The home state of former President Donald Trump and some of the Republican Party’s most high-profile lawmakers and members of Congress has turned Florida bright red.
Florida was once considered the most important swing state, as Barack Obama won it twice and the state had Democratic governors and members of the U.S. Senate.
But since Ron DeSantis defeated the troubled Andrew Gillum in 2022, his policies, the president’s constant presence and a wave of migration to the Sunshine State have made the sun shine for the Republican Party.
In Florida, there are now 5.3 million residents registered to vote as Republicans versus 4.3 million Democrats, for an official margin of about 995,000.
It’s a complete reversal by the Republican Party, as the year before DeSantis was elected, 2017, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 4.8 million to 4.5 million.
The home state of the president and some of the Republican Party’s most high-profile lawmakers and members of Congress has turned Florida bright red.
There are approximately 3.5 million unaffiliated voters in the state, in addition to 373,000 registered with minor parties.
The number of registered residents without party affiliation has decreased compared to 2022, when there were around four million.
Americans struggling with a crippling cost-of-living crisis are fleeing to more affordable states like Florida, where tax rates are favorable.
Tens of thousands of people are moving across the country to escape higher expenses that have pressured residents to relocate to areas with lower overall costs.
Florida is the state with the most people moving to, with 16,259 people looking to move this year, according to data from Consumer Affairs.
The state remains the most popular to move to, as it boasts a better quality of life, lower cost of living and no income tax.
Florida does not tax employment income or investment income, which appeals to those seeking financial advantages.
While he failed nationally earlier this year in his attempt to challenge Trump for the presidential nomination, Ron DeSantis became a national figure after implementing his brand of conservatism in the state.
Since Ron DeSantis (pictured) defeated the embattled Andrew Gillum in 2022, his policies, the president’s constant presence and a wave of migration to the Sunshine State have made the sun shine on the Republican Party.
Donald Trump has also moved to Florida in recent years, where his Mar-a-Lago resort is located.
DeSantis led Democrat Charlie Crist, a former senator, by 20 points, earning nearly 600,000 more votes than he did in 2018.
In his victory speech, he described the battles he fought in his first term as COVID-19 shut down the country and culture wars erupted.
“We saw freedom and our very way of life wither away in so many other jurisdictions across this country. Florida stood firm,” he said to cheers.
“We choose facts over fear; we choose education over indoctrination.”
Those were the arguments that propelled him onto the national stage. And the scale and nature of his victory — he collected votes in the former Democratic stronghold of Miami-Dade County — led many to see him as a contender for the White House.
A Republican victory in Miami would have been unthinkable just six years ago, when Hillary Clinton won it by 23 points in her failed campaign for the presidency.
Joe Biden won by seven points over Donald Trump in 2020.
The statistic elicited an audible gasp from the MSNBC panelists when it was revealed.
DeSantis led Democrat Charlie Crist, a former senator, by 20 points, earning nearly 600,000 more votes than he did in 2018.
Trump held his latest news conference in the state, which has been his home for several years.
DeSantis has taken on a national profile, opening his state earlier than others during the COVID-19 pandemic and taking a central role in the country’s culture wars.
Shortly before the election, he ordered the state to airlift migrants from Texas to the posh liberal enclave of Martha’s Vineyard in protest of the federal government’s failure to stop people from crossing the southern border.
Trump, however, moved to Florida and remains the dominant force in Republican politics, beating DeSantis in 2024.
There has been little polling in the state since Kamala Harris entered the race, such is the nature of Florida as a Republican stronghold.
Those polls show Trump leading Harris by six to ten points, according to Five Thirty Eight.
The state is now dominated by the Republican Party, as both senators (Marco Rubio and Rick Scott) are from the party, while a large majority of the congressional delegation and both chambers of state government are heavily Republican.