We showed the Democratic Party that if they can’t portray a stable economy to Florida’s young voters, Florida won’t support the party’s candidates.
November 8, 2024
Pedro Rodriguez
Addressing inflation could’ve narrowed Florida’s electoral margin, but unfortunately for Harris – it cost her.
The Civics Center noted that young voters comprise 30% of Florida’s registered voters. Simultaneously, Campus Reform and The College Fix noted that “the economy” is a priority for many young voters, with 44% naming it a “top priority.”
Polling results from the James Madison Institute (JMI) revealed that 48% of likely voters in Florida perceive inflation as a ‘very serious’ issue. In 2016, JMI mentioned that the American dream is “on trial every day,” fueling “Florida’s ceaseless pushback against Leftism.”
November 2024 proved them right. Harris vowed to change nothing from Biden’s leftist economic policies, and Florida’s young voters clearly remembered that at the ballot box.
Early voting statistics from the FSU’s Student Union in 2024 reported that Democrats only held a lead of 17 points, compared to their 30-point lead in 2020.
Weeks before the election, FSU’s College Republicans invited Rep. Gaetz (R) to speak on the economy. Despite being considered controversial, attendees noted the event had a packed crowd and received little to no protesters.
Students overlooked Harris’ social platform and focused on the economy, and it didn’t stop there. Under Harris’ leadership, inflation threatened young Americans’ savings accounts, as BankRate stated. Her leadership arguably restricted how much they could save and how much they’d have to dip into their savings to afford their everyday lives.
Young Floridians have taken that to heart.
As Campus Reform reported, college-aged students are choosing to enter the workforce early through trade jobs rather than seeking a college degree.
For those of us who opt into a college degree, our late entry into the workforce will only prolong our ability to build up our savings account.
As reported by Campus Reform, the annual income for a new graduate declined by over 10 percent, but inflation has also made essential goods and services less affordable for new graduates.
Young Floridians such as myself refused to settle for the Democratic Party’s disastrous economic policies and their unattainable economy this November.
As someone active in the local Republican Party, my vote was unlikely to impact the Democrats this November anyway. If it were, however, I would’ve considered the state of the economy before marking a box on the ballot.
This November, we showed the Democratic Party that if they can’t portray a stable economy to Florida’s young voters, Florida won’t regain its status as a swing state.
Pedro Boccalato Rodriguez Aparicio is a pre-law student at Florida State University and a current communications intern at The James Madison Institute.
