Over two nights in Miami, the Democratic National Committee will host the first presidential debate of the 2020 primary on June 26 and 27.

There are multiple swing states the Democratic nominee must win in 2020 to prevent a repeat of what happened with President Donald Trump in 2016. So, it is telling that the establishment of the party is primarily focused on Florida.

A strategy built around winning Florida gives liberal centrists the ability to invoke the purple nature of the state to justify resisting a transformation, which continues to escalate among the party’s base of voters.

Democrats can say they are not for Medicare for All because support for “government entitlements” will alienate voters. They can say they do not want to pursue proposals that “distract” from a focus on Republican attacks on what President Barack Obama supposedly accomplished.

Being in Miami gives these Democrats populations from Cuba, Venezuela, and various other Latin American countries, which they can say fled countries with left-wing governments in order to warn against going too far with government programs to address basic human needs.

It is particularly why Democratic candidates will feel pressure to support Trump’s regime change efforts in Venezuela.

While this entire approach stunts enthusiasm among the progressive base, the leadership of the party believes this is one of their last best hopes for maintaining influence and power.

Plus, the Democratic Party does not function as an opposition party. It owes its present-day existence to making the corporate influence over government and the redistribution of wealth for the top one percent more acceptable to the wide population so that law and order can be managed.

A focus on Florida allows Democrats to push back against efforts to change the role the Democratic Party plays in U.S. politics.

For more on why the first debate is being held in Miami, read the full article from Kevin Gosztola at Medium.