The most recent U.S. Census data release shows that Florida counties that voted for Trump in the 2020 presidential election gained 224,336 residents from July 1, 2020, to July 1, 2021, while Florida counties that voted for Biden lost 13,140.
Late last year the U.S. Census reported that the largest net domestic migration gains from 2020 to 2021 occurred in Florida (220,890), Texas (170,307) and Arizona (93,026). The largest domestic migration losses were in California (-367,299), New York (-352,185) and Illinois (-122,460).
The latest U.S. Census report, released March 24, analyzed the population dynamics in each of the 3,143 U.S. counties.
The report shows that Florida (2) and Texas (5) have seven of the 10 counties in the U.S. with the greatest numeric growth in population.
An analysis of Florida counties revealed that 58 counties had population growth while nine had population declines.
From a political perspective, of the 12 Florida counties that Biden carried five of them lost a total population of 50,470. The remaining seven counties that Biden won added 36,365.
In contrast, four of the 55 counties that Trump won lost a total of 752 residents while 51 of the 55 counties that Trump won added a population of 225,088.
The Florida Democrat stronghold counties of Miami-Dade and Broward lost 29,600 and 10,500 respectively. The biggest numeric gains occurred in Polk County (24,000) and Lee County (23,000).
While some conservatives have worried that increased migration to Florida could be the result of disaffected Democrat voters relocating from liberal states, Florida voter registration numbers indicate this is not the case.
During the period of the Census analysis – July 1, 2020 to July 2021 – Florida added 512,367 new voters. Data from the Florida Division of Elections shows that 213,286 of these new voters registered as Republicans, while 28,875 registered as Democrats.
In addition, Politico reported in late 2021 that “Republicans now hold a slight voter registration edge over Democrats, just another sign that the state is moving away from its two-decade-old reputation as the nation’s largest battleground state. Politico also noted it was “more bad news for Democrats as they try to knock off rising national GOP star Gov. Ron DeSantis next year.”
“You are seeing people move to states that value freedom,” DeSantis said during a breakfast speech at the National Conference of State Legislatures on Nov. 5.
Ryan Tyson, a GOP consultant who regularly tracks voter registration numbers, said that the data showed that more new voters had signed up as Republicans versus Democrats 18 out of the last 19 months.
“The reality is that the state is changing,” Tyson said.
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Steve Stewart is a senior contributor at The Florida Capital Star.
