Texas Governor Greg Abbott won his reelection race by 11 points. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis won by 20 points. Democratic turnout in both states was lower than the 2018 midterms.
On this edition of Your Call, we'll find out why Democrats lost by double digits in Texas and Florida.
Republican Governor Greg Abbott won his race against Democrat Beto O’Rourke by 11 points. Many thought Governor Abbott's failure to take action after the devastating mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, and his support for an extreme abortion ban with no exceptions for rape and incest, would cost him his race. Voter turnout was just 46 percent, which is lower than the 2018 midterms.
In Florida, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis won his race against Democrat Charlie Crist by nearly 20 points, and Republican Senator Marco Rubio defeated Democratic Representative Val Demings by over 16 percent. Republicans took 20 of 28 House seats in Florida, due to racial gerrymandering and low voter turnout. Republicans also targeted Latinos in Florida with a disinformation campaign, spreading conspiracies about election fraud and painting the Biden administration as a communist regime.
What explains these Democratic losses?
Guests:
James Barragan, politics reporter for The Texas Tribune
Odus Evbagharu, chair of the Harris County Democratic Party, treasurer for the Texas Democratic Party, and Chief of Staff for Democratic State Representative Jon Rosenthal
Cecile Scoon, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, and a civil rights lawyer
Mitch Perry, senior political reporter with the Florida Phoenix