Dem Nightmare? 1st time in History FL Goes into Election Day with GOP in Lead
Despite the bad rap Florida has gotten from the far left and Democrats (think Gore vs. Bush from 2000), “The Sunshine State” is playing stage to one of the tighter gubernatorial races in the nation, with Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum holding the slightest of early edges over the Republican candidate, Rep. Ron DeSantis.
Or is he?
DeSantis actually claims otherwise, and it could have historic ramifications.
RealClearPolitics has Gillum, the mayor of Tallahassee, with a minuscule 47.7 percent to 45.1 percent lead over DeSantis. The Republican candidate, however, disputed the notion Sunday during an appearance on “Fox News.”
“Well we’re not trailing in actual people who have voted,” DeSantis told host Maria Bartiromo. “More than half the vote has been cast. If you look at the early and absentee votes, Republicans are leading for the first time ever at this stage.”
DeSantis went on to describe Trump’s own come-from-behind success in Florida.
“Donald Trump was down 175,000 Republican votes going into Election Day in 2016,” DeSantis said. “He won by about 175,000.”
Taking DeSantis at face value, this could spell good news for Republicans in Florida.
“We are going to be going into Election Day as Republicans, for the first time in recent Florida history, up going into election day,” DeSantis said.
As Bartiromo notes, Florida’s general political and economic climate has always leaned red. Florida’s desire for small government, lower taxes and non-existent income tax has certainly helped many Republicans in the state.
And to be clear, DeSantis’ claims should not be construed by potential Republican voters to dial things back. Regardless of whether it’s actually Gillum or DeSantis in the lead, the race for Florida governor is incredibly close. Republicans should not, and have nothing, to celebrate just yet.
But the general shift toward red is certainly good news.
By that same token, it should come as little surprise that DeSantis has a very real opportunity to beat Gillum. The Democratic gubernatorial candidate has been swimming in controversy. Whether it’s Gillum’s camp calling Florida a “cracker state,” or Gillum himself feuding with police officers while being investigated for corruption, the apparently progressive Democrat has had an up-and-down campaign trail.
Again — and this cannot be stressed enough, even with this allegedly historical lead — Republican voters in Florida must still come out in droves. This is a very tight race in a crucial state for both Democrats and Republicans.
And while it’s too early to celebrate, it’s not too early to accept some good news heading into one of the most heated midterm elections ever. Americans are getting sick and tired of being sick and tired with far-left politics and progressive nonsense.
Winning Florida would be a massive step toward rectifying that disdain.
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