Florida Early Voting Gives Republicans a Scare: GOP Lead Is 89,000 Despite a 1.5 Million Registration Edge

Florida's early voting turnout is running strong, and it is giving Republicans a scare in a state they have controlled for years. Registered Republicans statewide outnumber Democrats by 1.5 million, yet the GOP led by only 89,000 in early ballots cast as of Friday, the Washington Examiner reported - a far narrower margin than the party's registration edge would suggest.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is term-limited from seeking a third consecutive term, pointed publicly at Polk County, in the I-4 corridor between Tampa and Orlando. "Republicans are underperforming in Polk County," DeSantis posted, noting the party's voter registration advantage of 60,000 in the county and that it went R+30 four years ago, according to the report. Polk County's early voting figures showed a virtual tie between the two parties as of Friday.

More than 4.2 million Floridians had already cast ballots in the midterm election, about 31 percent of the state's 13.7 million registered voters, according to the University of Florida Election Lab tally reported by FOX 13 - about 2.5 million people voting in person during early voting and another 1.8 million returning vote-by-mail ballots. Registered Republicans made up 40.4 percent of ballots cast in that tally, Democrats 38.6 percent, and voters with no or a minor party the remaining 21.1 percent.

Analysts cited in the reporting cautioned that early numbers show enthusiasm, not outcomes: Republicans in Florida have surged on Election Day itself in recent cycles, and many GOP voters wait to cast ballots in person on November 3. Democrats have spent upward of $100 million this cycle on air time alone, while Republicans have pumped in more than $320 million, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact figures cited by the Examiner. In Leon County, early voting runs through Sunday, November 1, at 10 sites, ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, November 3.