in Washington, DC — Florida, a swing state in the past, is now a Republican stronghold and the home turf of Republican front-runner Donald Trump. President Joe Biden will spend Tuesday collecting money in this state. Two fundraisers have been set up: one in Miami and one in Jupiter, which is around thirty minutes north of Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.
As concerns about a recession have diminished, Biden has been encouraged by optimistic economic reports. In preparation for what promises to be a long and costly election season, he is now keen to amass campaign funds to tout his record and take aim at Trump.
More than $97 million was reported raised in the last three months of last year by Biden's campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Despite the fact that Biden will likely not be swayed in November by Florida's affluent contributors, the state is still an essential destination for him. Trump won Florida in 2016 and 2020, whereas Obama won the state in 2008 and 2012.
Furthermore, in the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans swept Florida, defeating Democrats by nearly 20 percentage points in races for governor, U.S. Senate, and other state offices. Republican turnout is 800,000 votes more than Democratic turnout was 600,000 a little over ten years ago, according to voter registration data.
Some of Florida's conservative leanings can be attributed to the state's large Latino vote (18% of the total) and to the influx of Republican-leaning retirees from the Midwest and Northeast.
Biden's performance in 2020 was far lower than his national average, with just 54% of the state's Latino voters supporting him, according to AP VoteCast. He did particularly poorly among Florida voters of Cuban heritage, who constituted 5% of the state's electorate.
As a result of Latinos' smaller majorities, Biden fared worse than prior Democratic nominees in some of the state's wealthiest and most populous counties. For instance, compared to 2016 when Hillary Clinton won both Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, Biden's margin of victory in 2020 was smaller.
Because of the state's reliance on tourism and the fact that its inhabitants drive more, inflation poses a greater threat to Florida's economy. A consistent burden on Biden's support scores has been increased costs, despite improving consumer morale and lowered inflation. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consumer price index for the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach area grew 5.7% from a year ago in December, while the national average was 3.4%.
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