Florida could be Puerto Rico's revenge against Trump

National Institute on Latino Policy - CBS Correspondent David Bergnaud (@DavidBegnaud) generated a Twitterstorm yesterday when he picked up on a small item from Florida Division of Emergency Management that tweeted on December 11th:

Since Oct. 3rd, more than 239,000 individuals have arrived in Florida from Puerto Rico

Some immediately pointed out that Trump's margin of victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016 was 110,000 votes and speculated that, with his approval rating being so low (in the 30s), this margin should be even tighter in 2020. This influx of Puerto Ricans, expected to be mostly Democrat voters, could be a significant factor in the next Presidential election in this battleground state. As one tweeter put it, "2020 could be Puerto Rico's revenge" against Trump.

This 230,000 number of Puerto Rican migrants to Florida is much higher than previous estimates and points to the potential political impact of this significant population shift from the hurricane-ravaged Island. Of course, this is dependent on some yet to be played out factors. First, it is not known how many are only in Florida temporarily, depending on how conditions develop in Puerto Rico, and whether this influx will continue to grow. Second, how many will actually register to vote. And third, how will Trump policies continue to impact on Puerto Rico's recovery and the US response to this outmigration.