Florida turnout snapshot gives Republicans 7.4-point edge

Florida Republicans held a preliminary advantage in voter turnout on Election Day, though the party gap was narrower than in the state’s 2024 final turnout figures, according to data reported at 3 p.m. ET. The snapshot does not show how voters chose candidates or determine the outcome of the governor’s race between Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly. The county-compiled figures showed 3,044,940 voters identifying as Republicans, 2,518,340 as Democrats and 1,622,207 as unaffiliated. Republicans led Democrats by about 7.4 percentage points among those counted. Dave Wasserman, an elections analyst cited in the turnout report, said the figures reflected a shift toward Democrats from the approximately 11.1-point Republican advantage in Florida’s final 2024 turnout figures. Turnout could change through the evening, and unaffiliated voters’ choices, along with any crossover voting, may affect races across the state. Party registration or turnout affiliation is not the same as a vote for a candidate. The figures therefore offer an early measure of participation, not a result in the governor’s contest or other statewide races. Donalds, a Republican congressman, and...