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Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., lamented Tuesday that his state looks set for Republican dominance for decades to come, particularly after Democratic missteps amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Once a swing state, Florida has become a Republican stronghold, attracting an influx of new voters fleeing from other parts of the country. After historic GOP victories in 2022, one liberal local news outlet complained the state had become a “crimson hellscape.”
“I don’t know what the future of the Democratic Party holds in Florida,” Moskowitz told Todd on the “Chuck Toddcast.” “Democrats had power in Florida for 100+ years. We’re 35 years into Republican rule. We may be here for another 70.”
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Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat from Florida, speaks to members of the media. (Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“How much of this is a voter shift, and how much of this is a lack of investment and leadership in the state party?” Todd asked.
“There’s not just one thing that has gone wrong to get us here,” Moskowitz responded, noting logistical issues like difficulty raising funds and attracting top talent to Tallahassee after decades out of power.
He added that even when Democrats held a registration advantage, Republicans continued to win governor’s races.
“Now there are 1.2 million more registered Republicans. It’s starting to get to a point that it’s not recoverable, at least in the short term,” he said.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., says he feuded with other Democrats about COVID-19 policy, warning it went overboard and alienated voters. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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“But at the same time,” he said, noting a far more serious issue for the party. “I think you really gotta look at COVID. COVID was a seminal moment in politics.”
“The policies that came out of COVID, closing of schools, the fact that Florida opened schools early because the data was clear it wasn’t spreading in schools, right? That’s a big piece, Chuck,” he said.
Florida under Gov. Ron DeSantis was a stark contrast to blue states that pursued draconian lockdown policies amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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In 2018, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis won by less than a percentage point. However, after his leadership during COVID, DeSantis won re-election by a nearly 19-point margin over his Democratic opponent in 2022.
