Dems Hold Voter Edge in Big Counties; GOP Elsewhere

By News Service of Florida

Democrats hold a voter-registration edge in each of Florida's seven most-populated counties, but Republicans have an advantage in many mid-sized counties, according to newly released voter-registration numbers. Registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Orange, Duval and Pinellas counties. The largest margin for Democrats is in Broward, a longtime stronghold, where there are 540,249 registered Democrats and 234,693 registered Republicans. But the numbers show major advantages for Republicans in many mid-sized and suburban counties in areas such as the Panhandle, Northeast Florida and Southwest Florida. As an example, registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by a margin of 169,770 to 114,466 in Lee County. Similarly, Republicans have an edge of 71,241 to 24,760 in Okaloosa County and an edge of 82,702 to 38,401 in St. Johns County. Statewide, Florida has 4,599,326 registered Democrats and 4,144,186 registered Republicans, according to the numbers, which were tallied after a registration deadline to vote in the Aug. 26 primary elections.