DeSantis and Crist make final campaign stops before midterm election day
TAMPA, Fla. - Gov. Ron DeSantis urged supporters at his final campaign stop to get to the polls on Election Day in hopes of building a "red wave" that would sweep Democrats from office in Florida and nationwide.
"Are you happy to live in the free state of Florida? Are we going to make sure on Tuesday that we keep it that way?" DeSantis said.
The governor is riding a raft of polls that show him beating Democrat Charlie Crist by double digits. One polling average has him up 11.6 percentage points.
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Further, even in Miami-Dade, more Republicans have voted so far than Democrats. Statewide, Republican registrations now outnumber those of Democrats.
The governor's final rally of the campaign was in Palm Beach, historically a bastion of Democratic support.
"Do you mind helping me send a tired, worn out old donkey out to pasture once and for all?" DeSantis said.
That's his description of Democratic nominee Charlie Crist, who held his last rally in Fort Lauderdale, arguing that the polls can't account for anger over Florida's new 15-week abortion restriction. He believes nearly 60% of women will support him.
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"I have seen the polls, they're garbage," he said. "What's important is we vote. Remember President Obama used to always say, when we vote, we win."
Crist and other top of the ticket Democrats have in some ways been lonely soldiers with national organizations and fundraisers focusing on states with races perceived as more competitive.
The former governor and congressman spoke in Carrollwood Monday evening to get one last shot on the Tampa Bay area's critical airwaves.
"What's important is: we vote. Remember President Obama used to always say, when we vote, we win," Crist said.
If the polls are right and if the governor is headed for a victory, one thing to watch for is the margin. Last time, he only won by four tenths of a point.
He wants a much bigger margin this time to impress national Republicans, in hopes he will be seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2024.
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2022 midterm turnout, so far
About one-third of registered voters in Florida had cast ballots as of Monday morning in advance of Tuesday’s general election.
Data posted on the state Division of Elections website showed that 4,789,974 Floridians had voted by mail or at early voting sites. Florida has 14.5 million registered voters.
MORE: Live turnout, ballot count results
Registered Republicans were outpacing Democrats by about 320,000 ballots cast. Leon County Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley, who is president of a statewide association of supervisors, said he hopes final turnout Tuesday will be above 50%.
"The turnouts I expect to be, if we hit expectations, in the mid-50th percentile range," Earley said. "I will say the turnout is a bit lighter than we expected. I am not sure exactly why that is." Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday across the state.