Linking Democrats to socialism is nothing more than a Republican smear, according to Andrew Gillum, an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Florida governor in 2018.
Gillum made his comments in a column for The Washington Post on Monday night.
"It's time to face a hard truth: We, as Democrats, have allowed it to happen," the former Tallahassee mayor wrote. "We have responded to this unfair attack with well-intended, but scattershot, defenses.
"Perhaps more than anywhere else in the country, the traumatizing histories of authoritarian socialist regimes are active memories for voters in Florida. For the thousands of Floridians who come from Cuba, Venezuela or Nicaragua the word 'socialism' is rife with deep pain and anger. Republicans exploit this experience, preying on the fears of immigrants and their families.
"It is ironic, of course, because with each passing day, [President Donald] Trump is proving that he is the spitting image of the Latin America authoritarians who govern through fear and coercion."
But he maintained Democrats cannot overlook "the potency of being smeared as socialist in a general election."
Gillum called on Democrats to "respond boldly" and call out Republican "smears."
He noted that later this month, Democratic presidential candidates will be in Los Angeles for the final 2019 debate.
"And despite what the Trump campaign is suggesting, not one person on that stage is a Latin American socialist," he said. "In 2020, we have to fight back."
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