{"id":574671,"date":"2023-05-15T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-15T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-florida-became-a-conservative-bastion\/"},"modified":"2023-05-15T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T10:00:00","slug":"how-florida-became-a-conservative-bastion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-florida-became-a-conservative-bastion\/","title":{"rendered":"#How Florida became a conservative bastion"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a261e0c3895b\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a261e0c3895b\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-florida-became-a-conservative-bastion\/#From_Obama_to_Trump\" >From Obama to Trump<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-florida-became-a-conservative-bastion\/#Republicans_move_in\" >Republicans move in<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-florida-became-a-conservative-bastion\/#Pandemic_shifts_Florida_to_right\" >Pandemic shifts Florida to right<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-florida-became-a-conservative-bastion\/#%E2%80%98Where_you_want_to_be_if_youre_a_someone_in_GOP_politics\" >\u2018Where you want to be if you\u2019re a someone in GOP politics\u2019<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-florida-became-a-conservative-bastion\/#Not_writing_it_off\" >Not writing it off<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>EDITOR\u2019S<\/strong> <strong>NOTE<\/strong>: <strong><em>This is the first in a five-part <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> called \u201cHow Florida got so conservative.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Florida\u00a0has become the nerve center of the modern Republican Party.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Once the nation\u2019s largest and most volatile swing state,\u00a0Florida\u00a0has lurched to the right in recent years, becoming a mecca for the GOP\u2019s most influential luminaries and wealthiest donors.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Republicans now hold supermajorities in the state legislature, and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has solidified his grip on the reins of political power in the state, turning\u00a0Florida\u00a0into a laboratory for conservative policy experiments. For the first time since Reconstruction, there\u2019s not a single Democrat in statewide elected office.<\/p>\n<p>But\u00a0Florida\u2019s transition from coveted political battleground to the premier haven of modern conservatism has been decades in the making, owing to a perfect storm of demographic changes, Republican power plays, pandemic politics and Democratic missteps, according to more than a dozen strategists, experts and officials interviewed by The Hill.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRepublicans focused on the ultimate goal,\u201d said Fernand Amandi, a Miami-based Democratic pollster who helped former President Barack Obama win the state in 2008 and 2012. \u201cThey thought things out in 10-year cycles. They built a permanent campaign <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>aratus. They started recruiting candidates to run for local office and springboarding them into higher office. They registered voters and managed the margins.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFlorida\u00a0is now mecca for MAGA,\u201d he added. \u201cIt is the one safe space and lighthouse for Republican MAGA voters across the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"From_Obama_to_Trump\"><\/span>From Obama to Trump<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1400\" height=\"787\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/obamabarackcampaign_AP_051223.png?w=900\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4001708\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/obamabarackcampaign_AP_051223.png 1400w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/obamabarackcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=160,90 160w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/obamabarackcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/obamabarackcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/obamabarackcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=1280,720 1280w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/obamabarackcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=645,363 645w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/obamabarackcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=320,180 320w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/obamabarackcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=256,144 256w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/obamabarackcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=512,288 512w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/obamabarackcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=640,360 640w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/obamabarackcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=876,492 876w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/obamabarackcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=960,540 960w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/obamabarackcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=50,28 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 899px) 100vw, 876px\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">File photo from 2012. (AP Photo\/Lynne Sladky)<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>It was just a decade ago, on the heels of Obama\u2019s reelection victory, that Democrats saw\u00a0Florida\u00a0as politically promising. <\/p>\n<p>Obama won Florida\u2019s electoral votes for the second consecutive presidential election in 2012, nearly tying then-GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney for the state\u2019s conservative-leaning Cuban American vote, and\u00a0Florida\u00a0was only becoming larger and more diverse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt seemed like things were actually going the other way at one time,\u201d Aubrey Jewett, a political <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a> professor at the University of Central\u00a0Florida, said. \u201cWhen Obama won the state, this seemed to be, at that time, confirmation of the \u2018demography is destiny\u2019 idea \u2014 as\u00a0Florida\u00a0gets less white, it\u2019s going to be more Democratic.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Instead, Republican nominee Donald Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Trump won again four years later \u2014 solidifying the idea Florida had gone red. In 2018, Republican Ron DeSantis was elected governor, and he won a huge reelection victory in 2022. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe last several years, with Trump and then DeSantis, seemed to bust that whole thing wide open,\u201d Jewett said. <\/p>\n<p>With Trump\u2019s move to Florida after his presidency, the two favorites for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination both lived in the state. