The Florida gubernatorial race was one of the first to be called on Election Day. In that race, Republican Ron DeSantis defeated Democrat Charlie Crist by a historic margin. The key to that victory was turning historically blue Miami-Dade County into red. Maria Elena Salinas of ABC reports that the county was flipped by Democrats who gave up fighting for Florida and the “disinformation” in the Latino community.
David Muir, Midterm Election, Your Voice, Your Vote2022 host, spoke for Democrats. He asked: “But there’s going be a question within Democratic circles, I mean have we lost Florida now?
She confirmed that “they have” taken control of Florida. She lamented that they have been slowly losing Florida to Republicans. “And when those numbers, blue, Miami-Dade, as you can see in that map, I see that Miami-Dade probably is the bluest county of the state. It’s something I see every day. I look out my window and see the blue ocean. But this time it looks like it’s turning red.
Continuing her analysis, Salinas admitted that Florida was no longer a swing state. She blamed Democrat inaction for Republican efforts and alleged “disinformation” in the Latino community.
It’s really the Democrats who are to blame for this. They have not fought back. You all know that Miami is a center of disinformation, particularly among Latino voters. Most residents of Miami-Dade are Latinos. They don’t fight back. It almost seems as if they have given in to Florida. Many people now consider Florida a red state and not a swing state.
This was the same tactic she used in 2020, when she blamed “disinformation for scaring Latinos into believing Democrats were “socialists.”
She concluded by trying reassure Democrats that Republican gains within the Latino community were not isolated to Florida.
It looks like the country is turning red, and the Latinos are responsible for that. It’s not indicative for the national Latino vote. Florida represents a small percentage of the Latino vote at a national level. We must be careful not to take too much from this. This is only Florida.
We’ll see.
Below is the transcript. Click “expand” for more information:
ABC’s Midterm Election – Your Voice, Your Vote 2022
November 8, 2022
Eastern, 8:38:46
(…)
DAVIDMUIR: Another major storyline from Florida – Maria Elena Salinas was the first to call it, so I want you to come in. I know you are from Miami, but you are here in New York. We are grateful for that. But there will be a question in Democratic circles. I mean, have the Republicans lost Florida? This was very early tonight, and we’ve seen the results of the previous two presidential cycles.
MARIA ELENA SALINAS : They have, David. They have been slowly losing Florida to Republicans. And I can see that blue, Miami-Dade, as you can see on the map, is probably the most blue county in the state. It’s something I see every day. I look out my window and see the blue ocean. But this time it looks like it’s turning red.
It’s really the Democrats who are to blame for this. They have not fought back. You all know that Miami is a center of disinformation, particularly among Latino voters. Most residents of Miami-Dade are Latinos. They don’t fight back. It almost seems as if they have given in to Florida. Many people now consider Florida a red state and not a swing state.
The Latino vote may go Republican for the first time. This is possible because, despite all the talk about the last election, Joe Biden won the Latino vote in Florida in 2020. It was just a smaller margin than Hillary Clinton’s election.
It looks like the country is turning red, and the Latinos are responsible for that. It’s not indicative for the national Latino vote. Florida represents a small percentage of the Latino vote at a national level. We must be careful not to take too much from this. This is only Florida.
(…)
