People Coming To FL ‘Overwhelmingly’ Registering As Republicans; Democrats Switc

[CF DolFan]

I can't remember what thread it was but I know the topic of why people were flocking to Florida was discussed. I said it was because of the things our Republican governor was doing and others thought it was just because life was cheaper here and the weather is great most of the time.  Either way ... it seems like a lot of the blue that is moving here is now red so I'm sticking with the GOP ideals we are experiencing here in Florida. #dontnewyorkmyflorida



DeSantis: People Coming To FL ‘Overwhelmingly’ Registering As Republicans; Democrats Switching To GOP

Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told Fox News during a town hall event Wednesday night that people who are moving to Florida are “overwhelmingly” registering as Republicans, including former Democrats who fled blue states.

“The media at the beginning of this said Florida’s bad and I think it’s because they want to damage Trump in Florida, they want to damage me. So, they just kept saying it was bad,” DeSantis said. “And even though the facts didn’t say it, like literally last April, they’re saying Florida is doing worse than New York. New York was like 10 times worse.”

“And so, I think what it did is the people that buy those phony narratives for these media, they probably aren’t coming to Florida. But most people see through it. But the people that see through it, they think like us. And so, I think a lot of these people are coming. I think they are registering as Republicans overwhelming,” he continued. “And I also have come across a lot of people who, quite frankly, were Democrats. The lockdowns turned them into Republicans.”

[Spider-Dan]

"Many people are saying that they used to be Democrats, but they moved to Florida and switched to being Republicans.  I had a big, strong guy... huge, like a mountain... come to me, with tears in his eyes, and say, 'Sir, thank you for ending the lockdowns and allowing me to feed my family.' Believe me!"

I would say there is a scarcity of data supporting the claim that recent (blue state?) transplants to FL used to be Democrats.  There are Republicans in blue states, too.

[masterfins]

Northerners from blue states retire to Florida.  Some of these individuals, like myself, registered as Democrats 30 or 40 years ago, when the Democratic Party supported the middle class as well as the lower class.  However, the current Democratic Party has abandoned the middle class, probably because the middle class has shrunken so much.  So, now these individuals are transplanting to FLA and have the requirement to re-register and they are registering as Republicans because they believe that the Republican Party gives better support to the working man/woman.  I would bet many of these people have been voting more in line with Republicans over the past 10-15 years even though they may have been registered as Democrats.

[Dolphster]

I think there is some validity to that point.  I think that a lot of people become more politically conservative with age.  I don't know who said it, but a quote which has been falsely attributed to Winston Churchill is, "If you are not liberal when you young, you have no heart.  If you are not conservative when you are old, you have no brain."    I'm not saying I agree with the quote, but it does speak to what you were talking about.  Oddly, I did kind of the opposite.  I was fiercely conservative when I was young and as I have aged, I have become more liberal at least on social issues.   I'm still pretty hawkish financially and in foreign affairs. 

I think that the tax friendly way Florida is set up and the weather are both things that people can appreciate regardless of whether they are Democrat or Republican.  I don't know anyone who wants to pay MORE taxes or hates nice weather. 

[Phishfan]

Report fromWESH today says Seminole County is now blue. It's a slim margin though

Dems 118306
Rep 117999
NPA 98796

[Spider-Dan]

I'm not a local, so what's the significance of Seminole County in this context?

[Phishfan]

I live there and unless CF moved so does he, he grew up there at least. Also Biden was the first Democrat Presidential candidate to win the county since Truman.

[Dave Gray]

Florida likes to pretend it's purple, but it's not.  It's a red state at this point.

I don't really read too much into these swinging political trends, because they're so fluid.  ...same with Texas.  Everyone wants to pretend that's going blue, but it's just not that simple.

If I had to guess, based on what I'm seeing just in my own life, is that the type of people who are coming to Florida at this point are established.  The real estate prices here basically make it impossible to be young and move here from another part of the country.  That was different 15 years ago -- a ton of my friends were Ohio transplants getting into new fields down here.  It's just not like that anymore.

There is an exodus of younger people here, because your housing money can stretch a lot farther a couple of states up the coast.

