In just four years, Ron DeSantis has turned Florida from one of the most recognized swing states in the country to arguably the most conservative state in America.
Along with good policies, DeSantis’ efforts have created a great bench for Republicans.
But Ron DeSantis has forsaken Florida Democrats to a lack of options in 2024.
The 2024 map is not the 2022 map
Heading into the 2022 Midterm cycle, the U.S. Senate seats considered to be competitive included Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Florida.
In five out of those eight races, the GOP was playing defense, meaning the best outcome Republicans could have hoped for would have been a net gain of three seats.
But with the power of incumbency, the more likely outcome was always Democrats picking up two seats.
However, optimism grew and conservatives got their hopes up that flips were possible in New Hampshire, Colorado, Washington, and potentially even Connecticut.
At the end of the day, that hope was never warranted – as Democrat Senators Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Michael Bennett of Colorado, Patty Murray of Washington, and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut all won easily.
In fact, all of them except Hassan won their races by a wider margin than Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did in deep-Blue New York.
Even Hassan was barely outpaced by Schumer, and in the end the Blue team ended up netting one seat.
Better opportunities ahead
However, the script is different in 2024, as it’ll be Democrats who are playing defense.
The only Red seats currently considered as possible pickups are Ted Cruz’s seat in Texas and Rick Scott’s seat in Florida.
Both Cruz and Scott have announced they will run for re-election, so at least for now, the GOP doesn’t have to worry about defending any open seats in swing states.
And Texas and Florida aren’t exactly Purple states.
Cruz won re-election by about 3 points back in 2018, but that was on the heels of a controversial Presidential bid and with Democrats spending big money to take him out.
Meanwhile, Rick Scott unseated Democrat Bill Nelson in 2018 to flip the Florida Senate seat.
Florida has moved considerably to the Right in Ron DeSantis’ four years as Governor and Democrats took a beating there in the 2022 Midterms.
In fact, DeSantis has made the state so Red that Democrats are struggling to find anyone to challenge Senator Scott.
Florida’s Democrat ghost town
Of the eight members of the state’s Democrat Congressional delegation, Representatives Frederica Wilson and Lois Frankel have already announced they are not interested in the promotion.
Three others, Representatives Darren Soto, Kathy Castor, and former DNC Head Debbie Wasserman Schultz, have yet to express any public interest in a possible run for the Upper Chamber.
Then there are Representatives Jared Moskowitz and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who are in their first term in office, which makes them unlikely to be successful in a state-wide race.
Next up is Representative Maxwell Frost, who is ineligible because he is not old enough to be a Senator.
The radical Left in Florida considers State Representative Anna Eskamani to be a rising star in the Party.
When she was asked about taking on Senator Scott, she insisted her focus is on re-election even though she did not rule out a potential run.
Political insiders believe Former Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy is a wildcard to throw her hat into the ring, but she has made no public statements about having any interest in the seat.
Perhaps Democrats can turn again to Val Demings, who lost to Marco Rubio in 2022 by 16.5 points.
And Charlie Crist is always an option for Democrats.
Crist is a former Governor and Congressman in the Sunshine State, but he’s lost more races than he’s won, including in 2022, when DeSantis crushed him by 19.5 points.
Since Senator Scott has national media attacking him and Florida is one of only two GOP seats Democrats realistically have any opportunity to flip in 2024, it seems like there would be a line out the door to challenge him for the spot.
But apparently DeSantis has Democrats running scared.
