Florida joins the rest of the Deep South as a Republican stronghold

TAMPA, Fla. — If there was any doubt about Florida being a "red" state after Governor Ron DeSantis' victory in 2022, that doubt was erased Tuesday with a dominating win for Republicans in the Sunshine State.

According to the exit polling, the Florida electorate is skewed Republican in almost every demographic, making it imperative for Florida Democrats to reset their approach to elections in the state.

Exit polls showed that Florida men were Republicans by a 61%-37% margin, while Florida women went for the GOP by a 50%-48% spread.

When the electorate was broken down by race, whites (61%), Hispanics (58%), and others (67%) all said they voted Republican in exit polling. Democrats' only majority was among Black voters, who voted 82% to 15% in the party's favor.

Exit polling showed Cuban voters broke for the GOP by a 72%-28% margin while Puerto Rican voters went for Democrats by a 51%-44% margin.

The only age group pollsters found that had a majority vote for Democrats was 18-29 years old, but they only made up 14% of the electorate. Every other group went for Republicans by at least 54%.

Looking at the education level of the Florida electorate, no group had a majority vote for Democrats, with those with an advanced degree coming closest at 49%.

Economically speaking, Republicans and Democrats split on their views of it, but those who said it was trending badly voted for the GOP by a 62%-36% margin.

One thing that may surprise both parties is that the electorate was locked into their vote a long time ago. Florida voters told exit pollsters their vote was secured before September, with Republicans saying their vote was locked in by 60% to 40%.

Finally, looking at Amendment 4, among those who voted yes, Democrats made up 70% support to 27% support for Republicans. Among those who voted no, just 9% of Democrats opposed it, while 91% of Republicans opposed the measure.

Florida became the first state in the nation to reject codifying the right to abortion since the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade.