William C. Cramer - Florida Political Divisions

Florida Political Divisions

Florida's geographic configuration and uneven population distribution has made it more difficult for Democratic factions to persist because urbanites have been unwilling to accept domination by a few party leaders. V.O. Key, Jr., the political scientist, described Florida elections in the years prior to the re-emergence of the Republican Party, as "personality-oriented within narrow ideological boundaries." Republicans, mostly migrants from the American Midwest or the northeastern states, challenged Democratic domination in Pinellas County and other locations known for their concentration of retirees. The migration of business executives and senior citizens drastically altered the partisan profile of the region. As early as 1928, presidential nominee Herbert C. Hoover helped to carry Pinellas County Republicans to victory in races for sheriff, county judge, assessor, and state senator. In 1948, Republican Thomas E. Dewey won Pinellas, Sarasota, Palm Beach, Broward, and Orange counties and a third of the statewide vote. Dissent against the national administration continued in 1952 and 1956, with the statewide victories of the Eisenhower-Nixon ticket. In 1960, 1968, and 1972, Nixon, as the presidential nominee, prevailed in Florida. Lyndon B. Johnson, however, won the state in 1964, as did Jimmy Carter of neighboring Georgia in 1976. Carter was the beneficiary of an influx of blue-collar and historically Democratic voters.