Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a closing appeal to Republican voters ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections, urging them not to let up after years of GOP gains in the state.
“Do not give the Democrats an inch,” DeSantis said in a video message shared by the Florida GOP. “Fellow Republicans, please go out and vote on Tuesday. We’ve done so much in the great state of Florida. We’ve led the nation in so many things. We’ve got to keep that momentum going.”
DeSantis asked voters to back Republicans “up and down the ballot” and specifically urged support for Amendment 3, a measure to lower property taxes. “They get an inch, they’ll take a mile. We don’t want to end up like California. We don’t want to end up like Illinois. We’ve got to keep the momentum going. Please vote Republican on Tuesday,” he said.
Marquee races
The state’s top contests this cycle include the governor’s race between Rep. Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly, and the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Sen. Ashley Moody and Democratic Socialists of America member Angie Nixon.
Jolly, a former Republican who switched parties, has criticized legislation protecting children from gender-transition procedures as “draconian” and has said he wants to apologize for Florida’s handling of the so-called culture wars. He also criticized DeSantis for keeping Florida open during the coronavirus pandemic, a period Jolly spent in Pennsylvania, which imposed stricter lockdown rules. Florida’s population grew substantially during that stretch, and Republicans overtook Democrats in statewide voter registration for the first time starting in 2021.
Nixon, who runs a cafe in Jacksonville called “Cafe Resistance,” is an official DSA member who has pushed for universal health care and broad amnesty for people in the country illegally, though she has disputed the label of socialist.
Amendment 3 and property taxes
Florida Republicans are also pressing voters to approve Amendment 3, which would raise the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes from about $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and to $250,000 in 2028.
“In just the past seven years, property tax revenues across Florida’s 67 counties have increased nearly 100 percent,” DeSantis said in a statement, adding that local governments are “taking in almost twice as much money—far more than inflation and population has increased.”
“The State of Florida has reduced its budget four years in a row. Local governments can surely do the same. Amendment 3 creates a path to full elimination of property taxes for homesteaded Floridians. It also provides immediate and meaningful relief for Florida residents by expanding the homestead exemption from non-school property taxes,” DeSantis said.
Early voting numbers
Florida’s Division of Elections reported that roughly 3.3 million people voted early statewide, including nearly 1.5 million Republicans and 1.2 million Democrats. Democrats, however, outpaced Republicans among voters who cast ballots by mail.
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