New report shows Amendment 2 exceeded 60% in every congressional district, senate district and all but two house districts.
A new precinct-by-precinct analysis, commissioned by Florida for Care and completed by TLE Analytics, shows the breadth of support for medical marijuana across the state of Florida. Amendment 2 passed with over the required 60% support in every single Congressional and Florida Senate district and in 118 of 120 Florida House districts (HD’s 110 and 111 being the exceptions). Amendment 2 also received over 60% support in 63 of Florida’s 67 counties.
Sean Phillippi, of TLE Analytics, said of the findings, “The breadth and consistency of these numbers across disparate and diverse parts of the state truly shows the mandate voters gave this law. Amendment 2’s was not a regional or even metropolitan victory. Florida voters writ large said ‘yes’ to medical marijuana.”
Some key and interesting findings from the analysis:
– Medical marijuana outperformed Donald Trump in key counties; a Palm Beach Post analysis showed that Trump’s win could be attributed to the 120,000 votes more than Mitt Romney he received in five, west coast counties (Pinellas, Lee, Pasco, Sarasota and Manatee). In each of those counties, the margin for medical marijuana exceeded Trump’s margin by 10 points or more.
– In Republican stronghold, Collier County, Trump received 62% to Amendment 2’s 64%.
– Congressional District 23, home to vocal medical marijuana critic, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, voted in favor of Amendment 2 by a 3-1 margin, 75-25. Her district is tied for the 2nd highest percentage vote for medical marijuana.
– The voters in the districts represented by Senate President Joe Negron and House Speaker Richard Corcoran both supported medical marijuana with over 70% (71.42% and 70.62%, respectively).
– The Florida Senate district with the highest support for Amendment 2, at 78.47%, is SD-19, now represented by Darryl Rouson, who like Wasserman Schultz, has been a critic of medical marijuana.
– The only two House districts where Amendment 2 didn’t receive 60%, HD-110 and HD-111, both had solid majority votes in support (58.7% and 57.61%, respectively).
– The Chairs of the Health Policy committees likely to have jurisdiction over medical marijuana implementation, Sen. Dana Young (SD-18) and Rep. Travis Cummings (HD-18) both represent districts that voted strongly in support of Amendment 2 (72% and 71%, respectively).
– Mel Sembler, founder and million dollar donor to Drug Free Florida, is registered to vote in House, Senate and Congressional districts that offered some of the highest support for medical marijuana statewide:
Dan Rogers, legislative director of Florida for Care, said the numbers are, “proof positive that voters delivered a clear mandate for medical marijuana in this election. Legislators of both parties are going to be surprised by how high the support in their own districts actually was. This was truly a broad expression of the people’s will and can’t be spun as anything but.”
The complete data set of percentages by State House, State Senate and Congressional district are available to the media and the public at the following links:
Amendment 2 by State House District.
Amendment 2 by State Senate District.
Amendment 2 by Congressional District.
If members of the press want corresponding precinct data beyond what is provided at the above link, Florida for Care can provide such information upon request. Please email Ben Pollara at bpollara@lsnpartners.com fo
