Florida ‘Taken Off the Board’ for Democrats in Senate Race, Says CNN’s Harry Enten

The GOP has been looking at some grim numbers as the midterms approach, but “the sun is shining in the Sunshine State,” says CNN’s numbers cruncher Harry Enten, predicting Florida Republicans would bring home a victory in the Senate race.

Florida State Rep. Angie Nixon (D) shocked much of the political establishment when she won the primary Tuesday against a much better-funded and more moderate opponent, Alex Vindman. Her more progressive views and the fundraising mismatch with the Republican incumbent, Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL), have led many political commentators to write off Nixon’s chances of winning Florida.

Count Enten in that camp. On Friday, the network’s chief data analyst chatted with CNN News Central anchor John Berman about the race.

“There has been some tough news for Republicans lately,” said Berman. “The president’s approval ratings are sort of at an all-time low. The national debt crossed $40 trillion. A lot of grim news. But there is one place where the sun is shining on Republicans. CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten is here. Where is the sun shining?”

“The sun is shining in the Sunshine State, the great state of Florida,” replied Enten. “And this is a state that, simply put, has been taken off the board for the most part for Democrats.”

“Nixon’s primary win had Moody saying, ‘Thank you, God,'” said Enten. “The chance that the GOP wins the Florida Senate race, according to Kalshi prediction markets — Ashley Moody, it was 84% on Sunday. Look where it is now. A 95% chance, up like a rocket!”

“It turns out that nominating a self-described democratic socialist in a state like Florida, where there are a lot of, let’s say, Cuban refugees, is not necessarily the smartest idea,” said Enten. “The Democratic Party and those Democratic voters essentially, probably taking this race off the board come November.”

Florida “has become considerably more Republican” over the years, Enten said, with Democrats going from a “three-point edge” in party registration over Republicans in 2015 to Republicans having an eight-point edge in 2020, and now an 11-point edge.

“Republicans, simply put, have been winning all of the statewide races, the major statewide races,” he added, pointing out that Florida had not elected a Democratic governor since 1994 with Gov. Lawton Chiles, adding a “my goodness gracious!” for emphasis.

“Walkin’ Lawton Chiles there,” replied Berman. “Nice reference there.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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