Politics of Florida

United States presidential election results for Florida
Year Republican / Whig Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 5,668,731 51.11% 5,297,045 47.76% 125,982 1.14%
2016 4,617,886 48.60% 4,504,975 47.41% 379,886 4.00%
2012 4,163,447 49.03% 4,237,756 49.90% 90,972 1.07%
2008 4,046,219 48.10% 4,282,367 50.91% 83,662 0.99%
2004 3,964,522 52.10% 3,583,544 47.09% 61,744 0.81%
2000 2,912,790 48.85% 2,912,253 48.84% 138,067 2.32%
1996 2,244,536 42.32% 2,546,870 48.02% 512,388 9.66%
1992 2,173,310 40.89% 2,072,698 39.00% 1,068,384 20.10%
1988 2,618,885 60.87% 1,656,701 38.51% 26,727 0.62%
1984 2,730,350 65.32% 1,448,816 34.66% 885 0.02%
1980 2,046,951 55.52% 1,419,475 38.50% 220,600 5.98%
1976 1,469,531 46.64% 1,636,000 51.93% 45,100 1.43%
1972 1,857,759 71.91% 718,117 27.80% 7,407 0.29%
1968 886,804 40.53% 676,794 30.93% 624,207 28.53%
1964 905,941 48.85% 948,540 51.15% 0 0.00%
1960 795,476 51.51% 748,700 48.49% 0 0.00%
1956 643,849 57.27% 480,371 42.73% 0 0.00%
1952 544,036 54.99% 444,950 44.97% 351 0.04%
1948 194,280 33.63% 281,988 48.82% 101,375 17.55%
1944 143,215 29.68% 339,377 70.32% 0 0.00%
1940 126,158 25.99% 359,334 74.01% 0 0.00%
1936 78,248 23.90% 249,117 76.08% 67 0.02%
1932 69,170 25.04% 206,307 74.68% 775 0.28%
1928 144,168 56.83% 101,764 40.12% 7,742 3.05%
1924 30,633 28.06% 62,083 56.88% 16,438 15.06%
1920 44,853 30.79% 90,515 62.13% 10,313 7.08%
1916 14,611 18.10% 55,984 69.34% 10,139 12.56%
1912 4,279 8.42% 35,343 69.52% 11,215 22.06%
1908 10,654 21.58% 31,104 63.01% 7,602 15.40%
1904 8,314 21.15% 27,046 68.80% 3,949 10.05%
1900 7,355 18.55% 28,273 71.31% 4,021 10.14%
1896 11,298 24.30% 32,756 70.46% 2,434 5.24%
1892 0 0.00% 30,153 85.01% 5,318 14.99%
1888 26,529 39.89% 39,557 59.48% 414 0.62%
1884 28,031 46.73% 31,769 52.96% 190 0.32%
1880 23,654 45.83% 27,964 54.17% 0 0.00%
1876 23,849 50.99% 22,927 49.01% 0 0.00%
1872 17,763 53.52% 15,427 46.48% 0 0.00%
1860 0 0.00% 223 1.68% 13,078 98.32%
1856 0 0.00% 6,358 56.81% 4,833 43.19%
1852 2,875 39.97% 4,318 60.03% 0 0.00%
1848 4,120 57.20% 3,083 42.80% 0 0.00%

Politics of Florida reflect a state that has experienced conflict between its liberal southern region and its traditionally conservative northern region. Politics often revolve around budgeting and how money for budgets should be raised.

Florida was originally part of the Solid South, as Democrats overwhelmingly won state and federal elections during the hundred years following the Civil War. However, in 1937, the requirement to pay a poll tax was repealed by the state legislature, allowing poorer Floridians to vote, and coupled with a growing tourist industry in the mid-20th century that attracted Northern retirees, the state became electorally competitive earlier than the rest of the South. Since 1928, the state has only voted for the losing presidential candidate three times, all for losing Republicans in 1960, 1992, and 2020.[1] In 1966, Claude Kirk was elected the first Republican governor of Florida since Reconstruction.[2] This was followed in 1968, with Republicans winning a Senate seat in the state for the first time since Reconstruction.

The Florida Elections Commission was established in 1973. In 2005, Jeb Bush signed a bill to abolish primary runoff elections,[3] resulting in all primary and general elections being determined by plurality rather than majority.

The state is dominated by Republicans on the state level, as Democrats have not held the governorship or either house of the legislature since 1999. Republicans currently have veto-proof majorities in both houses of the Florida legislature.[4] However, the state has become increasingly red since the late 2010s, as in 2018, Republicans captured both Senate seats in the state for the first time since Reconstruction.[5] In 2020, Florida voted 7.8 points right of the nation as a whole, the furthest it has voted from the nation since 1988, and it was the first election since 1992 that Florida backed the losing candidate. In 2022, Republicans won their largest statewide victories since Reconstruction and neared 60% of the vote. In 2021, registered Republicans surpassed Democrats for the first time in state history.[6] Florida approved its lottery by amending the constitution in 1984. It approved slot machines in Broward and Miami-Dade County in 2004. It has disapproved casinos (outside of sovereign Seminole and Miccosukee tribal areas) three times: 1978, 1986, and 1994.[7]

  1. ^ "Florida Presidential Election Voting History - 270toWin".
  2. ^ Florida:Timeline Archived 2007-04-04 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Runoff primary election is history now, Orlando Sentinel
  4. ^ "Republicans win big in Florida, flipping long Democratic Miami-Dade". 9 November 2022.
  5. ^ "Florida to have 2 Republican senators for the first time since the Reconstruction era". 10NEWS. November 18, 2018. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  6. ^ "Voter Registration - By Party Affiliation - Division of Elections - Florida Department of State". dos.myflorida.com. Archived from the original on 2021-09-17. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  7. ^ Haridopolos, Mike (March 11, 2014). "Legislature aims to rewrite gaming rules. 'Complex' issue affects billions of dollars in state revenue". Florida Today. Melbourne, Florida. pp. 1A. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2014.

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