WaPo: “Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a man whose unironic campaign slogan was “Keep Florida Free,” clobbered his Democratic opponent, Rep. Charlie Crist, by more than 19 points. The rout was a rarity in a swing state known for squeaky-tight races.
DeSantis scooped up resounding majorities from just about every category of voter: Latinos, women, men, the college-educated, suburbanites, urbanites and rural residents. Independents sided with the incumbent, as did voters age 45 and older.
The governor flipped eight of the 13 counties he lost in 2018 and improved his standing in all of Florida’s 67 counties. In vote-heavy Latino Miami-Dade, his numbers jumped by 16 percentage points. Other Republicans outperformed, too. Sen. Marco Rubio trounced Rep. Val Demings, a Democrat, by more than 16 percentage points.
Not a single Democrat will hold a statewide position next year for the first time since the late 1800s.
“Complete collapse,” Kevin Cate, a Democratic consultant in Florida, said on social media on election night. “We either reset or go extinct.”…
“After this cycle, if a political infrastructure is not built, it’s inexcusable,” said Thomas Kennedy, a member of the Democratic National Committee and a Florida political activist. “We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and acknowledge our failures and move forward. These are serious problems.””