WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — There are 1 million more registered Republicans than Democrats in Florida, election officials said, further cementing the state’s status as a conservative stronghold.
According to figures released by county election officials over the weekend, there are 5.3 million active Republican voters compared to 4.3 million active Democratic voters. About 3.9 million voters are unaffiliated with any political party or are affiliated with smaller parties.
The state’s changing political landscape is unusual because it became so conservative so quickly. In 2020, Democrats had a lead of about 97,000 registered votes over Republicans. Since then, the number of registered Republican voters has risen rapidly.
This large lead in voter registration is a victory for the Florida Republican Party, which has called itself the “most successful party in the nation,” according to a statement from Evan Power, chairman of the Florida Republican Party.
But it’s bad news for the state’s Democratic Party, which has already suffered massive losses in 2022 when Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis was re-elected by 19 points, leading to a statewide deterioration in traditionally Democratic districts and local elections. In the lead-up to the November general election, Democrats clung to hope that Florida would return to its reputation as a swing state.
Democrats often point to demographic changes in Florida This is one reason for the lead in voter registration, as a large influx of voters came to the state when DeSantis emerged as the leader of the GOP resistance due to pandemic health policies. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that between 2020 and 2021, an average of about 667 more people moved into the state each day than moved out, but did not provide information on their political party.
Last year, a Republican-backed law also took effect that cracked down on third-party voter registration organizations that mobilized minority and college-age voters who are more likely to vote Democratic. Among other things, the law increased fines for violations such as filing in the wrong district or hiring an out-of-state volunteer from $1,000 to $250,000 and shortened the time the groups have to return registration applications from 14 days to 10.
Nikki Fried, chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, called criticism of voter registration “empty rhetoric.”
“Although Republicans in Florida have spent years dismantling voting rights to increase their vote totals and bickering over the voter registration gap, that hasn’t stopped Florida Democrats from winning elections like Jacksonville’s mayoral race or the state’s 35th House District. Both victories demonstrated a growing lack of enthusiasm for the Republican Party and a rising number of independent voters who reject extremism in Florida,” she said in a statement.
Fried noted that 18,000 volunteers have signed up with the Florida Democratic Party since Vice President Kamala Harris entered the presidential race, calling it a “tremendous turnaround.”
Florida voters will also vote on constitutional amendments in November, including one to protect abortion rights and another to legalize marijuana. Democrats have expressed high hopes of winning on these issues, which have broad support within their party. Pollsters and political strategists – even across party lines – have signaled that these amendments bring the state back into playbecause abortion referendums in other states have benefited Democrats.
