October Voter Registration Numbers have been released, and Florida has become more Republican. Since the 2016 election, Florida has grown more and more Republican, but October saw significant gains that could spell trouble for Democrats in the state.
In a message to supporters, Florida Republican Party Chairman Christian Ziegler released the numbers from last month. As of October 31, 2023, Republicans make up 5,153,695 of the current statewide registration totals compared to Democrats’ 4,473,665. This means that 38.03% of the state is registered as Republicans while 33.01% are registered as Democrats.
Before November of 2021, Democrats had more than Republicans statewide, but the tide has now turned to Republicans’ favor.
In October, Republicans increased their statewide advantage by .46%, which translates to 53,512 registrants.
Noting some key milestones in the state, Ziegler notes that since Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) was elected in 2018, Republicans have outregistered Democrats by 943,299. As well, since President Donald Trump (R) was elected in 2016, Republicans have out-registered Democrats by 1,007,468.
Similarly, Republicans have made significant gains when it comes to flipping counties red.
Republicans in Palm Beach County, which heavily votes Democrat, were able to diminish their deficit to the Democrat Party by 20,031. In Hillsborough County, Republicans diminished their deficit to the Democrat party by 17,594.
Looking ahead, Ziegler and the Florida Republican party are looking to flip counties that traditionally support Democrats.
St. Lucie is 1.07% away from flipping red, Madison is 4.05% from flipping red, and Hillsborough and Duval are respectively 1.92% and 3.32% from flipping red.
Florida Democrat Party Chair Nikki Fried (D) has remained firm in wanting to expand Democrat influence in the state despite polls indicating that Republicans are gaining more influence.
Chair Friend embarked on the Take Back Florida Tour, a statewide tour that ran until August. Democrats also committed to invest $1 million in voter registration this year.
