There have been a lot of firsts that have hit the Republican Party since Donald Trump took over. First, the Rust Belt was in play every time he ran. Until 2016, the GOP only won Pennsylvania, for example, just once in 1988. Trump won it again in 2024, which sealed the deal. Trump clinched Wisconsin and Michigan, too. These states were once viewed as unattainable for the GOP of old. Ohio, the make-or-break state in elections for Republicans, is now reliably red.
Times change, as do pathways to get to 270. Florida was another state that was viewed as becoming forever blue before Trump. Now, it’s one of the reddest states in the country and hard-core MAGA. And with changing times comes this new update: Miami-Dade County, once a deep blue bastion, has flipped Republican for the first time (via The Hill):
Florida Republicans took the lead in voter registration in Miami-Dade County on Monday, flipping what was once considered a Democratic stronghold for the first time in the state’s history, according to Decision Desk HQ.
Republicans made up 464,370 voters, or 34 percent of voters, in the county, while Democrats made up 440,790 voters, or 32.27 percent. Voters classified as “others” made up 460,783 voters, or 33.73 percent.
The updated numbers came after the county completed its off-year voter roll maintenance. According to DDHQ data science director Michael Pruser, the county shed 172,747 voters from its active rolls. That led to Republicans netting more than 38,000 voters.
While Miami-Dade County has historically leaned Democratic, there have been signs the county has shifted in recent years. Last year, President Trump flipped the county at the presidential level for the first time in 36 years. That win was a part of a slew of wins in the state in November that further cemented the state’s status as a deep-red state.
The Republican voter advantage in Florida is now over 1.2 million. It’s the Trump effect. Some argue that these changes are good for the party and that Trump has been a cancer to the GOP. Those are the extreme minority. They had their shot. They had a chance to defend their vision of the party and were flatly rejected. Winning the Rust Belt in two of the last three elections, winning the popular vote in 2024, flipping Miami-Dade, and cobbling together what is a carbon copy of the Obama coalition—young voters, non-whites, and working-class voters—seems like good things to me.
What Trump has built is an unbeatable coalition.
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