OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The midterm elections are on the horizon and the state of Florida appears to be getting redder by the minute.
Between October 2018 and July 2022 around one million voters registered in the state of Florida, and of those new voters only around 18,000 registered as Democrats, state records show, The Western Journal reported.
In that time, the number of non-affiliated voters rose from 3,549,094 to 3,905,562 — an increase of just over 10 percent.
Democratic Party enrollment rose from 4,962,064 to 4,944,867 — which is an increase of only 17,197 people.
Then there is the Republican Party, which in 2018 was in second place to the Democratic Party at 4,681,598 voters.
The 2022 numbers show the state with 5,191,018 Republicans. That means from the 2018 election until this summer, the Florida GOP added 509,420 people. That is an increase of roughly 10 percent.
“The biggest number in Florida Politics that no one is talking about: 17,197. While Florida has added 1,037,685 net new voters since [Ron DeSantis’] 2018 Victory, the Democrat Party only managed to convince 17,197 of them to register as a Democrat,” Vice Chairman of the Florida GOP, Christian Ziegler, said according to Florida’s Voice.
“Governor DeSantis is delivering on the important issues, our Florida GOP County leaders are executing on the ground and voters in every corner of our state are resonating with our record while showcasing a historic rejection of the Democrat Party,” he said.
“And while the data is great, we cannot afford to let up at this point,” the vice chairman said. “The Florida GOP is committed to the fight and we will not take our foot off of the gas until Governor DeSantis achieves victory, freedom in Florida is protected for generations to come and the Democrat Party is extinct in our state.”
And while Gov. DeSantis is certainly drawing new voters, some believe the lack of Democrat ideas is also contributing.
“The symptoms currently plaguing the Democrat Party in Florida point back to the virus that is the failed leadership in Washington DC and the disastrous extreme anti-American values leading the state and local Democrats further away from their constituents,” Jonathan Martin, the Lee County GOP Chairman, said.
“Their entire platform is to be against whatever Ron DeSantis does, but they’re never telling the voters what they’re for, what they have to offer, and what they can do better,” Florida Rep. Spencer Roach said.
And when he sent migrants to Martha’s Vineyard that made Gov. DeSantis even more popular.
During a rally in Kansas for state Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the GOP gubernatorial candidate, DeSantis spoke about how he sent two planes full of illegals from Florida to the wealthy liberal-dominated island last week.
“The one place in the country where we see virtually no law and order is at the southern border. And this is a crisis,” DeSantis said. “It’s now getting a little more attention.”
“This is a crisis. It is a crisis. And it’s a manufactured crisis because of Biden’s failed policies,” DeSantis said as the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
DeSantis pointed out, “You’re talking about 50 people. Did they get them employed? Did they get them set up? No. They called out the National Guard and they deported those people off the island the very next day.”
DeSantis voiced his support for Schmidt, telling the crowd, “You have a legislature here that will produce a lot of good legislation. You just need a governor that will sign the legislation. And you guys can make that happen.”
In a Kansas stop on his national blitz, Republican Florida Gov. DeSantis got an ovation from GOP voters days after flying migrants to Martha's Vineyard. https://t.co/LIM3dDGSDI
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 19, 2022
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gets a standing ovation from GOP voters after flying migrants to Martha's Vineyard: https://t.co/OVACIhluVt pic.twitter.com/aTJsWv1b2g
— Morning Express with Robin Meade (@MorningExp) September 19, 2022
DeSantis suggested last week that he will continue sending more flights full of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard and possibly other locations.
“Now we see, in New York and D.C., they used to beat their chests when Trump was in office, saying they are sanctuary jurisdictions,” DeSantis said.
“Then the minute Texas starts busing there, they get very bent out of shape about it. These are just the beginning efforts. We got an infrastructure in place now. There is going to be a lot more that’s happening,” he added.
