HIALEAH, Fla. - Miami-Dade County GOP Chairman and state Rep. Alex Rizo, R-Hialeah sized up the state of the presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump with less than 40 days till the election.
"Lot of buzz about upcoming election. Republicans are fired up, conservative independents are taking a side, disenfranchised Democrats are going to cross party lines, and the Jewish vote is going to split," Rizo told The Floridian.
According to the sdFlorida Division of Elections, there are 1 million more registered Republicans than Democrats in the state. For context, there were more registered Democrats than Republicans in Florida in 2020.
Trump also has indicated he could win 50% of the Jewish vote in November.
Once considered a swing state, Florida has become reliably red in recent presidential races.
In 2020, Trump carried Florida over President Joe Biden by over three points. He also defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016 by just over 1 point.
However, Trump was defeated by Biden in Miami-Dade County by seven points and Clinton by nearly 30 points in each race.
Possibly seeing a red trend, Trump is scheduled to speak in Miami to Hispanic voters in October. The county is 70% Hispanic overall and represents 15% of the national voting bloc.
Former President Barack Obama was the last Democrat to win Florida, having defeated former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in 2012. Obama also won the state in 2008 over former Arizona Senator John McCain.
Florida's red shift also has been helped by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. In 2022, DeSantis defeated Democrat Charlie Crist by nearly 20 points. He also became the first Republican to win Miami-Dade since Jeb Bush in 2002.
Currently, Trump is predicted to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris by six points.
