The Florida counties listed below have populations over 500,000 and the highest number of registered Republican voters among counties where the Republican Party touts more registered voters than the Democratic Party. Registration totals were at time of publication, Sept. 26, 2022. The balance of conservative to liberal is weighed by the difference in the totals between Republican voters registered and Democratic voters registered.
Lee County:
- 226,025 registered Republican Party voters vs. 128,673 registered Democratic Party voters, giving Republicans the largest total lead of any county, with an impressive lead of 97,352 registered voters. Source: Lee County Florida Supervisor of Elections.
Overview of Lee County:
Located in Florida’s Southwest coast, Lee County is home to 756,570 residents. It’s largest city is Cape Coral, with a population of 194,016 The county seat is Fort Myers, known for its picturesque beaches and luxurious beachfront estates that are a popular vacation spot for the wealthy. The economy in Cape Coral is based on health care services, retail, and real estate/construction. The city’s Economic Development Office promotes and incentivizes business relocation to Cape Coral.
Brevard County:
- 195,324 registered Republican Party voters vs. 130,710 registered Democratic Party voters, giving Republicans a lead of 64,614 voters. Source: Brevard County Florida Supervisor of Elections Office.
Overview of Brevard County:
Also known as the “Space Coast”, Brevard County is home to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral and Patrick Air Force / Space Force Base. Its population is 619,260 including a large population of active and retired military. Cocoa Beach and Port Canaveral’s tourism industries are key economic drivers, along with the aerospace industry. Brevard’s county commission is typically comprised of a majority of Republicans. The county Sheriff, Wayne Ivey, is a staunch Republican, an outspoken supporter of former President Trump and a strong supporter of 2nd Amendment rights. Titusville is the county seat, but many of the government offices are located in Viera, just south of Melbourne. The largest city in Brevard County, population-wise, is Palm Bay, with 119,760 residents.
Pasco County:
• 167,201 registered Republican Party voters vs. 114,664 registered Democratic voters. giving Republicans a 52,357 registered voter lead. Source: Pasco County Florida Supervisor of Election Office.
Overview of Pasco County:
Pasco County is included in the Tampa Bay Area and is primarily a bedroom community for Tampa and St. Petersburg. Its population is 539,885. The county seat is Dade City and the largest city is New Port Richey. Three of the last four elections have trended strongly Republican in Presidential elections, with 2008 being the exception.
Polk County:
- 174,653 registered Republican Party voters vs. 148,585 registered Democratic Party voters, giving Republicans a lead of 26,068 voters. Source: Polk County Florida Supervisor of Elections Office:
Overview of Polk County:
Located to the west of Orange County, Polk County has a population of 725,046 and is home to one of the most popular sheriff’s in the nation: Grady Judd. Known for his snarky comments about repeat offenders during press conferences, Judd’s attitude toward criminal justice represents many of the voters in the area. The county seat is Bartow. The largest city in Polk County is Lakeland, which has a population of 110,335 and is home to Publix supermarket’s headquarters.
ONE COUNTY FALLS INTO THE CATEGORY OF HIGH TOTAL OF REPUBLICANS, BUT IT CAN’T BE CONSIDERED A CONSERVATIVE COUNTY BECAUSE DEMOCRATS ARE NEARLY EVEN IN REGISTRATION:
*PINELLAS COUNTY:
Pinellas County: Republicans have small lead vs Democrats in Pinellas, but a large total number of registered Republicans. High turnout can prove to be valuable for statewide Republican candidates including US Senate, Gubernatorial, Sec. of Agriculture, CFO and Attorney General.
- 246,071 registered Republican Party voters vs. 237,223 registered Democratic Party voters. Source: Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections.
Overview of Pinellas County:
Pinellas County is located on Florida’s Gulf Coast. With a population of 959,107, Pinellas is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Clearwater, a beach resort vacation destination and the East coast headquarters for Scientology, is the county seat.
St. Petersburg is considered the largest city in the county and his the home county of former Governor, current Congressman Charlie Crist.Portions of Pinellas fall into Florida’s 12th and 13th congressional districts, served by Republican Gus Bilirakis and Democrat Crist. Previously, a large slice of Pinellas, including much of St. Petersburg, had been in the Tampa-based 14th District. A court-ordered remap merged most of the 14th’s share of Pinellas into the 13th. This enabled Crist to defeat Republican incumbent David Jolly in the 2016 election, breaking a 62-year GOP hold on what is now the 13th.
In state politics, portions of Pinellas are represented in the Florida Senate by Democratic State Senator Arthenia Joyner (District 19) and Republican State Senators Jack Latvala (District 20) and Jeff Brandes (District 22). In the Florida House parts of the county are represented by Republicans James Grant (District 64), Chris Sprowls (District 65), Larry Ahern (District 66), Chris Latvala (District 67), and Kathleen Peters (District 69) and Democrats Dwight Dudley (District 68) and Darryl Rouson (District 70).
