Media Worries Florida is ‘Cautionary Tale’ for Nationwide Democrats

NEW YORK, N.Y. (FLV) – Even as Democrats celebrate warding off a red wave in the U.S. Senate and mitigating GOP gains in the House, Florida served as a warning sign for some who worry Democrats nationwide could have a “big problem brewing” with Hispanic voters.

The Hispanic inroads for Republicans amped up during the Donald Trump presidency where migration control and border security – two issues important to Hispanics, especially those who put in hard work to travel to the U.S. – came to the forefront. Those inroads continued into the Biden Administration with what critics slam as relaxed, destructive border policies.

Florida, home to a considerable Cuban population, exploded with Hispanic support for Gov. Ron DeSantis during his reelection. The governor flipped Miami-Dade and Palm Beach County, both with hundreds of thousands of Hispanics that previously voted majority Democrat.

What Democrats and critics of DeSantis called a ‘stunt’ using humans as ‘props’ resulted in high marks from Hispanics: sending migrants to Martha’s Vineyard resulted in bolstered Hispanic support.

Whites and Hispanics had a near-even margin of net support for DeSantis’ flights.

Heading into the election, polls from Spectrum News/Siena College and Mason-Dixon found the incumbent Republican receiving strong marks from Hispanics over Democrat Charlie Crist, even into the double-digit range.

Both polls – which underestimated DeSantis’ win margin totaling nearly 20 points – gave DeSantis a hefty edge among Hispanics, a trend Bloomberg says spells a “big problem” for nationwide Democrats if it continues.

“[DeSantis and Marco Rubio] trounced their opponents in Miami-Dade, the state’s most populous county, with 2.7 million people, more than two-thirds of whom are Hispanic. In doing so, they underlined an awkward trend: Democrats’ brand with Latino voters is collapsing in Florida — and shows worrisome signs nationwide,” they wrote.

Bloomberg said even DeSantis’ “most egregious stunt” in sending migrants up north “drew solid Latino support.”

“That should be a reminder for Democrats that Hispanics aren’t a monolith and immigration isn’t their defining issue,” they continued.

Bloomberg warned Democrats from brushing off the Florida shellacking on “unique Demographics” of the Sunshine State, pointing to some blue-to-red swings in historically blue districts in Texas and California.

‘Woke’ terminology like the word ‘Latinx’ is also problematic for the left’s support from Hispanics, they said.

“Democrats need to stop taking Latinos for granted and start focusing on what they actually care about. A good example is the au courant term ‘Latinx,’ which is ubiquitous among party professionals but which only 3% of Hispanics adopt for themselves.”