Are migrating Democrats turning Florida blue?

For long-time residents of Florida, who enjoy the state’s low taxes, safe streets and sensible pro-business policies, the recent special election was their worst nightmare come true.  

Millions of people have moved to the Sunshine State in recent years, particularly during the pandemic, attracted to a pleasant quality of life, an unobtrusive government and, for sure, wonderful weather. Among that throng have been many Democrats fleeing New York, New Jersey, Illinois, California and other blue states, driven out mainly by those states’ burdensome taxes and high crime rates.   

For years, Floridians (and Texans, who have also welcomed large numbers of blue-state refugees) have watched this in-migration with concern, wondering when newly arrived Democrats would start to turn their state blue.

In Palm Beach, a prime destination for New York billionaires, those fears have been magnified. In a special election for a state district that includes Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s famous club, a Democrat just defeated a Republican to claim a seat that the Republican incumbent won by 19 points in 2024, in a district Trump won by 11 points.  

What are voters thinking? Do they really want to kill the golden goose that has made Florida so livable? Were they lashing out against Donald Trump, willing to sacrifice the benefits of GOP administration just to show their fury? 

Some suggest the defeat of Jon Maples, the Trump-endorsed Republican running in Florida’s 87th district, is a sign of Trump’s declining popularity. Others blame complacency and low turnout — South Florida residents may be so accustomed to Republicans winning that many didn’t bother to vote. 

It might have been both of these things. Trump called in his social media post for people to choose the Republican candidate, whom he called a “very successful Businessman and Civic Leader” he also wrote (in........

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