SARASOTA, Fla. (SNN TV) – Florida, a red state? The answer is mostly, and it’s complicated.
After much research since March, SNN’s Marco La Manno is launching a new series Sunday covering the seismic shift in Florida politics in an upcoming 12-part series: “Red, Purple & Blue: A Sea Change in Florida Politics”
In this special, we’re going to look at the changes in the Sunshine State, going back to the start of the population boom after World War II, going through popular Democratic governors of the 70s and 80s, and then into the 80s and 90s. That’s when you could more clearly see Republicans starting to win over voters.
For the first few parts of this special, we’ll be relying much on the Florida political book From Yellow Dog Democrats to Red State Republicans, plus historical footage and pictures to tell the story of a Democratic Florida.
As Republicans begin to gain power in the state, we’ll share more interviews with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune’s political editor, a UNF political science professor and director of public opinion research, a former Republican strategist who now is helping Democrats, the son of a former Florida governor, the state Democratic Party chair, and the Sarasota County Republican chair.
We’re going to give context – what issues have driven voters, what did the parties do right and wrong, how has the governor’s power changed, and what has driven the Republican dominance that began in the 1990s?
The series debuts Sunday, September 17, at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. It’ll air every Sunday until completion at the same times — 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.