In Florida, during my time of observing politics, it always seemed to me that left-leaning voters (whether they call themselves Democrats or not) were more inconsistent voters than right-leaning voters, and not by a lot but enough to make a difference. I never had any evidence or stats to back that up but just by observing elections each cycle, it always appeared that way to me.
Voters (or rather nonvoting or inconsistent voting liberals) also have to look at themselves in the mirror. People should think about that one year they chose to sit out because they didn't like the candidate, and how that impacted every subsequent election. I think a state party is only has good as the state's voters. I see this as a bottom-up thing. Motivated voters will motivate the state party, who will in turn raise money to reach out and motivate more voters. It's a loop. Each side has contribute their share to the loop.
Even though I focus on 2018, that year was just a culmination of all the previous election losses before it. All of previous losses built up to make 2018 the pivotal year that it was. I couldn't explain all of the previous losses other than it seems like right-leaning voters are slightly more consistent voters than left-leaning voters. I just I could never explain how voters of Florida deliver Barack Obama a win statewide in 2008 by 2 or 3 points, and Democrats lose up and down the ballot just 2 years later in the 2010 midterm election. Where did those voters go? Why did they not turn out? I could never explain how voters were able to deliver a second win to Barack Obama by a really small margin, and also deliver Democratic Senator Bill Nelson a landslide statewide victory in 2012 but we lose up and down the ballot in 2014.
I focus a lot on 2018 because I thought that was the make or break year for Dems. I remember thinking in 2018 that if we didn't win, we'd be locked out of power for the next decade; we'd be stuck in the minority for the next decade. If there was ever a year where a win was absolutely necessary, that was it. With hindsight being 20/20, we now see that 2018 was the election year that completed the shift from "swing state" status to solid "red state." Even though we lost in 2018, I'm not sure what else the party could have done. They pulled out all the stops.
For all the talk of Florida being a swing state, it never seemed to swing during midterms.
Even after losing again and again, I don't think we're completely down and out. Florida has so many unengaged voters that leaves a lot of room for growth. Getting just a fraction of them could mean a shift in political power. At this point, it's up to the state party to reach out and try to grab them.
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