-person events, it’s small intimate events and house parties. It’s watch parties that we’re having across the state. Coalition launches that we are making sure that people are a part of. know, unlike Donald Trump, the vice president promised to be a president for all Americans, a president who unites us around our highest aspirations.

 

and a president who is always fighting for the American people. And that’s why we have made sure that we do all of the things that are available to us on the table and we leave no one behind in this election cycle.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (37:03)

I would really like to commend the Harris-Walls campaign on how they really have been prioritizing connection to people. And we saw the whole lightning in the bottle phenomenon when the mantle was handed over to Kamala Harris and black women self-organized and raised how much was it four million, two million? How much?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (37:23)

Close to that, yeah, I believe so.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (37:25)

Yeah, something along those lines. And then other affinity groups, self-organized, all on their own. You don’t really see that happening. That’s not something that can be manufactured at all. And for me, that really speaks to the real potential for change and how like this is really a moment that is ordained and carved out for Kamala Harris.

 

And as you said, 154,000 new volunteer leads in state of Florida alone is amazing. So I think that the connection point, people are really feeling it, which is what’s driving them to act. I have one final question for you, if you could convey one message to young voters about why they should support the Harris Walls ticket, what would it be?

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (37:57)

Yes.

 

I would say if we want to move on from the bitterness and division in our politics, one that we are feeling and experiencing deeply in our bones right now, it starts by electing Kamala Harris and Governor Walz as the next president and vice president of the United States. Every single vote matters in this country, and it will determine the future.

 

of this country and all of us who are in it. We have the power in our hands to move the U.S. and so we are asking folks to vote, vote, vote like your life depends on it because truly we have seen it. We are feeling it and we are experiencing it. It really does count.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (39:09)

Amen. I actually have one more for you. I think there are still a large number of young voters, first-time voters, young people overall who are getting introduced to politics, the pace of change in politics, and are still not necessarily feeling Kamala Harris on one particular issue or another. I…

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (39:35)

Mm-hmm.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (39:37)

would want to know as someone who has a wealth of political experience, especially in a state like Florida, where we kind of are like the tester state for a Trump presidency and what the rest of the nation will face. What do you have to say to those people who are deeply considering either sitting out this election cycle or just voting down ballot without voting to the top of the ticket because they are displeased with

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (40:04)

Mm-hmm.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (40:07)

a single issue or one policy position.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (40:10)

Yeah. You know, I was listening to one of our campaign serigots recently, Kerry Washington, the real Olivia Pope. And she said in an interview that this isn’t about a popularity contest. It is not about the people, the candidate specifically. It is about you and it is about your values. Whose values do you closely align with this election cycle?

 

What does that summation look like to you and what does it look like for you? Consider yourself, center yourself in this election cycle. And if that is Vice President Harris and Governor Walz, that is where we need to prioritize our energy. We need to mobilize our friends and family and we need to turn out as many folks as we possibly can because people are in desperate need of support right now.

 

And playing political games is not something that anyone should be doing. She, Vice President Harris, has made it very clear that we are in a crisis situation and we want to make sure that voters have what they need, not only to survive, but to thrive in this nation. And she’s created a platform and a plan for that.

 

Corryn G. Freeman (41:30)

Thank you so much, Jasmine. Jasmine, Bernie Clark, everybody, Florida State Campaign Director for the Harris Walls Campaign and all around Florida political badass. It was a pleasure to have you today.

 

Jasmine Burney-Clark (41:43)

Thank you so much for the invitation. I really appreciate it.