Darryl Paulson, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Darryl PaulsonOctober 17, 2013

Let me start by acknowledging that I am an ideologue. I have been a life-long Republican and have served as a Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, America’s leading conservative think tank. Half of the people reading the opening paragraph, the conservatives, are anxious to read what their fellow conservative has to say. The other half, […]

Darryl PaulsonOctober 10, 2013

Congressman Bill Young’s announcement Wednesday that he would retire at the end of his current term took politicians across Florida by surprise. Young, who has represented Pinellas County since 1970 and is in in his 22nd term, is the longest-serving Republican in the House. During his tenure, Young has secured hundreds of millions of dollars […]

Darryl PaulsonSeptember 30, 2013

Second of two parts. Republicans won control of the Florida Senate in 1994, the House in 1996 and the governor’s office in 1998, making Florida the first southern state to have complete Republican control over the legislative and executive branch. Republicans have maintained their control for two decades even though Democrats have an advantage in […]

Darryl PaulsonSeptember 30, 2013

First of two parts. Florida is the home of razor-thin election victories. From George W. Bush’s controversial 537-vote victory over Al Gore to Barack Obama’s .9 percent margin over Mitt Romney, the whole nation watches Florida. Florida’s close elections are an artifact of its partisan coalitions. These coalitions are undergoing some profound changes that will […]

Darryl PaulsonSeptember 26, 2013

Over the past several decades, there has been a growing debate about the gender gap and the role, if any, that it plays in elections. Scholars generally agree that women are more likely to support Democratic candidates, while males lean Republican in their voter preferences. Although women are more likely to vote Democrat than males, […]

Darryl PaulsonSeptember 25, 2013

Last of nine parts. In the first eight articles in this series I discussed the long and shameful legacy of voter discrimination in Florida. Neither Democrats nor Republicans should have any pride in how they have treated the black electorate in the past 200 years. Democrats, who politically controlled Florida for about 140 of the […]

Darryl PaulsonSeptember 24, 2013

Eighth in a series. Republicans and blacks dominated politics in Florida for about 20 years immediately after the Civil War. The end of Reconstruction also brought an end to Republican dominance for the next 115 years. Even though the Democrats drew the election district lines in 1992, Republicans took control of the Florida Senate in […]

Darryl PaulsonSeptember 23, 2013

Seventh in a series In the first six articles in this series, I focused on the specific barriers confronting blacks seeking to exercise the voting franchise. In the next two articles, the focus is on how both the Democrats and Republicans adopted policies to suppress black voting. The Union victory in the Civil War did […]

Darryl PaulsonSeptember 22, 2013

Sixth in a series. The 2000 presidential election in Florida exposed numerous problems with the election process, and many of those problems were disproportionately likely to affect black voters. As the nation waited for the Florida election results to see who would be the next president of the United States, complaints emerged about antiquated voting […]

Darryl PaulsonSeptember 19, 2013

Fifth in a series The civil rights movement and the passage of federal laws such as the Voting Rights Act ended the major hurdles to black voting in Florida and the South. Black voter registration soared and, with the passage of time, hundreds of blacks in Florida would be elected to political office. The election […]

Darryl Paulson
Image via AP.

Darryl Paulson: The problem with ideologues

Darryl Paulson: Who will seek long-serving Congressman Bill Young’s Florida seat?

Darryl Paulson: The Changing Partisan Coalition in Florida: The Republicans

Darryl Paulson: Florida’s Changing Partisan Coalitions: The Democrats

Darryl Paulson: The gender gap in Florida: Fact or fiction?

Darryl Paulson: Black voter discrimination: What lies ahead?

Darryl Paulson: Black voter discrimination in Florida: The Republican Party

Darryl Paulson: Black voter discrimination in Florida: the Democratic Party

Darryl Paulson: Voter Discrimination from the 2000 presidential election to the present

Darryl Paulson: Black voter discrimination in Florida: Vote dilution