Palm Beach, Martin & Indian River’s Voter Registration Changes – January 9th, 2024
Bottom Line: 2022's record setting election cycle for Republicans in Florida has changed the entire political perception of it. No longer the ultimate swing state, we’re now viewed as a red state. The state’s latest voter registration information reflected the continued surge in Republican momentum in Florida during 2023’s off-election year along with continued issues for Florida’s Democrats who continue to see significant declines in registered voters. As cited last week, the Republican advantage over Democrats most recently stands at a record 697,922 voters. But what about what’s happening closest to home?
The record performance for Republicans in 2022 wouldn’t have been possible if not for the flipping of two of Florida’s three largest counties - Miami-Dade and Palm Beach. While Palm Beach County broke for the entire Republican cabinet for the first-time ever, Democrats still held a large voter registration advantage over Republicans on Election Day. So, a key question emerged from last year’s election cycle...is Palm Beach County’s post-Election Day trend consistent with the state? Is the political shift towards the right sustaining closest to home in one of the state's largest and most reliably blue counties?
At the peak of the Democrat voter registration advantage in Palm Beach County Democrats held an advantage of 138,400 voters. Democrats now hold an advantage of only 59,328 voters. Republicans have eaten into the Democrats’ advantage by 1,394 voters over the past month, and 42,219 voters over the past year. The local trend has continued to mirror the state’s overall trend as Democrats have lost ground to Republicans each month last year.
- In Martin County Republicans now hold an advantage of 34,222 voters, an increase of 333 over the past month and 1,846 over the past year.
- In Indian River County Republicans currently hold an advantage of 29,598 voters, a decrease of 1,123 over the past month but an increase 1,815 voters over the past year.
What this helps to illustrate is that yes, Florida’s red counties generally have been becoming “redder”, however the biggest storyline continues to be Florida’s blue counties becoming far less blue with Palm Beach County representing ground zero for that storyline most recently.