There was a time two weeks ago (oh my god, were we ever that adolescent?!) when political pundits and analysts offered their perspectives and laid out their careers in election predictions.
That was back when pollster Ann Selzer said Kamala Harris had a 3 percentage point lead in Iowa and was on an upward trend that appeared to be tipping the election in her direction. She and the energetic pundits who touted her extraordinary result were embarrassed because she was only off by 16% when Trump easily took the state.
Others offered their wise predictions, including some seers who speculated that Florida State could be flipped. Such was the enthusiasm and positivity that some believed Harris could transform the Republican stronghold, no longer considered a swing state, into a blue paradise.
The Republican Party of Florida has released a post that is eye-catching for political wonks. The Sunshine State GOP has lent its support to, of all people, a Democrat!
Nikki Fried has our full support to lead @FlaDems for another 4 years. She is the only one who can successfully bring the Democratic Party to complete extinction in the Sunshine State. We wish her all the best.
—Florida GOP (@FloridaGOP) November 15, 2024
Call it whatever you want; epic trolling, attacking football, mocking those affected… anyone and everyone can apply. Nikki Fried is someone who has been operating under a chunky cloud of delusions for a long time. When she served as agriculture commissioner in the state capital, she boasted that Democrats were growing in nature while she was – literally – the only elected party member holding a position of power in the state legislature. In her social media bio, she even claimed to be the only elected Democrat in Tallahassee.
Then she took that hubris and ran for the governor’s mansion, where she couldn’t even win her party’s primary, losing to Charlie Crist, who was overtaken in the election by Ron DeSantis, losing by 20 points. The Florida Democrats then wisely elected her as the state’s party leader.
Since taking on the position, Fried has regularly caused a stir. She bragged that Democrats flipped some state seats in Jacksonville and Orange County, both Democratic regions. She chose the Florida panther as the party mascot, which was fitting in a way she hadn’t considered since it is a critically endangered species that is withering in numbers and arduous to find in this region.
I’m just thinking about the election experts who said Florida is in play and could potentially falter in this election. pic.twitter.com/uOtaCPNw6G
— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) November 16, 2024
The result of the November 5th election? Florida went from red to maroon. Trump led the state by 13 points. Democrats took all six counties – SIX! Miami-Dade – which has historically been blue, apparently went to Trump by 11 percent! And all this media pressure to alienate Hispanics because a comedian told a joke at the Madison Square Garden rally?
While most metropolitan areas across the country are traditionally blue, in Florida the Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville regions are all on the Republican side. Two Central Florida counties that are Puerto Rican enclaves — Osceola and Hillsborough — turned red. Additionally, two amendments on the ballot that Democrats strongly supported — codifying abortion (Amendment 4) and legalizing marijuana (Amendment 3) — were defeated. Amendment Question 3 was a personal blow to Fried, as She has direct ties to the marijuana industry in the state.
This is a garbage result for the Democratic Party in Florida. That’s why the state’s Republican Party leadership enthusiastically pushed for Nikki Fried to stay on for another four years.
MAGA tov failed @FlaDems Chairwoman Nikki Fried and her record-breaking voter turnout deficit! When are you stepping down? #BecauseFlorida #BecauseMiami pic.twitter.com/jTeOJpaFNG
— Billy Corben (@BillyCorben) November 6, 2024
