Stunning new figures show how Florida has gone from being a ‘purple’ state with a roughly-even split between Republicans and Democrats to a deep red GOP enclave.
Florida was once considered the ultimate toss-up state, with Barack Obama winning it twice and the state having Democrat governors and members of the US Senate.
But it has become a GOP stronghold since Republican Governor Ron DeSantis won his gubernatorial election in 2022.
Donald Trump’s decision to move there from NYC at the end of his presidency in 2021 further bolstered its reputation as a Republican hotspot, as did a wave of migrants from blue states – many fleeing policies they deemed too progressive.
In Florida, there are now 5.3 million residents registered to vote as Republicans versus 4.3 million Democrats, with the official margin around 995,000.
It’s a complete turnaround from the GOP, as in the year before DeSantis was elected, 2017, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by a count of 4.8 million to 4.5 million.
The home state of the president and some of the Republican Party’s highest profile legislators and members of Congress has made Florida turn bright red
There are approximately 3.5 million unaffiliated voters in the state to go along with 373,000 registered with lesser parties.
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The number of residents registered with no party affiliation is down from 2022, when there were about four million.
Americans battling the crippling cost of living crisis are fleeing to more affordable states like Florida where there are favorable tax rates.
Tens and thousands of people are moving across the country to escape higher expenses which have put the squeeze on residents to areas with lower overall costs.
Florida is the most popular state people are relocating to with 16,259 looking to make the move this year, according to data from ConsumerAffairs.
The state remains the most popular state to move to as it boasts a better quality of life, lower cost of living and has no income taxes.
Florida does not tax earned income or investment income which attracts those looking for financial advantages.
While he flopped nationally earlier this year trying to challenge Trump for the presidential nomination, Ron DeSantis became a national figure after enacting his brand of conservatism on the state.
Since Ron DeSantis (pictured) defeated troubled Andrew Gillum in 2022, both his policies, the president’s consistent presence and a wave of migration to the Sunshine State has had the sun shining on the GOP
Donald Trump has also moved to Florida in recent years. It’s the home of his Mar-a-Lago resort
DeSantis dominated Democrat Charlie Crist – a former Senator – by 20 points, managing nearly 600,000 more votes than he did in 2018.
In his victory speech, he described the battles he fought in first term as COVID-19 shut down the country and culture wars erupted.
‘We saw freedom and our very way of life in so many other jurisdictions in this country wither on the vine. Florida held the line,’ he said to cheers.
‘We chose facts over fear; we chose education over indoctrination.’
Those were the arguments that powered him on to the national stage. And the scale and nature of his win – racking up votes in the former Democratic stronghold of Miami-Dade – had many looking toward him as a White House contender.
A Republican win in Miami would have been unthinkable just six years ago when Hillary Clinton took it by 23 points in her unsuccessful run for the presidency.
Joe Biden won it by seven points over Donald Trump in 2020.
The statistic brought an audible gasp from panelists on MSNBC when it was revealed.
DeSantis dominated Democrat Charlie Crist – a former Senator – by 20 points, managing nearly 600,000 more votes than he did in 2018
Trump held his most recent press conference in the state, which has been his home for some years
DeSantis has taken on a national profile, opening up his state earlier than others during the COVID-19 pandemic and adopting a central role in the nation’s culture wars.
Shortly before the election, he ordered the state to fly migrants from Texas to the smart liberal enclave of Martha’s Vineyard in protest at the federal government’s failure to stop people crossing the southern border.
Trump, however, relocated to Florida and has remained the dominant force in Republican politics, beating DeSantis in 2024.
Few polls have been done on the state since Kamala Harris entered the race, such is the nature of Florida as a Republican fortress.
Those surveys have Trump leading Harris anywhere from six to ten points, according to FiveThirtyEight.
The state is now dominated by the GOP, as both Senators – Marco Rubio, Rick Scott – are from the party, while a huge majority of the Congressional delegation, and both houses of the state government are heavily Republican.