Florida Republicans lead Democrats by 400,000, DeSantis celebrates
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis touted Florida Republicans’ massive voter registration gains since the 2022 election, now leading by around 400,000 voters.
2021 was the first time Republicans lead Democrats in the state. Since then, hundreds of thousands of voters flocked to the state’s GOP, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis and party Chairman Joe Gruters.
DeSantis noted that on Election Day, 2022, Republicans outnumbered Democrats by 300,000. That means their lead increased by close to 100,000 in just a few months.
“In 2018, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by nearly 300,000. By Election Day 2022, Republicans outnumbered Democrats by 300,000. Today, we can announce that Republicans outnumber Democrats by 400,000,” the governor announced. “Freedom is here to stay.”
While DeSantis’ party voter registration advantage played a role in his 2022 landslide, he defeated Democrat Charlie Crist by nearly two million votes – much more than the raw registration advantage.
“My heart sings,” conservative activist Scott Presler replied, known for hosting activist training across the country and for urging the GOP push for more early voting and voting-by-mail.
To the disarray of Florida Democrats in 2022, DeSantis and Republicans successfully flipped traditionally Democrat-heavy or Democrat-leaning counties across the Sunshine State, in some cases by double digit margins.
Republicans went into the election election with a decisive lead above 300,000. In 2020, the Democrat lead heading into election day was around 115,000, when Donald Trump won the state by 3.4%. Republicans were positioned nearly half-a-million voters better in the early + mail-in vote, and only extended their lead on election day voting.
The red wave swept the entire Sunshine State in re-electing DeSantis, and Hurricane Ian-struck counties saw a similar 10-point swing in the governor’s favor.