But just like that swung in 15 years, it could swing the other way for the next 15...who knows?

Also, you can't really look at the GOP right now and compare them to traditional Republicans.  It's a different brand and they have a different base than before.  That will shake out and we'll see where it ends up.

[CF DolFan]

Report fromWESH today says Seminole County is now blue. It's a slim margin though

Dems 118306
Rep 117999
NPA 98796

I don’t actually buy that though. All commissioners and most other politicians are Republican so that shows you were the vote is going. Like was mentioned ... I myself voted Republican for years as a registered Democrat.

[Dave Gray]

The thing I have against Trumpian Republicans is that even when I agree with (or to an even greater extent don't agree with but at least understand) is their tone in how things are carried out.

Desantis is a good example of that.  I don't hate every single choice he's made and even when he does stuff like ease COVID restrictions, he doesn't do it in a measured, intelligent way.  He is brash and undermines his message in a way that makes it more dangerous for us and turns it into a political thing.

If he were to come out and say "We understand that there is a risk when easing COVID restrictions, but as we learn more about the virus and things that we can do to prevent transmission, we trust the people of Florida to assess their own risks, maintain safe protocols, while allowing businesses to open and our economy to function.  I believe that with the help of all Floridians, this balance will let us keep the virus under control while maintaining our shared livelihood until we can return to normalcy."

Even though I might find it too early to open certain businesses, I can handle a statement like that, because it's the right message.  I really feel like this new brand of Republicans is not at all interested in doing what's best for me, but they have a "fuck you", stick a finger in your eye, taunting way about everything.

For all the shit I gave George W. Bush on policy, he always at least pretended that the choices he was making was what he felt was best for me, even if I didn't believe it yet.

[ArtieChokePhin]

Desantis is a good example of that.  I don't hate every single choice he's made and even when he does stuff like ease COVID restrictions, he doesn't do it in a measured, intelligent way.  He is brash and undermines his message in a way that makes it more dangerous for us and turns it into a political thing.

Even though I might find it too early to open certain businesses, I can handle a statement like that, because it's the right message.  I really feel like this new brand of Republicans is not at all interested in doing what's best for me, but they have a "fuck you", stick a finger in your eye, taunting way about everything.

Maybe because we're sick and tired of what the left is trying to do, and the COVID shutdown was a perfect example.  Develop a fearful mentality in the people, shut the country down for a virus that has a 99.6% survival rate, then blame Trump for the inevitable economic downturn. 

And so what if we have a "fuck you" way of going about it.  I really don't care if doing what's right hurts some people's feelings.  That's the beauty of living in America.  The constitutional right to free speech and free expression was put in place to protect those that could be offensive.

[Spider-Dan]

Dave, your mistake is in believing that the policy is the point.  Doing the stuff you say, but with a conciliatory and bipartisan tone, would defeat the whole purpose.  The goal is to trigger the libs, and the more triggered they are, the more his base loves it.

CF revealed it long ago: the post-Trump right just want their leaders to attack liberals without ever apologizing.  It's cathartic to hear DeSantis, MTG, Trump, etc. say all the things they wish they could, but won't (IRL) because of the social backlash they would receive.

[Tenshot13]

DeSantis 2024

[ArtieChokePhin]

Florida likes to pretend it's purple, but it's not.  It's a red state at this point.

The northern part of the state is red.  Where we live is blue.  The I-4 corridor is the purple part.... and that's the part that picks presidents.

[CF DolFan]

CF revealed it long ago: the post-Trump right just want their leaders to attack liberals without ever apologizing.  It's cathartic to hear DeSantis, MTG, Trump, etc. say all the things they wish they could, but won't (IRL) because of the social backlash they would receive.

You hear whatever you want to don't you? Must of really sucked in school when being tested for reading comprehension. There is a certain percentage that gets off of the way Trump pisses people off but it's his policies that sell him to the majority of his voters. Myself and others that I know support Trump but are not looking for him to return in 2024. He's opened the eyes to other politicians to let them know it's ok to be a Republican and you don't have to sell out like the Bush's and others in government. Give me Nikki Haley and DeSantis over Trump any day.