Talk Elections

Does anyone here foresee Miami Dade and Hillsborough County(Tampa Bays County)  voting for a Republican in the future or will they  become a permanent bastion for the democrats?   These Counties went Dem 2008 and 2012.Hillsborough was close both times. What do you see happening in those Counties in the future?  These counties are quite critical for Florida election wise..

Miami-Dade will remain a Democratic stronghold for the forseeable future. The Tampa Bay region will continue to be a light blue but swing region.

Although I take personal offense to Hillsborough being "Tampa Bay's County", I'll address this. Miami-Dade went D both times and with the present Democratic gains among the Cuban vote (Obama won Cubans on election day), as well as other Hispanics, blacks, and urban voters, Dade will be solidly Democratic for the foreseeable future. Hillsborough is another matter - it does have large conservative areas, particularly outside of Tampa proper. It helps the Dems that the last 3 candidates for governor have come from the county, and that the next will be from a neighboring county (probably). Both are pretty Democratic for the future - as for the regions as a whole, South Florida will continue to be good for the Dems, while Hillsborough-Pinellas, occasionally joined by some other counties, will be the Democratic anchor in Tampa Bay, with the outer counties (Hernando, Citrus, Pasco, Polk, Manatee, Sarasota) being pretty Republican.