Florida’s Republican party recently boasted that, for the first time ever, there are more Republicans than Democrats registered in the state.

That statement in and of itself is true. However, what that statement does not tell you is that party registration for the Republicans fell in 2021…. just not as much as it did for the Democrats. There were 142,414 fewer voters picking either party. The only gain in numbers were for Non-Party Affiliation and minor parties.

The largest loss for the Democrats occurred in Miami-Dade where they were down by 37,723 voters to the Republicans loss of 3,592. In three counties, Sarasota, Volusia, and Sumter, Democrats increased membership. Republicans had gains in 13 counties including next door in St. Lucie. Martin County, long a bastion for Republicans, lost 1607 voters in 2021 as compared to 2020. So, what gives?

Florida and the United States may just be tired of celebrating party over everything. More and more voters may be saying that they are just not interested in the incessant political wars that Democrats and Republicans want to wage with each other. Could it be that many voters are tuning out and refusing to be labeled?

Rationality may be the death knell for political parties. Yet those that remain within the party fold are more partisan. While the Founders never wanted political parties and warned against factionalism, our entire political system is tied to having “them” and “us.”

If we cannot get a handle on this hatred by members of one party over those in another, we may find ourselves increasingly edging toward a civil breakdown. We are moving closer and closer to one party states with gerrymandered districts. That has and will continue to lead to the extremism that Madison, Hamilton, and Jay warned to beware of.