Jayden D’Onofrio named Moms Demand Action ‘Gun Sense Candidate’ in HD 102 race

Democratic activist Jayden D’Onofrio has received a “Gun Sense Candidate” distinction from Moms Demand Action in his House District 102 campaign.

The organization is America’s largest grassroots organization fighting for gun violence prevention.

The recognition, which adds to a slew of endorsements D’Onofrio received, carries particular weight for the candidate. His first brush with gun violence, he said, came while he was in seventh grade, when he and his classmates at Indian Ridge Middle School received alerts about the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting in nearby Parkland.

Years later, while D’Onofrio was studying at Tallahassee State College, another shooting occurred at nearby Florida State University, one block from where he lived, his campaign said.

“I had friends on campus, and the fear of not knowing whether they were safe brought back the same sense of helplessness I felt in middle school,” he said. “CNN misidentified me as an FSU student that day, but it didn’t matter whether you were a student or a worker at a nearby business — everyone was shaken that day.”

D’Onofrio, 21, is part of a generation shaped by active-shooter drills. If elected, his campaign said, he “would be one of a few members of the Legislature who grew up with such activities as a routine part of school life.”

He is the founder and Chair of Florida Future Leaders, a Generation Z-led political mobilization and voter-engagement organization that, among other things, made more than 3 million direct voter contacts and registered thousands of voters last election cycle.

Endorsers of his campaign include Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman; Sens. Shevrin Jones, Rosalind Osgood, Tina Scott Polsky and Barbara Sharief; Reps. Rita Harris, Rob Long, Kelly Skidmore and Rashon Young; and Latino Victory Fund.

Plantation Mayor Nick Sortal has endorsed D’Onofrio too. But Sortal also endorsed D’Onofrio’s Primary opponent, Mike Friend, who carries a nod from the term-limited lawmaker both hope to succeed, Davie Democratic Rep. Mike Gottlieb.

Republican candidates Mery Lopez-Palma and Jason Paul Smith are also running. Gottlieb beat Lopez-Palma by about 7 percentage points in 2024.

HD 102 covers parts of Plantation, Davie, Cooper City, Southwest Ranches, Sunrise and Pembroke Pines.

The Primary is Aug. 18, followed by the General Election on Nov. 3.