Photo: Alamy
Florida voters rejected Democrats outright during Tuesday’s midterm elections, sending the clear message that Florida is a red state.
As the results poured in Tuesday night, any fears Florida Republicans may have had about losing their current Gov. Ron DeSantis quickly dissipated.
Just minutes after the polls closed in the Florida panhandle, RSBN was able to project DeSantis’s victory, and what a resounding victory it was.
According to the Fox News Decision Desk, the Republican won his race against Democrat Rep. Charlie Crist by nearly 20 points — a historic landslide the likes of which have not been seen in a Florida governor’s race since Jeb Bush won by 13 points in 2002, per ClickOrlando.
The win also marked a dramatic swing toward DeSantis from his inaugural election in 2018, when he defeated Democrat Andrew Gillum by a razor-thin margin of 0.4 percent, or 32,463 votes.
Tuesday, DeSantis won nearly every one of Florida’s 67 counties, save five, flipping traditionally blue counties like Miami-Dade and Palm Beach in the process.
But the governor was not the only Florida GOP candidate who had a good night Tuesday.
Sen. Marco Rubio likewise defeated Democrat Rep. Val Demings by an impressive 16 points to secure another term, and Republican incumbent U.S. Reps. Matt Gaetz, Kat Cammack, and Michael Waltz all easily won reelection in their districts as well.
Further, according to Politico, voter registrations in Florida have recently been trending in Republicans’ favor, with active registered Republicans now outnumbering Democrats by 305,590 — an increase of 299,555 in just the last year.
While over the last two decades, Florida has come to be known as a toss-up when it comes to federal elections, circumstances in the Sunshine State have clearly changed.
Now, as the country’s attention shifts to the 2024 presidential election, it seems the Democrats will have their work cut out for them if they wish to claim Florida’s 30 electoral votes.
