Florida had been widely viewed for years as a swing state, but Republicans‘ dominant performance in 2022 put that status in question, and Tuesday’s election further solidified the Sunshine State’s red shift.
Across the board, Republicans won in the state legislature, ballot measures, and presidential race, among other contests. Democrats had expressed hope that Florida was “in play” for the November election. Instead, the party is left with more questions than answers after another crushing general election defeat.
Harris trounced in presidential contest
In the presidential race, President-elect Donald Trump thumped Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in his adopted home state, 56.1%-43%, winning by nearly 1.5 million votes. It was the largest victory margin for a presidential election in Florida since then-Vice President George H.W. Bush’s 1988 win.
Trump shifted every county in the state more Republican in the presidential tally compared to 2020 and flipped six counties: Duval, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Osceola, Pinellas, and Seminole.
The Tuesday election in Miami-Dade County was the first time a Republican presidential candidate has won it since 1988. It marks a significant shift from 2016, when the county voted for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over Trump 63.22%-33.83%. In 2024, the county voted for Trump over Harris 55%-44%.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) also easily won reelection to his seat, defeating Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell by a similar margin. The Associated Press called both the presidential and Senate races in Florida about an hour after polls closed.
Democrats contended that the state would be “in play” at the presidential level, touting abortion on the ballot as something that could motivate Democratic voters, but instead, Harris and the abortion measure went down.
Abortion and marijuana ballot measures go down
Amendment 4, which would have prevented the state from making laws that “prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider,” failed to pass on Tuesday. It was the first ballot measure vote since the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in which abortion-rights activists lost and anti-abortion activists were victorious.
Amendment 3, which Florida Democrats supported and Florida Republicans opposed, would have legalized recreational marijuana, but it also failed to reach the 60% threshold required to pass as a ballot measure.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) campaigned hard against both amendments and took a victory lap Tuesday night after both appeared to be doomed.
With polls now closed in Florida —
Amendment 3 has failed.
Amendment 4 has failed.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) November 6, 2024
The governor, who has two years remaining on his final term, saw wins in various state races during the big night for the Florida GOP.
Republicans win major state races
After the 2022 elections, Republicans won supermajorities in both the state Senate and House, and Democrats made it a top priority to break those margins in 2024.
Republicans are projected to have 28 of the 40 seats in the state Senate and at least 82 of the 120 seats in the state House, according to the New York Times. The result means Republicans will have overwhelming control of the Sunshine State’s legislature for the final two years of DeSantis’s governorship.
DeSantis also scored a victory against a state attorney he suspended from office in 2022.
The Florida governor suspended Democrat Andrew Warren as state attorney for the 9th Judicial Circuit after Warren announced that he would not enforce some state laws. DeSantis appointed Republican Suzy Lopez to finish out Warren’s term. On Tuesday, Lopez defeated Warren 53%-47%.
The other prosecutor DeSantis suspended, Monique Worrell, won back her office on Tuesday but did so by beating independent Andrew Bain by a significantly tighter margin than she was elected by in 2020.
Since 2020, Republicans have built momentum to put Florida out of reach for Democrats. The GOP overtook Democratic registered voters in the state in 2021 and has expanded that lead in the years since.
Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried said in a statement Wednesday that despite the results, their “fight is not over.”
“While the results of this election are not what we hoped for, the last thing Florida Democrats are going to do is give up,” Fried said.
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Florida Republican Party Chairman Evan Power celebrated the GOP victories up and down the ballot, saying “Florida Republicans should take a bow” on Tuesday.
“We knew we were in a strong position to win before today, but we are overwhelmed by the immense support Florida voters gave our Republican candidates—starting with President Donald J. Trump, Senator Rick Scott, our Florida Congressional delegation, and the rejection of the dangerous and deceptive Amendments 3 and 4,” Power said in a statement.
