Garcia Sets 2024 Path for Miami-Dade County

Though the topic of a “red wave” is still up for debate, one thing is clear – Florida decidedly voted Republican. Moreso, Miami-Dade County, a county that is still blue regardless of the election results, voted in favor of Republican leadership for the first time in many elections.

Credit is extended to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) and local leaders for driving a pro-Democracy and anti-Socialism message, and in an exclusive interview with Miami-Dade County Commissioner Rene Garcia, he discussed what Republicans must do moving forward into the 2024 election cycle.

Garcia, who’s also the Miami-Dade Republican Executive Committee Chairman, told The Floridian that Miami-Dade overperformed, saying that it helped to be “blessed to have a governor like Ron DeSantis with a positive economic track record at the head of the ticket. Equally as important, we had Senator Marco Rubio and Lt. Governor Jeanette Nuñez, two Miami-Dade products on the ballot.” Garcia also shared that Republicans “had a myriad list of amazingly talented state house and senate candidates, as well as local candidates,” which resulted in GOP candidates winning by a large margin.

However, political pundits estimated that November 8^th would result in a “red wave,” which has been disputed. Although Florida went further red, Garcia reiterated that “Miami-Dade County is still a blue county,” and Republicans have much work to do to ensure a successful trajectory.

“If we are the party of freedom of speech, then we must not take any group for granted,” Garcia affirmed, detailing that “every minority group represented in our community needs to have a seat at the table. As Republicans, we believe that people have the right to live their lives as they see fit, just don’t impose your way of life on me or my family.”

Simply put, Garcia warned that “your rights end the moment it collides with my right and that of my family.”

To further add to November 8^th’s gains, Garcia noted that his work as Chair will focus on the election “good Republicans to the county commission, school board, and different municipalities across our community.”

While the state overwhelmingly voted to reelect Gov. DeSantis, the state also overwhelmingly voted to reelect President Donald Trump (R) in 2020, marking an affinity to two potential 2020 Republican presidential primary rivals.

With President Trump directing choice words at DeSantis, Garcia told The Floridian that Miami-Dade is welcoming to any candidate “that will finally put a break to the runway spending which is fueling the inflation that is hurting the families in our community.”

“There is no doubt there is a role for government, but it must be limited government,” Garcia added because “government does not and will never have all the answers.”

“DeSantis wins Dade County because we were able to build a broad base coalition of people who believe in capitalism, entrepreneurship, hard work, and self-responsibility,” Garcia explained, saying that he has not had a conversation with DeSantis about a possible 2024 run.

In contrast to the tactics that President Trump is utilizing with DeSantis, Garcia did lament that “where we have had contentious, personal attacks, and mud-slinging primaries, odds were that Republicans did not win the general election. It’s incumbent on us to elect Republicans that do not only win primaries but can win a general election in this melting pot we call the United States of America.”