Although Florida is famous for snowbirds, not all of them have been heading back north once winter ends. The Sunshine State is the fastest-growing state in the Union for the first time since 1957, attributing the governance of Ron DeSantis (R) as the driver for this milestone.
According to the Census Bureau, Florida's population sits at just over 22 million, over 9 times larger than it was in 1946. Florida's Voice specifically cites DeSantis' COVID policies as a major reason why the state has received so many newcomers. "The governor stood against lockdowns, mask mandates and vaccine mandates while other states did the opposite, leading to a tidal wave of people relocating to the Sunshine State," the article says.
There is, however, a fear those fleeing these states will bring their politics with them. "They will not draw the connection between their leftist ideology and the destruction that’s all around them. So it is a problem because I do think there is a class of voters who would come to Florida and they would continue to vote the same way," DeSantis is quoted in the article.
Back in September, however, Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez was optimistic about the voting habits of these new arrivals. "We've seen so many Californians leave the draconian lockdown state, and so, again, I think what we'll see in November is a very loud message sent to the DNC, and the local Democratic Parties, that Florida voters are fed up with their radical agenda," Nunez said in September.
And we all saw how the midterms went about, as DeSantis crushed his contender Charlie Crist (D) by 20 points and Florida Republicans such as Cory Mills, Anna Paulina Luna, Aaron Bean, and Laurel Lee picked up four seats in the House, while Sen. Marco Rubio enters his third term in the Senate.
So not only is Florida the fastest-growing state, it is becoming a solidly red one too.
