Why did Florida swing so far right in 1980?

[heatcharger]

Sure, the whole country swung far right, but pretty much all of the South could've still been won by Carter, except for Florida. Reagan won by a whopping 17%, a state which Carter carried in 1976. So what happened?

[Fuzzybigfoot]

The Almanac of American Politics speculated that Carter would have only lost Florida by 6% if it wasn't for the massive Cuban refugee crisis.

[Donnie]

 Cuban refugees & cocaine wars.

[Podgy the Bear]

It had to be more than that.  The Republican margins throughout the 1980s was tremendous for Florida and more so than the other Southern states (Texas being the exception).  The substantial migration of residents into Florida continued strongly through the 1970s--a retirement population with conservative values.  And Reagan was a perfect fit for them.

The 1980s was some of the first signs that Florida was starting to diverge from the "Outer South" states and become its own creation beginning in the 1990s.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Lots of transplants from previously R-leaning states, which is a big reason why most Southern states are solidly red in presidential elections now.