This is the part where we remind everyone that Puerto Rican voters in Central Florida are not the Big Blue Wave Monolith that Democrats thought. We have said for a while now that Republican candidates like Rick Scott have been very active in reaching out to Boricuas in the Orlando area. And according to a local report, it looks like the outreach worked, and could be one of the reasons why Scott is now Florida’s newest United States senator.
“Scott pulled in about 9,800 more votes than fellow Republican Ron DeSantis, who ran for and won the governor’s race,” the report said. “That 9,800 difference between Republicans is key considering Scott defeated Democratic opponent Sen. Bill Nelson by only 10,000 statewide.”
In addition, as the Orlando Sentinel wrote earlier this week, “early numbers show that Puerto Ricans actually lagged other Hispanic groups in voting, and some groups are pointing to mainland politicians’ lack of investment in and understanding of Florida’s Puerto Rican community as a factor.”
Here’s hoping more and more people begin to understand how complex this all is.
