How did we do, voters? Only about 25% of registered voters turned out to the Florida primaries, which is to be expected but is also disappointing. I'm not sure if everyone realizes how many non-partisan races are part of primaries, from school boards to county commissions to judges.
Anyway, Florida produced a very Floridian set of results. Analysts who read political tea leaves have an interesting set of data on their hands.
For governor, a Republican-turned-Independent-turned moderate Democrat is going up against a MAGA Republican who can't get endorsed by the sitting governor due to party infighting. An underdog progressive with just a sliver of her competitor's financial backing SURGED ahead to win the primary for U.S. Senate. And then there's the school board in Sarasota, the former political home of Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, who was embroiled in a bonkers sex scandal. I attended that public meeting a couple years back, and it was bananas. People brought POPCORN to the packed chambers to watch her be dressed down. That board? Flipped to the left.
I'm not even wonkish, and it's all fascinating. While the mix of choices might not add up for outsiders, it feels accurate to those of us who live here. Here's why.
Read it: Florida voters are as unpredictable as the state itself
One anecdote:
During the last presidential election, I lived in a different neighborhood. A couple across the street inhabited a house divided: one for Trump and one for Biden. They both put their preferred campaign signs in their yard near a pile of gravel. Every day as I walked the dog, I noticed the Trump sign and the Biden sign had switched places on top of the hill.
Florida!
