What is causing Florida to become a red state?

[RINO Tom]

You cannot just chalk this up to Boomers, quite obviously ... largely Republican retirees have been heading to Florida for years, including during the span where Obama won it twice.  Florida has become an absolute mecca for Republicans - especially of middle to upper-middle class - who are sick of living in a blue state (either due to high taxes, high crime or annoyance at "woke culture" or whatever) but don't want to live in a "boring state" (WV may be red, but that doesn't make it more enticing to a Republican looking to move out of California/Illinois/New Jersey).

I think people really forget how many Republicans - even Trump voters - there still are in now-blue suburbs of super blue states.  As an anecdotal example, I have met at least as many right wingers from the wealthy NYC suburbs in NJ and CT as I have Democrats.  There are literally millions of these people, and post-COVID a lot of have decided to move.  Florida is a dynamic and growing state with warm weather, a wealthy economy, all different types of communities, low taxes and a governor who has made a name for himself by condemning excessive wokeness.  It's a Republican magnet right now.

[RINO Tom]

^ On a slightly related tangent, I think the unique mixture of (A) traditional Southern Democratic/"Yellow Dog" voters dying off as in other Southern states AND (B) in-migration to Florida likely being much more Republican-leaning than other fast growing Sun Belt states has sort of stunned Democrats into some "embarrassing" defeats.  In a state like Georgia or possibly even soon North Carolina, Democratic losses among "traditional voters" that they won in the past (whether they died off or switched parties or whatever) were offset by (1) improved margins with former Republican voters usually in suburban areas and (2) very significant migration into the state from younger, more Democratic-leaning transplants.

In Florida, they effectively lose the first group while not only not having sufficient gains with the second group but likely even a net loss due to Republicans moving to FL in larger numbers than, say, AZ.