Early voting figures for Miami-Dade County reveal the GOP is leading in the presidential election by almost 12,000 votes.
Donald Trump has just surpassed 36,000 votes in the county, compared to 24,228 for Kamala Harris. Interestingly, third-party candidates have received 15,954 ballots among early voters – more than the difference between the Republican and the Democrat. Overall, the figure marks a 15.2% swing for the GOP.
You may be wondering why this is significant. After all, Miami-Dade is located within Florida, which has become something of a guaranteed state for the Republicans under Trump. It also helps that it’s also Trump’s home state, and is governed by the popular Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
But here’s the thing; Miami-Dade has a predominantly Latino population, and it heavily leans Democratic – In fact, it has voted Democrat in every election since 1992.
The Hispanic vote is crucial for both candidates, but losing it hurts more for Harris given the historic preference for Democrats among the Latino electorate. If similar swings are seen among Latino voters in swing states with large Spanish-speaking populations such as Arizona and Nevada, Harris is almost certain to lose the election.
Republicans, therefore, are getting giddy.
Of course, it’s worth remembering that every vote matters in an extremely tight election.