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Republicans_move_in\"><\/span>Republicans move in<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1400\" height=\"787\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/trumpdonaldcampaign_AP_051223.png?w=900\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4001775\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/trumpdonaldcampaign_AP_051223.png 1400w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/trumpdonaldcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=160,90 160w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/trumpdonaldcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/trumpdonaldcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/trumpdonaldcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=1280,720 1280w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/trumpdonaldcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=645,363 645w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/trumpdonaldcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=320,180 320w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/trumpdonaldcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=256,144 256w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/trumpdonaldcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=512,288 512w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/trumpdonaldcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=640,360 640w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/trumpdonaldcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=876,492 876w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/trumpdonaldcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=960,540 960w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/trumpdonaldcampaign_AP_051223.png?resize=50,28 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 899px) 100vw, 876px\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">File photo from 2019. (AP Photo\/Evan Vucci)<\/p>\n<p>There are a few reasons for Florida\u2019s shift, which include Trump\u2019s presidency itself and the coronavirus pandemic. <\/p>\n<p>Both intersect with another big part of the recent shift in Florida\u2019s politics \u2014 the migration of new people into the Sunshine State \u2014 and not just Trump.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Florida\u00a0has been the nation\u2019s third-largest state for nearly a decade, but it is now growing faster than rival states \u2014 a point sometimes highlighted by DeSantis. <\/p>\n<p>Estimates released by the Census Bureau in December showed that, for the first time since 1957,\u00a0Florida\u00a0became the fastest-growing state in the country, netting more than 400,000 new residents in the year between July 2021 and July 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Those new arrivals, said Susan MacManus, a professional emeritus at the University of South\u00a0Florida\u00a0who specializes in\u00a0Florida\u00a0politics, have tilted heavily Republican. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>During the pandemic, nearly 394,000 new voters moved into\u00a0Florida,\u00a0and nearly half of them \u2014 46 percent \u2014 registered with the GOP, according to voter data from L2, a data vendor. Only about 23 percent registered to vote as Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile,\u00a0Florida\u2019s electorate was shifting from within. Between January 2021 and September 2022, nearly 550,000\u00a0Florida\u00a0voters changed their party affiliation, according to an analysis of state voter data by MacManus and her associates. Voters left the Democratic Party at nearly twice the rate as they left the GOP.<\/p>\n<p>The GOP voter gains have been striking. Republicans surpassed Democrats in voter registrations in late 2021, and they\u2019ve only continued to grow their lead. There are now nearly 437,000 more registered Republican voters in the state than Democrats, according to the most recent data published by the\u00a0Florida\u00a0Division of Elections.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>When Obama won reelection in 2012, Democrats held a roughly 550,000-voter lead over Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>Yet\u00a0Florida\u2019s rightward drift began even before Republicans gained their voter registration edge. After Trump narrowly beat out Clinton in 2016, he defeated President Biden in\u00a0Florida\u00a0four years later by 3 percentage points \u2014 a margin that, at the time, was seen as a relative landslide by Sunshine State standards.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Pandemic_shifts_Florida_to_right\"><\/span>Pandemic shifts Florida to right<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>While there\u2019s no one reason people move to\u00a0Florida, both Democrats and Republicans pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic as a turning point for the state and its politics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCOVID was the catalyst for the explosion of the Republican political shift in\u00a0Florida,\u201d said MacManus. \u201cIt changed the trajectory. They were moving here from blue states where they didn\u2019t like the policies. And it wasn\u2019t just retirees and wealthy folks. It was things like school policies, schools being opened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople move here because of policy,\u201d she added, \u201cbut policy and politics go hand in hand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>DeSantis, a former Trump acolyte who is now the ex-president\u2019s chief potential rival for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, played a key role in this process. <\/p>\n<p>DeSantis lifted COVID-19-related lockdowns and restrictions, bucking the advice of public health experts and officials. It proved popular: DeSantis sailed to a massive 19-point victory over Democratic opponent Charlie Crist in his reelection bid last year.<\/p>\n<p>The policies brought attention to DeSantis and his state, turning the lawmaker into a big national star in politics and solidifying the sense Florida had become a red state.<\/p>\n<p>For many, the 2022 midterm elections underscored just how complete the state\u2019s political transformation had become.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The details of DeSantis\u2019s win were even more alarming for Democrats. He managed to carry several Democratic-leaning counties, including Miami-Dade, becoming the first GOP gubernatorial candidate since former Gov. Jeb Bush in 2002 to win there.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1400\" height=\"787\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/desantisron_crist_AP_051223.png?w=900\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4001882\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/desantisron_crist_AP_051223.png 1400w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/desantisron_crist_AP_051223.png?resize=160,90 160w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/desantisron_crist_AP_051223.png?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/desantisron_crist_AP_051223.png?