NPA Appetite Growing
August 27th, 2010 by flanewsFlorida voters with no party affiliation are the fastest growing portion of the electorate with one out of every five voters in Florida now registered NPA. And as Whitney Ray tells us, the movement isn’t just sweeping voters; politicians are also taking a piece of the no party pie.
Emily Womer says her political views are too complex to fit under the Democrat or Republican umbrella.
“Sometimes I agree more with one, but I don’t necessarily agree with how they are going about doing it, so, I mean, I’m a little in-between sometimes depending on the issue,” said Womer.
Emily joins a growing number of Florida voters dropping their party affiliation and registering NPA. There are 2.1 Million of them making up 20 percent of all Florida voters; four million are registered Republicans, 4.6 Million Democrats.
The growing number of independents is a sign that voters aren’t just getting sick with incumbents, They are also are getting sick of parties.
And politicians like Governor Charlie Crist are following suit.
“I look forward to November; I think it was an interesting primary election day to say the least,” said Crist.
A primary Crist was able to avoid when he left the Republican Party for no party. Another independent candidate making waves is Bud Chiles, son of former Governor Lawton Chiles. Formerly a Democrat, he left his party to pursue the governor’s office.
“They are sick and tired of this big money food fight that’s going on and they know this political system is benefiting the few and not the many,” said Chiles.
Despite the growing number of NPA voters, the road for independent candidates is a long one; they’ll be taking on candidates who have party backing, which means free political ads and hundreds of party staff and volunteers helping campaign.
The number of NPA voters in Florida has grown steadily every year since 2000 when just 1.2 million Floridians registered with No Party Affiliation.
Posted in Charlie Crist, Elections, Politics, State News | 3 Comments »