DeSantis Says Florida Republicans Are 'Underperforming' at Early Voting as Democrats Keep the State Close
Gov. Ron DeSantis publicly conceded that Florida Republicans were slacking at early voting — a virtual tie in Polk County, in the I-4 corridor through Orlando, despite a 60,000-voter registration advantage there and a 1.5 million advantage statewide.
Florida's governor is saying out loud what his party's early-voting numbers suggest. Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is term-limited from seeking a third consecutive term, posted to social media that Florida Republicans were slacking at early voting despite the party's hefty statewide advantages in registered voters and fundraising. "Republicans are underperforming in Polk County," DeSantis posted, pointing to the strongly Republican county in the I-4 corridor region stretching from Tampa to Orlando. "We have a voter registration advantage of 60,000 in the county and it went R+30 four years ago." Polk County's early voting figures showed a virtual tie between the two parties as of Friday, the Washington Examiner reported.
The statewide picture rhymes. Registered Republicans in Florida outnumber Democrats by 1.5 million, yet the GOP led by only 89,000 in early ballots cast as of Friday, according to the report. Republicans often see higher in-person turnout on Election Day than during early voting or vote-by-mail, and the governor's and Senate races are still widely expected to favor Byron Donalds and Ashley Moody on Tuesday — but the victory margins will help set how much money national Democrats send south for the 2028 presidential cycle in a state that was once a toss-up.
The money already spent has not bought separation. Democrats have spent upward of $100 million this cycle on air time alone behind David Jolly for governor, Angie Nixon for Senate and House candidates, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact, while Republicans have pumped in more than three times that — nearly $320 million — yet three of the four formerly Democratic-leaning congressional districts redrawn by the Republican-controlled Legislature are rated toss-ups or slightly favoring Democrats. "I don't think the redistricting is going to change the map, not the way Trump wanted to," said Angie Wong, a Republican Party executive committeewoman in Miami-Dade County. It has been eight years since Democrats won a statewide office in Florida — and, on the early numbers, the state is not behaving like a settled one.