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/desantisron_crist_AP_051223.png?resize=1280,720 1280w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/desantisron_crist_AP_051223.png?resize=645,363 645w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/desantisron_crist_AP_051223.png?resize=320,180 320w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/desantisron_crist_AP_051223.png?resize=256,144 256w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/desantisron_crist_AP_051223.png?resize=512,288 512w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/desantisron_crist_AP_051223.png?resize=640,360 640w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/desantisron_crist_AP_051223.png?resize=876,492 876w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/desantisron_crist_AP_051223.png?resize=960,540 960w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/desantisron_crist_AP_051223.png?resize=50,28 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 899px) 100vw, 876px\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">File photo from Florida\u2019s 2022 gubernatorial debate. \u00a0(Crystal Vander Weit\/TCPalm.com via AP, Pool)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you would have told me two years ago or three years ago that Dade County would vote red, I would\u2019ve bet against you,\u201d said former Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), a moderate Republican who lost his reelection bid in 2018. \u201cIt was absolutely extraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Adding to Democrats\u2019 distress was DeSantis\u2019s success among Hispanic voters, a group that Democrats had seen as vital to their political coalition. Roughly 7 in 10 Miami-Dade County residents identify as Hispanic or Latino.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDemocrats took Hispanic voters for granted and just assumed that they would continue supporting the party at a growing rate,\u201d Curbelo said. \u201cRepublicans were extremely opportunistic and committed to the Hispanic vote in the state and never took any of those voters for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can see the change or the evolution in\u00a0Florida\u00a0the way the Hispanic community has shifted in recent years.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98Where_you_want_to_be_if_youre_a_someone_in_GOP_politics\"><\/span>\u2018Where you want to be if you\u2019re a someone in GOP politics\u2019<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The GOP\u2019s outsized influence in\u00a0Florida\u00a0is now difficult to overlook.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Even before his move to the state, Trump made the Sunshine State his political home, taking meetings with legions of Republican officials, donors and operatives at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach. For two years in a row, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) ditched its usual venue near Washington, D.C., for\u00a0Florida.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Just last year, Ken Griffin, the Republican megadonor and hedge fund executive, moved his family and his company Citadel from Chicago to Miami, joining a long list of prominent conservatives who have been drawn to the idea of the so-called \u201cFree State of\u00a0Florida\u201d in recent years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump moving to\u00a0Florida\u00a0brought a lot more national conservative operatives to the state who wanted to be near the president, near the action. And they started to look for their own niche in the state,\u201d one GOP donor said. \u201cIt\u2019s where you want to be if you\u2019re a someone in Republican politics.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"ns-block-embed-anvato\" data-anvato-player-id=\"p15\"><\/figure>\n<p>The center of GOP politics now seems to emanate from Florida \u2014 in part due to DeSantis, who has used his perch to advance a policy agenda that largely embodies the ideals of his party. <\/p>\n<p>DeSantis launched a political war against \u201cwokeness\u201d \u2014 a shorthand he uses to describe everything from \u201ccancel culture\u201d to discussions about race or gender identity \u2014 and created a state agency dedicated to investigating election crimes and voter fraud. <\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Not_writing_it_off\"><\/span>Not writing it off<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Democrats say they\u2019re not ready to write off\u00a0Florida. Yet many in the party are clear-eyed about their challenges.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0Florida\u00a0Democratic Party elected its third chairperson in little more than two years in February amid internal turmoil. Democratic state lawmakers lack any real ability to check DeSantis\u2019s power in Tallahassee. And some of the party\u2019s most prominent donors have pulled back on\u00a0Florida.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn terms of the funding, donors and national groups have more or less abandoned\u00a0Florida,\u201d one Democratic National Committee member, who requested anonymity to speak frankly about the party\u2019s troubles in the Sunshine State, said. \u201cAnd the question is what came first: the chicken or the egg? Are we losing because groups and donors left, or are groups and donors leaving because we lose in\u00a0Florida?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Amandi, the Miami-based pollster, said that Democrats are facing a reckoning in\u00a0Florida.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe question for Democrats at the state and national level is: Are they just going to sacrifice\u00a0Florida? Or are we going to reposition ourselves to be competitive in the state?\u201d Amandi said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the answer is the latter,\u201d he added, \u201cthen we need to see the commitment, the resources to say within the next eight-to-ten years, \u2018We can win the state again.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Media<\/a> Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/campaign\/3998391-how-florida-became-a-conservative-bastion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: This is the first in a five-part series called \u201cHow Florida got so conservative.\u201d Florida\u00a0has become the nerve center of the modern Republican Party.\u00a0 Once the nation\u2019s largest and most volatile swing state,\u00a0Florida\u00a0has lurched to the right in recent years, becoming a mecca for the GOP\u2019s most influential luminaries and wealthiest donors.\u00a0 Republicans&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":574672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/Hill-Graphic-06.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[18203,134417,134343,134553,10701,4941,6642,143150,48577,133498,115,67844,29102,134345],"class_list":["post-574671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-barack-obama","tag-blog-briefing-room","tag-campaign","tag-charlie-crist","tag-democrats","tag-donald-trump","tag-florida","tag-floridas-conservative-shift","tag-gop","tag-in-the-know","tag-news","tag-republicans","tag-ron-desantis","tag-state-watch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=574671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574671\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/574672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=574671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=574671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=574671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}