What happened to John Kerry in Florida?

[UWS]

Polls were extremely close and Bush ended up winning 52-47, a comfortable 5 point margin. What happened?

Bush's brother Jeb was Governor of that state at the time and so it likely helps. And Bush won 44 % of the national Hispanic vote and with numbers like that likely propels Bush to victory in Florida where he benefited from massive Cuban American support.

[UWS]

As the article below indicated, Kerry was among the 22 senators who voted against tthe Helms-Burton Act which tightened economic sanctions on Cuba in March 1996. Kerry's vote on that legislature has been the source of another attack ad by the Bush campaign in Spanish, which surely resonated among Florida's Cuban-American voters (a group that massively supported Bush) and explain why Bush's margin of victory in Florida is so comfortable.

https://www.latimes.com/la-102204ads_lat-story.html

[UWS]

I'd also say that this attack ad on Kerry's national security record played a role in making Florida so comfortable for Bush. In fact, this ad titled "Weapons" enumerated the weapons systems that Kerry opposed, including Apache helicopters, C-130 Hercules, F-16 Fighter Jets, components of which are all built in Florida, which likely resonated in Florida voters' minds by convincing them that without those weapons systems America's ability to defend itself against terror would have been drastically undermined and that Kerry's record on national security is troubling.

http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/2004

[UWS]

What has also helped Dubya to win FL so comfortably is that FL was hit by hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne throughout 2004. And FL voters appreciated the way Dubya handled the recovery of FL after these hurricanes.

[UWS]

During an election in which national security and the War on Terror were the most important issues, I guess that voters also noted that FL was also the place where several of the hijacking pilots of the 9/11 attacks trained

https://www.floridamemory.com/learn/exhibits/photo_exhibits/bushyears/bushyears3.php