According to a rather amusing analysis from the Sun Sentinel the hot seller in Florida right now is the Democratic Party, who are “outselling” the Republicans in terms of new voter registrations by more than a two to one margin.
An escalating number of voters registering as Democrats is providing evidence that the 2008 election could produce a wave of support for Barack Obama — and trigger a decades-long shift of party allegiance that could affect elections for a generation.
The numbers are ominous for Republicans: Through May, Democratic voter registration in Broward County was up 6.7 percent. Republican registrations grew just 3 percent while independents rose 2.8 percent.
People have been hinting about the Sunshine State skewing more and more toward the Democrats since the 2000 cycle. Could this be the year when the predictions actually come true? I think it might be a bit of a stretch to call this the start of a “generational shift” which will influence elections in the direction of the donkey for decades to come. But you never know.
Frankly, I still think energy policy will be issue number one by the time November rolls around, and if Floridians wind up embracing offshore drilling, McCain can still find some leverage there. Either way, Florida will once again be the focus of much attention this fall. The Obama team seems to feel they can stitch together a winning electoral map without Florida, but most of the analysis I’ve seen thus far have it as a must win state for John McCain if he wants to carry the election.