What about Tampa though, I think the counties in and around Tampa are the most critical going forward, if they start voting like the Orlando counties the GOP is going to have serious problems.
Yes, I should have added Pinellas and Hillsborough. It was just hard for me to comment on them because the Tampa Bay area is the only major region in Florida I haven't visited. What I can see is that the two counties aren't trending as hard to the left as Orange/Osceola. Somebody from Florida is welcome to add their input.
What I do know is that Tampa is sort of the gateway to SW Florida, which is very Republican, while Orlando is more of a gateway to dark blue SE Florida. Tampa is whiter than Orlando too, so I think for that reason the region will stay swingy for a while.
Checking in (D-Pinellas). Pinellas, at least, has been Florida's Republican bulwark from back when the state was solid Dem. Long tradition of Republicanism, but a long tradition of moderation as well. C.W. Bill was without a doubt the most popular politician in the county. There's not that much of a sense of a 'gateway to SW Florida' here, though - the Tampa Bay Times circulates up to Citrus County and out to Polk, but doesn't go south to Manatee.
