Florida's Miami-Dade County turns red for DeSantis: first GOP gov to win in two decades

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Miami-Dade County in South Florida had a change of heart Tuesday and went red as voters supported Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is projected to be the first GOP governor to win the county in two decades.

The county's shift from blue to red was part of a predicted successful evening by the GOP in an effort to take back full control of Congress. The Fox News Decision Desk projected Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican, will defeat Democrat Val Demings.

In 2002, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush became the last to-date Republican gubernatorial candidate to win the heavily populated and diverse Miami-Dade County in South Florida.

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Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a campaign rally in Hialeah, Florida, on Nov. 7, 2022. (AP)

In 2020, President Joe Biden beat then-President Donald Trump by several percentage points across the county.

DeSantis was projected to defeat Democratic opponent Charlie Crist, 57.2% to 42.2%. Crist ran for governor as a Republican in 2006 but lost Miami-Dade. 

The county has a Democratic executive, while Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez is one of a few big-city leaders aligned with the GOP.

The city has a high Latino and Hispanic population, particularly Cuban Americans. In 2020, Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., upset incumbent and former Bill Clinton Cabinet member Donna Shalala in the district covering that part of the city and beyond.

"My first year, we banned sanctuary cities, and news media thought that would be not approved down [in Miami]. And yet Hispanic voters in Florida had the highest approval rating for our policy to ban sanctuary cities," DeSantis previously told Fox News. 

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Fox News' Charles Creitz contributed to this report.