Florida claimed yet another victory for conservatism this year after the number of registered Republican voters surpassed that of Democrats for the first time in the state’s history.
Perhaps in part due to the flood of conservative voters flocking to Florida for its less restrictive Covid-19 policies and strong, Republican leadership, the Sunshine State has cemented its position as a conservative stronghold to be reckoned with.
Florida has recently provided a safe haven of constitutional liberty amidst the startling governmental overreach that has swept the nation over the past two years due to coronavirus restrictions.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken a very bold stance in light of Joe Biden’s federal push to mandate the Covid-19 vaccine, declaring that Florida is “taking a stand to protect the Constitution, the economy, and the right of Floridians to earn a living and make their own individual health decisions.”
Last month, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced new coronavirus case rates, highlighting Florida as having the lowest case rates in the nation with only 75 cases per 100,000 reported.
Gov. DeSantis has approached the coronavirus proactively by implementing defensive strategies to fight the virus rather than shutting down the economy and enforcing freedom-restricting mandates. Over the past year, DeSantis has opened 21 monclonal antibody treatment sites in Florida, providing a viable alternative to the rushed-to-market Covid-19 vaccines being touted by the federal government.
DeSantis also recently announced that the Florida Surgeon General, Joseph A. Ladapo, signed a rule that eliminated quarantining healthy people – which has been a nationwide approach to fighting the coronavirus, particularly in traditionally “blue” states like New York and California – and ensured that healthy kids were still able to attend school. “Now,” DeSantis stated in a tweet, “FL has the lowest COVID rate in the nation, our schools had a 76% decrease in cases since the rule became effective & a 90% decrease since August.”
Florida has long been a key battleground state in presidential elections, going red for the past two presidential, favoring President Donald Trump. When President Obama ran for president in 2008, Democrats held a dominating voter advantage of 700,000 more voters over Republicans. However, things have changed in Florida, and registered Republicans now dominate the political landscape.
“Today for the first time in the history of Florida,” Gov. DeSantis remarked last week, “we’ve now overtaken Democrats.”
Florida’s rise to conservative domination appears to have been spurred by DeSantis’ strong leadership, coupled with an influx of conservative voters from other states who are looking for an escape from federal overreach and medical tyranny.
