Philip “Brave” Davis’s 2009 battle for Deputy Leader of the Progressive Liberal Party at the 51st Party convention was a significant moment in his political career and in the PLP’s internal power dynamics. In fact, it would become a significant political turning point for the entire country.
The PLPs 2007 defeat as catalyst
The FNM’s victory created space for a Deputy Leader challenge. Parties in opposition are more vulnerable to internal upheaval. Davis capitalized on the sense that something needed to change.
In October 2009, Davis challenged incumbent Deputy Leader Cynthia “Mother” Pratt for the position at the PLP’s national convention. This was during the party’s time in opposition, after their 2007 general election defeat to the FNM under Hubert Ingraham. Perry Christie remained party leader, but the deputy leadership contest became a proxy battle for the party’s future direction and generational succession.
Davis positioned himself as representing a younger generation of leadership (though he was already in his late 50s) and brought a more forceful, direct style compared to Pratt’s more conciliatory approach.
Mother Pratt shared with scores of Stalwart Councilors, Convention Delegates and parliamentary colleagues present but specifically the candidate that “I met you in this Party Brave and you’ve never asked for anything. You have given of yourself to this Party over many years, and while people have come and gone, you’re still here pressing forward.”
“This country do need you. We are at a crossroad in our lives and at a crossroad in this country. People are dying, crime is escalating, respect has gone out the door long time ago where people have no concern about lives anymore and that’s why the country needs people like you,” Pratt said.”
The “Brave” moniker took on a whole new dimension as new opportunities for leadership emerged within the Party. Philip Davis was named after his father Brave Davis Sr., this transformed “Brave” from just a political moniker into something deeply personal—a link to family legacy and paternal influence. PLP loyalists were immediately drawn to this powerful paternalistic combination.
Powerful tribute from a man destined for leadership
In a 12 September 2025 Facebook post marking his father’s heavenly birthday, Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis honored Brave Sr.—whom he called “the original Brave”—noting he would have turned 95.
“Brave” took on new significance as he challenged a beloved party elder in Mother Pratt, who had been a stalwart of the PLP for decades and carried enormous respect within the party’s base.
The contest was hard-fought and exposed divisions within the PLP between those who wanted to maintain continuity with the party’s established leadership and those who felt fresh blood was needed after the 2007 defeat. Davis ultimately won the deputy leadership, which positioned him as Christie’s heir apparent and set him on the path that would eventually lead to him becoming party leader in 2017 and Prime Minister in 2021.
The 2009 victory was crucial for Davis—it gave him the platform and legitimacy within the party structure that he needed to eventually succeed Christie. It also demonstrated his political skill in navigating internal party politics and building coalitions, skills that would serve him throughout his subsequent rise to the top of Bahamian politics as Prime Minister.
Other contenders
Obie Wilchcombe, then MP for West End and Bimini, and Senator Jerome Kennedy Fitzgerald also contested the Deputy Leader position.
