As I’m sure you know, the 2024 general election in Florida was held on November 5th.  AIF tracks elections very closely, but I know our members most likely do not have the time or resources to, so I wanted to take a moment to share some insights with you.

It’s safe to say Florida is no longer the swing state it once was.  President Trump resoundingly defeated Vice President Kamala Harris by a 13-point margin (56-43%), which is a 10-point swing towards Trump from the 2020 election when Trump won Florida by 3-points (51-48%).

Since 2020, Republican gains were seen across the state at the federal and state levels as the Florida electorate shifted dramatically to the right.  Trump carried once reliable Democratic strongholds with large Hispanic populations, including winning Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Duval, and Osceola counties.

Senator Rick Scott, who won his first term in the U.S. Senate in 2018 by 0.5 points, won re-election by a 13-point margin (56-43%).

This election was also notable for the money spent.  This cycle's general election spending in Florida was largely fueled by two high-profile amendment initiatives, both of which spent over $110 million, but failed to reach the required 60% support: Amendment 3 (Adult Personal Use of Marijuana) and Amendment 4 (Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion).

We watched Amendment 3 closely since its passage would have a major impact on employers and how they would deal with the effects of marijuana in the workplace.

You may remember I shared with you earlier this year the creation of our Center for Political Strategy, which we launched because the business community needed concise, strategic efforts to ensure business-friendly candidates are elected and those who wish harm to employers are not.  This cycle, two races were the perfect case study.

In Senate District 7, near Jacksonville, current state representative Republican Tom Leek was running for that open Senate seat.  Leek had been a champion for AIF and the business community on legal reform issues, which was a major victory for our members.  The plaintiff’s bar spent almost $13 million on negative ads to defeat him.  Why? So, they could get a non-business friendly candidate elected who would work to undo the legal reform all business owners desperately needed.  Our Center for Political Strategy worked with the Leek campaign and major businesses across Florida to fight back against these billboard trial attorneys (who line their pockets by suing businesses).  I am happy to report that we were successful, and Tom Leek is the next Senator from that district.

We had a similar fight here in Tallahassee in Senate District 3 where incumbent Corey Simon, another business-friendly candidate, was attacked non-stop by a liberal candidate.  Thankfully, we were successful again in helping the business-friendly candidate get re-elected.

Now that the 2024 elections have ended, we roll right into our advocacy efforts as we get ready for the 2025 legislative session.  You will be hearing much more about the critical issues we will be working on for our members in the Capitol soon.

 

 

 

Sent via email on November 13, 2024