Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis bragged Tuesday on the increase of the state's Republican popularity over Democrats over the past several years, in part he says due to the party's conservative agenda on voters.
"Florida never had more registered Republicans than Democrats for the state’s entire history until late 2021," DeSantis said. "Republicans were hundreds of thousands registrations in the hole six years ago. Today, there are 1.2 million more Republicans than Democrats in the Sunshine State."
Ron DeSantis credited the GOP's "ambitious" conservative policy agenda for fueling the party's popularity in the state.
DeSantis, who defeated Democratic candidate Charlie Crist by nearly 20 points in the 2022 governor's race, particularly pointed to the GOP's newfound strength in Miami-Dade County, which is the most populous county in the state.
The governor defeated Crist by over 11 points in Miami-Dade. In doing so, DeSantis became the first Republican governor to win the county since Gov. Jeb Bush did so in 2002.
President Donald Trump also won Miami-Dade over Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. Similarly, Donald Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to win the county since George H.W. Bush in 1988.
In his post, DeSantis also boasted about his win in Palm Beach County, which he called a former Democrat firewall turned now swing county. DeSantis beat Crist by nearly 3 points in Palm Beach County.
President Donald Trump narrowly lost to Kamala Harris in Palm Beach County by three-quarters of a percent or about 6,000 votes. By making gains in the county and South Florida, Trump trounced Harris by over 13 points in the state overall.
Given so, DeSantis predicted Palm Beach County could soon flip firmly red in voter registrations in the next election cycle or two. According to the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections, Democrats hold a 37,000 vote lead over Republicans in the county.
Notably, Independents represent about 290,000 voters.
Both DeSantis and Trump made significant strides in Florida during their respective elections in 2018 and 2020. Trump beat former President Joe Biden by 4.5 points in 2020 while DeSantis beat Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum by less than half a percentage point.
At the state level, Republicans hold supermajorities in both the House and Senate. Florida Democrats have not held legislative power in roughly 30 years or the governor's mansion since early 1999.
