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Youngkin Explains the 'Big Message' of Tuesday's Election Results

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  November 09, 2022 2:45 PM

Election night was supposed to hand Republicans a resounding victory in the House and, hopefully, at least a slim majority in the Senate. Even as some races continue to be counted, it’s clear the wave never materialized. Still, there are important takeaways from the results we have seen.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said there was one “big message” that was evident not only in the commonwealth last year but across races on Tuesday.

"By the way, the Hispanic vote is the big message,” he said on CBS News. “And to see what's happened with the Hispanic vote across Virginia, we won it last year, and to see the Hispanic vote really break that way, and then, of course, we've seen what’s happened in Florida, in Miami-Dade County, with the Hispanic vote being the big differentiator. I think that's the big message tonight, is to see this glacial shift in this demographic across America." 

Guy also touched on this “glacial shift” in Florida in his midterm analysis today: 

Hillary Clinton carried Miami-Dade County by 30 points in 2016.  Two years later, Ron DeSantis lost it by 20 points, while winning statewide by less than one-half of one percent.  This year, DeSantis won Miami-Dade by 11 points.  Joe Biden won Osceola County in Central Florida – home [to] a huge Hispanic population, including many Puerto Ricans -- by double digits just two years ago.  DeSantis flipped it, winning by seven points there.

Exit polls of Florida voters were also stunning: 

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Discussing the shift among Hispanic voters on MSNBC, former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe was asked what "lesson" he's "drawing here in terms of the Hispanic vote" and how "alarmed" Democrats should be about it. 

“[I]n Florida, it's catastrophic," he acknowledged, adding that the "Obama coalition in Florida is gone." 

That will mean Democrats have some serious work cut out for them come 2024 if Florida is out of play right off the bat, he explained. "It gives Republicans a huge advantage."