Republicans are having a historic night in Florida, with Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) both beating their Democratic opponents by double digits, including in left-leaning Miami-Dade County, with a majority of precincts reporting.
With more than 83% of precincts in, DeSantis has defeated Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) 58.6% to 40.7%.
REPUBLICANS EYE RED FLORIDA FUTURE WITH GROWING HISPANIC VOTER REGISTRATION
Rubio, meanwhile, bested Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) with 56.7% of the vote to her 42.3%, with 85% of precincts reporting. While it is unclear if DeSantis’s and Rubio’s leads will expand as the final votes are counted, both appear likely to win their races by double-digit margins.
“He is going to have the biggest victory in the history of Florida,” state Sen. Joe Gruters, the Florida Republican Party chairman, told the Washington Examiner of DeSantis’s reelection effort prior to his win being called.
With 92% of the vote counted in Miami-Dade County, once a Democratic stronghold, DeSantis is ahead of Crist 55% to 44% in one of the Sunshine State’s most liberal counties. Rubio, meanwhile, is outperforming Demings in Miami-Dade County 54% to 45%.
Should DeSantis hold his 11-point lead in Miami-Dade County, it will represent a massive jump in support from his 2018 gubernatorial run, when he lost the county by more than 20 points to Democrat Andrew Gillum. A win in the left-leaning county in his 2022 race would signal that Republicans are on track to dominate statewide in Florida, where Democrats were competitive for decades.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Florida Republicans have made significant gains in the last four years with Hispanic voters, with Hispanic voter registrations in Miami-Dade County increasing by 2,409 in just July. Hispanics registered as Democrats dropped by 241 voters during the same period.
Republicans inside and outside of Florida say the party’s growth with Hispanic voters in Miami-Dade County over the summer is part of a larger yearslong trend that has accelerated under President Joe Biden. Republicans contend that this expansion, should it continue, is poised to transform Florida from a perennial swing state that for decades has been the most electorally competitive in the country into legitimate red territory.
