Ron DeSantis is Causing a Split in the Republican Party

The Looming Split Between Governor DeSantis and Donald Trump

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I asked earlier this month, “Are Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and President Trump breaking up?” While the question was both rhetorical and tongue-in-cheek, the more I think about it, the more things appear to be headed that way. There seems to be something brewing beneath the surface of the Republican Party, something that hasn’t quite fully come to light yet. And that “something” is coming in the form of some changes taking place, shifts in perception, and the desire of the party to win after a devastating loss to Joe Biden in November of 2020.

In the wake of the election last year and the January 6th riot at the United States Capitol, the shifts began almost immediately. It began with a massive shift in voter affiliation after the election, with 36,000 Floridians leaving the Republican Party. By the end of January, 6,270 Republicans had left the party in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, more than five times the rate that Democrats were leaving their party.

Then again in February, another 2,622 left the party in those three counties, Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, as the full reality of the January 6th uprising had finally sunken in.