Florida Republicans cut Democrats’ registration edge to historic low

Republicans now lag Democrats by just 134,242 registered voters, down from 327,483 when Trump won Florida by fewer than 113,000 votes in 2016. The gain is a byproduct of the Trump campaign’s extensive face-to-face ground game and voter registration operation, which continued as Joe Biden and Florida Democrats pulled back from those traditional activities after the coronavirus pandemic erupted in March.

The shift means the two parties, statistically speaking, are almost evenly matched when it comes to raw numbers, with Democrats holding a narrow 1 percent lead. Final voter registration data released Thursday by Florida election officials show 5.3 million Democrats, 5.1 million Republicans and 3.7 million people with no major party affiliation.

Florida Democrats turned much of their focus to boosting vote-by-mail turnout, which has helped them bank 430,000 more votes than Republicans three weeks ahead of Election Day.