‘Look at That!’ Steve Kornacki Taken Aback By DeSantis Now Out-Performing Trump in Florida

Steve Kornacki said on Tuesday, with over half of Miami-Dade precincts reporting in Florida, that there is a “pattern emerging” in the state showing Republicans far out-performing Donald Trump‘s past numbers. And anchor Rachel Maddow noted it’s “starting to look like a red state.”

“Look at that!” Kornacki said, with emphasis on the striking implications, using early votes which normally lean Democratic in a county that has leaned Democrat, in a state that has been a purple state for some time. MSNBC went on to call Florida for Ron DeSantis and Marco Rubio moments later.

“Again this is a county that was thirty points Democratic just in 2016,” he said.

Kornacki pointed out that Rep. Maria Salazar was at an early double-digit advantage, and Trump affiliated Anna Luna ahead in her race for the seat that was held previously by Charlie Crist.

“There is a pattern emerging where both Rubio and DeSantis are running better than Trump was in 2020 at this point,” said Kornacki.

“Interesting, we’re looking at Miami-Dade looking very much like the rest of Florida, and Florida starting to look like a red state,” said Maddow.

The swing is remarkable in the state’s most Democrat-friendly county. Six years ago Miami voted for Hillary Clinton with a +29 point margin. Much of that shift has been with Hispanic voters in the county, as Joy Reid noted, pointing out that Cuban voters in Miami tend to be more socially conservative.

UPDATE: DeSantis won reelection as governor in a “rout” as the New York Times put it.

Watch the clip above, via MSNBC.