Florida’s registered Republican voters outnumber Democrats by over 100K for first time

FIRST ON FOX: A pink wave is brewing in Florida as registered Republican voters now outnumber Democrats by over 100,000 for the primary time within the state’s historical past, in line with information obtained by Fox Information Digital.

On the finish of 2021, Florida GOP’s voter registration numbers formally overtook the state Democratic Social gathering, giving Republicans the lead in a state steadily shifting pink.

Now, Republicans in Florida outnumber Democrats for the primary time by over 100,000 voters, in each new registrants and occasion switches, in line with inner numbers from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ re-election marketing campaign solely obtained by Fox Information Digital. 

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A spokesperson for DeSantis’ marketing campaign instructed Fox Information Digital that the surge in Republican voters broke 101,000 as of Tuesday morning.

“There’s no beating across the reality this historic achieve is due to Governor Ron DeSantis,” Florida Republican Social gathering government director Helen Aguirre Ferré mentioned in a press release to Fox Information Digital. “Florida voters are appreciative of the palpable sense of freedom he has created in our state.”

“Unemployment is decrease than the nationwide common, our faculties are open, there are not any lockdowns, and there are not any masks. Voters acknowledge the governor is a champion for households and companies alike,” Aguirre Ferré continued. “Our voter registration numbers are spectacular, however a 363,000 internet change? That’s unprecedented.”

A senior adviser to DeSantis’ re-election marketing campaign instructed Fox Information Digital that registered Republicans in Florida have elevated by 363,000 since 2018, when DeSantis took energy within the state. 

Moreover, the upswing in registered Republican voters has been occurring for practically two years, with Republicans outperforming Democrats in new voter registrations in 21 of the previous 22 months, the adviser mentioned.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is a Democratic candidate for governor of Florida this yr.
(Reuters)

The Florida Republican voter registration enhance continued all through President Biden’s first yr in workplace.

By September 2021, Democrats had a lead of solely 24,000 voters, and Republicans took over the lead by about 6,000 voters in November 2021.

“After I acquired elected governor we had 280,000 extra registered Democrats than Republicans within the state of Florida,” DeSantis mentioned in November 2021. “Right now, and it’ll most likely be absolutely publicized very quickly, for the primary time within the historical past of Florida we have now overtaken Democrats. There are extra registered Republicans in Florida than Democrats.” 

Voters solid their ballots at a polling station on Nov. 2, 2021, in Miami, Florida.
(Joe Raedle/Getty Photographs)

Based on the interior numbers, Republicans have additionally gained on Democrats in historically blue Miami-Dade County. Presently, Democrats maintain the lead within the county with 589,429 registered voters to Republicans’ 426,861, which accounts for roughly a 162,500 distinction.

A number of components may very well be enjoying into the shift, together with inflation, COVID-19 protocols, a number of controversial insurance policies like defunding the police and demanding race idea, in addition to the state’s inhabitants enhance that happened through the pandemic.

The Florida Democratic Social gathering didn’t instantly reply to Fox Information Digital’s request for remark.

Moreover, Florida’s major elections are closed, which means that any unbiased who needs to vote within the major election has to register with one of many two events.

Every occasion has over 5 million voters and Florida’s complete registered voter depend tallies over 14 million people. Independents nonetheless stay the fastest-growing bloc of Sunshine State voters.