Florida GOP now within 1% of flipping populous Hillsborough County red

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Republican Party of Florida is just inches from flipping a major urban-suburban county in the state from blue to red.

Hillsborough County, which encompasses Tampa and a swath of the Tampa Bay region, is home to over 822,000 voters.

Of all of Florida’s 67 counties, Hillsborough ranks third in population, behind only Broward and Miami-Dade County.

If it flips, it will be the most populous county in the state with a Republican advantage in regisrations.

As of March 29, Republicans have 280,646 voters there to the Democrats’ 288,828.

The Democratic lead is 0.99%, or 8,182 voters.

The county is home to a large amount of voters without any party affiliation or with a minor party, totaling 253,325.

Home to Tampa, Hillsborough is a very urban and suburban region. Republicans have been able to make inroads with suburban voters in Florida over the past decade.

In 2022, counties like Palm Beach and Miami-Dade went for Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republicans statewide.

The GOP also recently flipped the Clearwater City Council, located in the Tampa Bay area, and a mayoral seat in Delray Beach, located in Palm Beach County.

As of the end of March, Democrats have an advantage in 11 of Florida’s 67 counties.

Republicans are additionally close to flipping Madison County, a much less populous location with just over 11,000 voters.

There, the GOP is only 145 voters shy of gaining an advantage, or 1.24%.

Florida Republicans are also keeping a close eye on Duval County, home to Jacksonville, a major U.S. city.

Duval is home to nearly 650,000 voters. Democrats in the county hold a lead of 2.67%, or 17,232 registrations.

Looking beyond those three counties, Miami-Dade could be next up on the GOP’s flip agenda.

Republicans are almost within 5% of Democrats in the region, which is Florida’s most populous. Still, the GOP must make up over 73,000 voter registrations to ultimately flip the county.

Statewide, as of Friday, Republicans are still continuing to increase their lead over Democrats, now totaling over 881,000.