OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
6:12 PM – Monday, April 8, 2024
In an interview over the weekend, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared that his state has changed positions from being a “swing state” to a GOP stronghold going into the 2024 presidential election.
DeSantis cited his own political work in the gubernatorial office as being the main reason for this.
“Swing states are those in US presidential elections that could potentially be won by either candidate. Also known as battleground states, these states are where presidential candidates focus their energy and resources throughout the campaign period,” according to polyas.com
On Sunday, DeSantis (R-Fla.) made his comments while discussing the large number of Americans who have relocated to Florida in recent years from other states during an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
In the interview, the Florida governor says that the state has transitioned from being a swing state to a GOP stronghold going into the election, as a result of the work he has done. This coincides with data showing that registered GOP voters now currently surpass Democrats by about 900,000.
“When I became governor of Florida had never had more registered Republicans than Democrats in state history,” DeSantis explained to Fox News host Maria Bartiromo. “And we were close to 300,000 fewer Republicans and Democrats, this is 2018. Today, we have close to 900,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats. So you’re talking about a million plus voter registration shift.”
“And yes, part of that, I think, is a response locally, where people are more likely to switch from Democrat to Republican in Florida, non party to Republican than vice versa and that’s been an important component of it,” DeSantis added. “But I do think that migration has skewed amongst people who come to Florida, not because they want to change the policies to reflect in Illinois, or California or New York, but because they appreciate how Florida has done it differently from where they’re coming from. And so I think that’s contributed to this really record thing.”
Local reports, such as one from USA Today, hinted at Florida’s previous status as the country’s most notable swing state, possibly most famously for its involvement in the 2000 presidential matchup between former United States President George W. Bush and then-Vice President Al Gore, have affirmed DeSantis’ assertions.
“Republicans now hold the biggest advantage in voter registration either major party has held in almost four decades,” the report states, highlighting that the GOP had an 851,417-voter advantage as of last month.
The panhandle of the state, a largely conservatives region, could even help Republicans win the election in November, as the report predicts.
In an X (Twitter) post on Thursday, DeSantis referenced the local publication Florida’s Voice, which gathered information showing that as of April 4th, Republican support is only increasing, “even more to 889,569.”
Democrats had purportedly lost 1,000 voters in that same period of time, according to the report.
“Florida is off the board,” DeSantis stated. “It is a Republican state, you’ve covered politics. We used to be a one point state, every election hung on how would Florida go, that is not true anymore. And I think that’s a good thing for the party.”
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