FRSA LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL, Chris Dawson
The 2020 election delivered all of the excitement, intrigue and controversy that we expected from the Presidential contest; from the top of the ballot all the way down to proposed Florida constitutional amendments at the bottom. A full week after the election, ballots continued to be counted in numerous states around the country and in Florida’s very own Senate District 37, where an automatic recount was triggered due to the very narrow margin between votes for incumbent Democratic Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez (D – Miami) and challenger Republican Ileana Garcia. With (most of) the political dust settled, let’s review the major outcomes from this year’s contentious election.
In the Florida House, the Republican majority grew its
advantage over Democrats by picking up an additional
five seats. Headed into the 2021 regular session,
Republicans now enjoy an advantage of 83 to 37 over
the Democrats. Most notably, House Republicans were
successful in flipping three seats, ousting Democratic
incumbents seeking re-election. Republican Linda
Chaney defeated Representative Jennifer Webb
(D – Gulfport) in Pinellas County’s House District 69.
Republican Dana Trabulsy unseated Representative
Delores Hogan-Johnson (D – Fort Pierce) in St. Lucie
County’s House District 84. Lastly, Republican challenger
Tom Fabricio toppled Representative Cindy
Polo (D – Miramar) in House District 103, which
encompasses parts of Broward and Miami-Dade
Counties.
The 2020 contest for control of the Florida Senate was an epic battle with leadership of the chamber on the line. In the end, Republicans fended off Democratic challengers in the most hotly contested seats to maintain their current 23-18 majority and, pending the final outcome of the Senate District 37 recount, they may add to their advantage. Former Representative Jason Brodeur (R – Sanford) defeated attorney Patricia Sigman, a Democrat from Altamonte Springs, in Senate District 9 encompassing all of Seminole and parts of Volusia Counties. Representative Ana Maria Rodrigues (R – Doral) topped Representative Javier Fernandez (D – Miami) in Senate District 39, encompassing all of Monroe and parts of Miami-Dade Counties. Senate Democrats were successful in defending Senate District 3, the sprawling North Florida Senate District anchored by Leon County. In that contest, Representative Loranne Ausley (D – Tallahassee) defeated Republican Marva Preston despite a strong Republican push to flip this seat currently held by term-limited Senator Bill Montford (D – Tallahassee). Lastly, Senate Republicans are looking to add to their majority in the Florida Senate with a flip of Senate District 37, currently held by incumbent Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez (D – Miami). Rodriguez’s bid for re-election was met by strong – and somewhat unexpected – resistance from the Senate Republicans who drafted Ileana Garcia for the effort. The ongoing recount for this race will yield a winner by a razor thin margin.
Despite a strong opposition campaign by Florida’s business community – including the construction industry – Amendment 2 just barely reached the 60 percent approval threshold for passage. The measure garnered 60.8 percent support statewide and now heads to the Florida Legislature for implementation. The Amendment will gradually raise the minimum wage for millions of Florida workers to $15 per hour by 2026.
In addition to the outcomes above, the 2020 election will be remembered due to the sky-high voter turnout. With all precincts counted, an astounding 11,118,926 Floridians cast ballots this year, representing a 76.99 percent voter turnout statewide. Further, Florida delivered results on time and without major incident on election night in stark contrast to numerous states around the country who continued to count votes many days after Election Tuesday. Perhaps a silver lining from the 2020 election is the end of Florida’s hanging chad stigma.
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