Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
It has been nearly two years since the Florida Republicans surpassed Democrats in voter registrations, and the advantage keeps growing.
According to the most recent book closing report published by the Florida Division of Elections, there were about 5.28 million registered Republicans and 4.97 registered Democrats who were eligible to vote in the 2022 election, a gap of about 306,000.
But according to data touted by the Republican Party of Florida, the GOP’s edge had grown to about 500,000 by the end of May — a swing of more than 225,000 voters since the beginning of the year and more than 900,000 since 2018.
“This shift clearly showcases both the strength of the Republican Party and the expedited extinction of the Democrat Party in the Sunshine State, which cannot happen soon enough,” Republican Party of Florida Chair Christian Ziegler said in a news release. “Our children and grandchildren will thank us for the voter registration gains we are experiencing today.”
RPOF also highlighted county-level numbers showing that Democrats have ceded the advantage to Republicans in 14 counties since 2018.
The growing gulf is partially due to voters being removed from the rolls — there were about 82,000 fewer eligible voters at the end of May than before last year’s election. Republicans saw a net gain of about 34,000 voters between October and the end of last month while Democrats lost about 156,000 voters. No-party voters increased from 3.99 million to 4.01 million over the same stretch.
As a percentage of the overall electorate, about 37% of Florida voters are registered Republicans and 33% are registered Democrats. Third- and no-party voters account for the remaining 30%.
Results at the polls belie the 4-point registration gap, and the GOP has been outperforming Democrats in elections since long before they secured the plurality in October 2021 — outside of former Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, no Democrat has won a statewide election in the past decade.
Evening Reads
—”Ron DeSantis donor supplied golf simulator for ‘Governor’s Cabana’ and private flights” via Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey, Nate Jones, Michael Scherer and Alice Crites of The Washington Post
—”DeSantis is playing fast and loose with campaign finance laws” via Alexander Sammon of Slate
—“DeSantis needs to do some challenging interviews” via Rich Lowry of National Review
—“ProPublica asked about Samuel Alito’s travel. He replied in the Wall Street Journal.” via Paul Farhi and Robert Barnes of The Washington Post
—”The 50-year culture war over affirmative action may be coming to an end” via Fabiola Cineas of Vox
—“Donald Trump seems to be afraid, very afraid” via Tom Nichols of The Atlantic
—“Student loan pause is ending, with consequences for economy” via Lydia DePillis of The New York Times
—“FDP touts Leadership Blue gala sold-out ticket sales” via Gray Rohrer of Florida Politics
—”New political committee, 1000 Jews of Florida, seeks to unite community facing hate” via Anne Geggis of Florida Politics
—”Maxwell Frost, Frederica Wilson seek full pardon for Desmond Meade” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
Quote of the Day
“This corrupt scheme to generate fake support for his failing presidential campaign is both a major threat to our democracy and a sad look into the psyche of a man whose ambitions have driven him and his sycophants to lives of crime.”
— Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried, on allegations DeSantis held the budget hostage to land endorsements.
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Breakthrough Insights
Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.
