Republicans are still outnumbering Democrats in Florida’s early voting tally, according to Sunday’s figures.
All signs are pointing to a red wave in the Sunshine State on Tuesday, as Republicans continue to outpace Democrats in terms of early voting. According to Sunday’s figures shared by Florida’s Voice, Republicans led Democrats by 323,347 votes in early voting figures. Perhaps what is more telling is the GOP’s lead in traditionally blue Miami-Dade, where Republicans are edging out Democrats by 6,021 early votes:
The trends were anticipated by some, given the massive gains Republicans in Florida have made over the past few years under Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) leadership.
In late 2021, for the first time ever, Republicans overtook Democrats in voter registration. That lead increased to roughly 100,000 registered voters in March and 200,000 in July.
The governor told supporters last month, “We’ve never had an election in Florida history [where] we’ve had more Republicans than Democrats.” But that all changes this election, as there will be “over 300,000 more Republicans than Democrats” on Election Day, he announced.
“The bottom line is that people have responded to good leadership. They responded, and they appreciate being in Florida, and they understand what it’s been like in some of these other states,” DeSantis said, reminding Floridians that their future could have been much different had DeSantis failed to defeat Democrat Andrew Gillum in 2018 by less than half of a percentage point.
“That could have gone the other way,” he said, adding that it would have resulted in “a much different future.”
“Do not take any of this for granted. Okay. Freedom is very fragile. As we’ve seen, we just lived through an era where there were states in this country forcibly shuttering churches while they allowed liquor stores in strip clubs to operate,” he said.
On Monday, DeSantis took to social media, predicting that “tomorrow, we’re going to carry the torch of freedom onward & ensure Florida’s future is secure for generations.”
“We will make sure that freedom prevails in the Sunshine State,” he said. “But we need every Floridian to get out & VOTE to make it happen”: