Carville on Democrats running in Florida: ‘Better off looking harder at Mississippi’

Democratic strategist James Carville said the party would be “better off looking harder at Mississippi” than Florida following the overwhelming GOP success in the Sunshine State in this year’s midterm elections. 

Carville told MSNBC’s Joy Reid on Thursday that Democrats don’t lose “that bad” in Mississippi, saying a large Black population in the state means potential exists for Democratic success there.

“It’s not as many electoral votes, but I think Democrats might be better off looking harder at Mississippi than Florida,” he said.

Democrats largely outperformed expectations in the midterms in many states throughout the country, but Republicans dominated in Florida, which has been considered a battleground state for decades.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) defeated Democrat Charlie Crist for reelection by almost 20 points, Sen. Marco Rubio (R) defeated Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) by about 16 points, and Republicans picked up multiple House seats in the state, winning 20 out of 28 in total. 

The GOP’s sweeping success in Florida has led some Democrats to question whether they should focus resources on the state or if it is now considered a red state. 

Carville noted that 38 percent of Mississippi residents are Black, while Black voters only make up about 30 percent of the voting population. 

“If you took your share from 30 to 38, that’s a lot of votes,” he said.