Florida Governor Ron DeSantis unusually popular with Latino voters in Miami-Dade

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is also a probable 2024 Republican presidential candidate, is currently enjoying unusually high support from Latino voters in Miami-Dade County, which typically leans blue.

The governor’s high polling numbers among Latinos in Miami-Dade are enough to alarm Democrats in the Sunshine State, who know DeSantis’ support from the large voting bloc may be enough to accelerate his ascension to Florida governor for another term, and then to 2024 Republican presidential nominee.

“DeSantis overperforms here in a way that you don’t tend to see Republican candidates perform elsewhere with Hispanics,” said Florida Democratic pollster Fernand Armandi to NBC News. 

DeSantis will face off in the midterms with former state governor Charlie Crist, who has been behind in the polls in recent weeks. Florida Democrats say the lack of support from the party on the ground has contributed to Crist’s lag in the polls. 

Andrea Mercado, director of Florida Rising, a left-leaning organization in Florida, told The Tampa Bay Times, “If Charlie Crist wins in November, it will be despite Democratic donors, who chose to sit it out in Florida.”

FiveThirtyEight’s polling over the weekend had DeSantis in a comfortable lead over Crist, with the governor almost 8 points ahead of his opponent. 

No Republican governor has won Miami-Dade County in over 20 years, making the polls in the populous county all the more noteworthy. 

DeSantis’ popularity among Latinos in Miami comes even after his controversial move to transport migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard last month to draw attention to what he and other Republican leaders have called a crisis at the southern border.