Rising prices under President Donald Trump have left some of his retiree voters, who are living on fixed incomes, struggling to afford basic items, like a can of soup.
The Washington Post spoke to Midwestern retirees, who helped turn Florida red, and are now turning to Democrats in hope of relief from the rising cost of living.
The report profiled Dar Carlson, 78, who left Michigan for Florida’s Gulf Coast to spend her retirement years. The price of a can of soup summed up her growing unhappiness with the way things were going.
“I can’t believe a can of soup costs $3,” Carlson said, pointing to a grocery bag she was carrying outside a Publix supermarket. She also expressed unhappiness with her current circumstances and regret over her vote for Trump in 2024 and her earlier support for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Yet she is not the only senior in the state on a fixed income to discover that higher prices put everyday goods further out of reach.
For many seniors, the rising cost of living is weighing heavily on their minds as the midterms approach.
According to the report, the hundreds of thousands of Midwesterners who have made their way to Florida over the last decade have been instrumental in turning the once-swing state into a solid Republican one.
The cost of living under the Trump administration, however, has made it hard for many to enjoy the retirement they had in mind.
“I expected things to change, but now I feel it’s got worse,” Carlson said. She also complained that too many rich people were running the country without much thought for the middle class.
On Nov. 3, she is leaning toward voting for Democrats, and other Midwestern transplants are also preparing to back the party.
According to the Post, some Democratic strategists see that as one of the main reasons a few Florida races that were longshots for them earlier in the year have become competitive.
Steve Schale, the Democrat who ran Obama's 2008 campaign in the state, calls Florida a “mirror” of the politics and values of the states its new residents come from, including the “fairly moderate” Midwest.
While Hispanic voters are the most significant swing group in the state and the nation this cycle, the retirees drawn to the Gulf Coast by the weather and lack of state income tax on retirement benefits could have an outsize influence on the results.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report moved Florida's 13th Congressional District, which covers much of Pinellas County, from Likely Republican to Lean Republican last month, despite the GOP having redrawn the district to make it more favorable to the party.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R), elected in 2022, represents the district and faces Leela Gray, an attorney and retired Army brigadier general who won the Democratic primary in August.
Recent polls suggest a close race, although several have been sponsored by Democratic-aligned groups. The latest survey, conducted in October, showed Luna narrowly ahead, with the difference within the margin of error.
