Politics
NEW: Democrats Fall To Third Place In Voter Registration In Massive Miami Metro
The Democratic Party in Florida is having a rough start to the week as new data reveals they have lost a staggering number of voters in Miami-Dade County. The country was previously considered a deep blue area packed with more than a hundred thousand more registered Democrats than Republicans, according to the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis.
The GOP now possesses a voter registration advantage in the county, representing a broader trend in the state over the last decade. An illustration of this massive shift can be seen in the conversion of Florida state Senate Minority Leader Jason Pizzo, who just several weeks ago announced he would be leaving the Democratic Party, stating that the party is dead.
“Here’s the issue, the Democratic Party in Florida is dead,” Pizzo went on to say in remarks given on the Senate floor. He then revealed he sent in a voter registration form to change his affiliation to “no party affiliation.”
Pizzo later said that the political system in Florida looked a lot like “the infighting, power struggles, corruption and decline of civic virtue that pervaded and eventually ushered in the fall of Rome.”
“So, too, are we players, or perhaps props, in the mess that is bottom partisanship,” Pizzo added. The former Democrat said he felt relieved, free even, by deciding to abandon the sinking ship of his previous party.
“I think stripping myself of the title of the party designation allows me to run free and clear, clean and transparent, and help many, many more,” he commented.
“A decade ago Miami-Dade county was a deep blue county with hundreds of thousands more registered Democrats than Republicans,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote concerning the news. “Today, the county — with more than 2.8 million people — has a Republican voter registration advantage. Nobody would have predicted this ten years ago.”
Florida’s Voice assistant news director Eric Daugherty had this to say about the findings:
The Hill gave some additional details:
Republicans made up 464,370 voters, or 34 percent of voters, in the county, while Democrats made up 440,790 voters, or 32.27 percent. Voters classified as “others” made up 460,783 voters, or 33.73 percent. The updated numbers came after the county completed its off-year voter roll maintenance. According to Decision Desk HQ data science director Michael Pruser, the county shed 172,747 voters from its active rolls. That led to Republicans netting more than 38,000 voters.
While Miami-Dade County has historically leaned Democratic, there have been signs the county has shifted in recent years. Last year, President Trump flipped the county at the presidential level for the first time in 36 years. That win was a part of a slew of wins in the state in November that further cemented the state’s status as a deep-red state.
“From Rubio to DeSantis to Trump, this victory is a testament to the strength of Republican leadership and grassroots power. What was once blue is now a blazing red fortress—and we’re charging toward an even brighter future!” Florida’s Republican Party celebrated in a statement.
Potential Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Byron Donalds also weighed in on the development on social media, saying, “THE BEST IS YET TO COME!”
