'It's Florida's time': Sunshine State residents rising to power in Trump's DC

MIAMI — Florida is emerging as a new hub of political power in the United States.

Donald Trump’s victory in last week’s election made him the first Sunshine State resident to win the White House, and since then he’s elevated a growing number of his home-state allies to some of the most prestigious posts in U.S. and world politics.

His incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles, is among the state’s most battle-hardened political operatives. U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, a North Florida congressman and Army veteran, has been named as Trump’s National Security Adviser. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio — a Miami native and the son of Cuban immigrants — is likely to be named secretary of state.

As U.S. Sen. Rick Scott put it: “Florida is the center of the Republican Party today.” Scott himself could also join the ranks of Floridians atop the nation’s power structure. He’s vying for the role of Senate majority leader and has won the backing of several high-profile Trump allies, including billionaire Elon Musk and conservative media personality Tucker Carlson.

It’s a big moment for Florida, a one-time battleground state with a booming population that has effectively become the home of Trump’s GOP and the strain of conservative populism that dominates the modern Republican Party. With Trump poised to move back into the White House in January, the Sunshine State and its conservative luminaries will have the opportunity to mold federal policy and politics for years to come.

“This is the heyday of Florida in national politics. At the rate we’re going, basically every aspect of the federal government will be run by a Floridian or at least a Floridian-adjacent,” said Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist and former Florida congressional candidate. “It was the center of the Republican Party, but now it’s the center of the American political process.”

“I’m sure you have a lot of world leaders right now that are out there thinking ‘I better learn to play golf,’ ” O’Connell added.

Another Florida lawmaker, U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack, is also seeking a leadership role in Washington. On Monday, she launched a bid for House Republican Conference chair — the lower chamber’s fourth-highest leadership post.

There’s also likely to be a steady flow of would-be Trump administration appointees making their way to Mar-a-Lago in the days and weeks to come. During his first four years as president, Trump dubbed his Palm Beach club as the “Winter White House,” and he has held court from the property in the years since he left office. In turn, South Florida has become a mecca for anyone seeking an audience with Trump.

The state has also been reshaped by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who in his nearly six years in Tallahassee has transformed the Sunshine State into a laboratory for conservative approaches to the economy, education, public health and social issues.

“Florida is now Mecca for MAGA,” Fernand Amandi, a Miami-based Democratic pollster, said. “Florida proudly promotes itself almost as if it were the anti-California because of the total Republican control over the state, because of Trump and the Trump family, DeSantis is the governor, the most prominent members of MAGA have made Florida literally their new home.”

Florida has, in turn, become something of a one-party state. Republicans control the governor’s mansion and hold supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature. Trump, who won Florida narrowly in 2016 and 2020, carried the state this year by nearly 1.5 million votes and managed to pull off a victory in Miami-Dade, Florida’s most populous county and a place that Democrats long relied on for massive sums of votes.

Florida Democrats have struggled for several years to claw back even an ounce of power. The party hasn’t won a statewide election since 2018, and since then, Republicans have amassed a significant voter-registration advantage that has made it difficult for Democrats to compete, even with strong voter turnout.

State Rep. Alex Rizo, who serves as chairman of the Miami-Dade Republican Party, said that Florida’s place on the national political stage is long overdue. For years, he said, Florida was thought of as a place to “go to the beach and get a tan.” But the GOP’s success in the state has made it a destination for business executives, political operatives and world leaders alike.

“Florida’s footprint, when it comes to national politics, is much more prominent,” Rizo said. “I think we’ve had great leaders … but what’s happened though is our role in America’s eye has been broadened. It’s not just a place to go on vacation anymore. It’s become an international hub of finance and business and politics, and our leaders are really standing out. I think it’s Florida’s time.”