Purple Florida may be getting a coat of red, painted on by the Democratic Left

There are potentially very dark clouds on the horizon for Democrats in Florida, which the left may be changing from a swing state to one that is reliably Republican

The DSA has expressed solidarity with the communist government in Cuba."There doesn't seem to be a way to convince them that the regime in Cuba is even a dictatorship," said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla. "Clearly they have that great admiration for radical left ideologies. They themselves espouse radical left ideologies."Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., identifies as a socialist. But Sanders backs the protesters over the communist government."I urgently hope that the government there will tolerate and respect people's right to protest," said Sanders.But there’s a political problem for Democrats if many of their most outspoken, left-wing members don’t speak out against Havana.Democrats lost two House seats in southern Florida last year, one held by Mucarsel-Powell. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., toppled Mucarsel-Powell. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., unseated former Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla.That’s because partly Cuban-American voters thought Democrats were squishy on socialism. And, the views of progressives in Congress overshadow mainstream voices in the party."It fits into the Republican overall message, especially in Florida, but across the country, that the Democratic Party has been co-opted by these socialist lawmakers," said Kraushaar. Progressives "overshadow the silent majority of more moderate Democrats who don’t share their views on foreign policy. Certainly not on Cuba. So that’s the political challenge." Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the national organization devoted to electing GOPers to the Senate. Scott is making sure voters know about the demonstrations in Havana."I have a real concern about what’s going on in Cuba. We have the biggest, peaceful protests in decades. They are tired of not having food. Medicine. Water. And they are in the street. The Castro regime is cracking down," said Scott. "I’m disappointed in the Biden Administration. They have an opportunity to support the people of Cuba."Here’s something to look for: Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., is challenging Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., next year. Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., who occupied the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee from 2007 to 2011 – as a Republican – is now angling to run against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). Democrats are also eyeing the defeat of Gimenez and Salazar - since they lost those two seats in the fall.Watch to see if Democrats have any success with any of these seats. And if they don’t, is the reason because of Cuban-Americans or Hispanics siding with the GOP?Republicans are aware of this problem facing Democrats. That’s why Rubio almost immediately characterized the Biden Administration’s response to Cuba as "lame.""Florida used to be the swing state of swing states," observed Kraushaar. He notes it’s now a Republican-leaning state. Democrats "can’t afford to alienate what was once a pretty competitive constituency among Cuban Americans. More broadly, among Hispanic Americans," he said. "And the fact that the trends are all in the wrong direction should be worrisome for the Democratic party." We haven’t even mentioned how the crisis in Haiti could influence some Florida voters. President Biden isn’t willing to send U.S. troops to help stabilize the situation in Haiti after thugs murdered Haitian President Jovenel Moise earlier this month. Former President Trump outpaced Mr. Biden in Florida in 2020 by more than three percentage points, pocketing all of the state’s 29 electoral votes.