DeSantis ‘vibes’ could pull Florida Latinos away from Trump, GOP operatives say
It’s possible that Florida Latinos could support Gov. Multiple Latino Republican operatives have told the Washington Examiner that Ron DeSantis (R.FL) will beat Donald Trump in an eventual 2024 presidential primary.
Trump’s victory in Florida in the 2016 and 2020 presidential election was largely due to Trump’s Latino vote. During the past two years, Latinos grew to be the largest voter bloc.
The Pew Research Center estimates that 34.5 million Hispanic Americans are eligible to vote in 2022. This is an increase of more than 4.7 millions compared to the previous election. It also accounts for 62%, or roughly, of all eligible voters going into the November midterm elections.
Republicans made significant investments in Latino outreach during the 2022 cycle. Although the party did not secure a Latino-fueled national electoral red wave, DeSantis won heavily Latino counties including Miami-Dade.
|
One Latino GOP agent based in South Florida said that Miami turned red due to the “vibes” DeSantis exuded during his handling of the coronavirus epidemic.
On Wednesday, the operative told the Washington Examiner that the governor’s stock rose among Miami’s young Latino professionals because he “took up a stand” by refusing to close down businesses in response to COVID-19.
The person said that DeSantis’ support has been overwhelming for Floridians and Latinos. Part of the shift is that many of the influential people, some of them just industry professionals in Miami, were happy that DeSantis didn’t close the state during the pandemic. They were happy that the gyms, restaurants, and clubs had reopened, as well as everyday life in Miami, which is heavily tourist-based, which is also heavy on entertainment.
“Those individuals believed that this was a representation for what they desired. They believed that it was the best thing for their lives. “I would even go so far as to say that when Ron DeSantis was attacked by the media for his decision to reopen Florida or keep Florida open, those people felt that it was a moment to be proud in the sense they felt that the media wasn’t just against Ron, but against them,” said the operative. “DeSantis made conservative Miami cool.”
According to three other Latino GOP operatives, Trump and DeSantis have almost identical platforms. This means that Latino voters could vote for DeSantis despite Trump’s legal troubles.
One operative said, “He’s Trump, but younger and without all the baggage.”
According to polling, Florida Latinos tend to be more conservative than Latinos from other states. BPS Research data showed that just 44% of Florida Latinos were open to voting Democrat in the week prior to the 2022 elections. This compares to 67% who responded in the 10 states with the highest Latino populations.
Gabe Sanchez, Vice President of BPS, stated that Florida was the exception. “Despite the myth that we would see a massive red wave, partly fueled by the Latino movement towards Republican Party, this simply didn’t happen in the election.
On Tuesday night, Trump unveiled his 2024 White House bid from Mar-a-Lago in South Florida. Trump was the first high-ranking Republican to announce his candidacy. However, he already identified DeSantis his main rival before the midterm elections.
DeSantis has mostly avoided criticism of Trump himself, even though the ex-president attacks him in interviews and at rallies. At a Tuesday afternoon press conference, DeSantis made a subtle remark.
When DeSantis was asked about Trump’s attacks by reporters, he stated that one of his lessons as governor was to expect “incoming fire” along with success.
“I think you will find that all of this noise is just noise. What matters is how you lead, are your getting in front issues, are results being delivered for people and are you standing up to folks,” he said. “At the end, I would tell people to check out the scoreboard that was posted last Tuesday night.”
