More than 36,000 Florida Republicans are leaving the Republican Party after the election, according to election records

ORLANDO, Fla. – More than 36,000 Florida voters previously registered as Republicans have left the Republican Party since the November election, a News 6 review of state election records has revealed.

While three times as many Republicans have changed their party affiliation as Democrats after the election, the more than 57,000 Floridians who recently changed political parties are a small fraction of the 14.5 million registered voters in the state. .

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Several former Republicans cited the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol as a factor in their decision to leave the party, while others expressed frustration that some Republican Party leaders did not support the former President Donald Trump as much as they would have preferred.

“(Changing party affiliation) gives people the feeling that they have somehow protested,” said Jim Clark, a political analyst at News 6, a history professor at the University of Central Florida. “It won’t make a difference in the election.”

State Republican Party leaders downplayed the recent defections, believing most former Republican voters will eventually return.

“It’s not that important,” said Joe Gruters, president of the Florida Republican Party. “I think these people will end up voting for the Republican candidate in the end because, when they registered as Republicans, they believed in the basic principles of personal responsibility and individual freedom.”

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In the past, voters had to visit their county election supervisor’s office to change their party affiliation. About three years ago, the state began allowing voters to update their registration information online.

“It’s extremely easy to do,” Clark said. “So if your political party bothers you today, you can join another tomorrow. And then join another the next day.”

The highest volume of voters changing party affiliation usually occurs just before the last day to register to vote before the primary election, according to Orange County Election Supervisor Bill Cowles , followed by the post-election period.

But this year, Orange County recorded a higher-than-usual volume of post-election party changes.

“The change was more extreme due to the attack on the Capitol on January 6,” Cowles said.

News 6 spoke with a dozen former Republicans who changed party affiliation after the election.

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Almost all refused to be named for him, citing concerns about his personal safety.

“They are dangerous. You saw what they did at the Capitol, “said a man who claimed to have been a Republican since 1988.

“I’m a Republican at heart, but I’m registered as a Democrat,” he said. “The party no longer represents decency, in my opinion. I’m completely impressed by this fanatical belief in (Trump). “

Another former Republican voter, who sought anonymity over concerns about his family’s safety, also blamed the former president for his decision to change voter registration for any party affiliation.

“I honestly felt that Donald Trump had something to do with those people storming the Capitol,” the U.S. Marine Corps veteran told News 6. “Once I witnessed that, I decided that already I didn’t want to be part of that party. “

But other Florida voters who left the Republican Party expressed frustration that Republicans did nothing more to support Trump.

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“The reason I changed was my anger against the Republican party for not fighting for the people who voted for them and for getting to the bottom of the allegations of election fraud,” John Howley said. “I will not be part of the party again until they learn to fight for their constituents. At least the Democrats are fighting, even though I don’t agree with 99% of their ideas. “

The Florida Republican Party has heard similar concerns.

“We basically kept track of all the data and all the people who change parties,” Gruters said. “Most are voters who were upset because we might not be as supportive of the president as we should be.”

About 10,100 Democrats changed their party affiliation from Dec. 8 to Feb. 9, according to state voter registration records.

During this same period, 36,219 Republicans changed parties.

About 6,200 of these former Republicans are now registered as Democrats, according to records.

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Meanwhile, more than 21,000 former Republicans recently registered as not affiliated with any party.

Only Florida voters registered in a political party can run in that party’s primary election.

“These people won’t want to give up their vote,” Clark said. “Many of them will return to their respective parties next year when the primaries heat up. And even if you’ve gone from Republicans to non-political affiliates, that doesn’t mean you’ll vote for the Democrat in the general election.”

According to the State Elections Division, registered Democrats outnumbered Republicans in Florida by less than 111,000 as of Jan. 31.

Gruters said the Florida Republican Party is initiating voter registration initiatives to reclaim those who recently left the party while recruiting newcomers to the state.

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“I think we’re going to beat the Democrats sometime this year here in Florida. We’re focused on making Florida red permanently,” Gruters said. “The benefit we have is the thousands of people fleeing these liberal states with high taxes who have been locked up in the pursuit of freedom and liberty.”

More than 126,000 Florida Democrats changed their party affiliation to Republicans in the two years leading up to the November 2020 election, News 6 reported earlier, while 72,000 Republicans switched to the Democratic Party.