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. Despite the margins, for Osceola County made up of 56.1% of Latino voters, many of them Puerto Rican, it flipped for Trump for the first time, but a thin margin of 1.5%. Miami-Dade county, with 69.1% of Hispanic Voters, many Cuban also went big for Trump, winning 55% of the votes there.
ABC Action News spoke with Latino voters, both Cuban and Puerto Rican, at La Teresita Supermarket on Wednesday.
"I'm happy, I'm happy everybody is happy," Puerto Rican voter Generosa Rivera said in tears. "Look the United States it was almost all red that tells you something."
"I was Democrat and I voted for Trump," said Cuban voter Madeline Nunez speaking Spanish. "Because the change is different. They were not looking at the economy like the other party was."
Most all Latino voters at the supermarket said inflation and the economy drove them to their decision.
"Everything is so expensive," Rivera added. "You go to the store and you can hardly buy anything. I have to go to the food bank to supplement myself, you know, it's hard."
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.
A South Tampa man turned to Susan Solves It after he said ADT told him he had to keep paying for a security system at his Hurricane Helene-damaged home, even though the system was so new that he never had a day of service.
