Democrats win key special election, turning every 2024 narrative on its head

For all the inconsistent polls, and for all the media’s gross misrepresentation of what those polls are even saying, you never know for sure what’s going on until people actually start voting. In an election year like this one, it’s helpful to look at the special elections that are taking place along the way.

To that end, the Democrats just won a special election in a Florida statehouse race. Why does this matter? Ron DeSantis won this same district by eleven points in 2022, and now the Democrats have won it by about three points. That’s a huge shift.

This kind of shift isn’t a matter of people changing their minds. It’s a matter of a lot fewer Republicans than usual coming out to vote in this special election, and a lot more Democrats than usual coming out to vote. This points to Democratic-leaning voters being enthused in 2024, and Republican-leaning voters being unenthused.

These things are always just an isolated snapshot. The sentiment in this one Florida district is not going to translate directly to the rest of the nation. This result doesn’t mean we’re going to see a fourteen point shift in November. But this win does serve to turn every 2024 narrative on its head.

Democrats unenthused about voting? False. Youth vote shifting Republican? False. Republicans excited to vote in the Trump era? False. DeSantis still popular in Florida? False. Florida hopelessly lost to the Republican Party for good? False. This special election points to very good news for President Biden, House Democrats, and Senate Democrats across the nation in 2024.

Of course elections don’t win themselves. One of the reasons this special election saw a fourteen point shift is that Democratic-leaning activists worked their butts off. If you’re not involved with a group like Voters of Tomorrow, or VoteVets, or Moms Demand, or Swing Left, or Indivisible, now is the time. Pick the group that’s the right fit for you and get involved. Think you can’t make much of a difference? Look at what just happened in Florida. There’s power in numbers. Get involved, and let’s go win it all in November.

By the way, that starts with the special election to replace George Santos, which is in just four weeks. Donate or volunteer for Democratic candidate Tom Suozzi now.