I fled NYC for Florida Sorry, Mamdani-fearing Democrats, were full!

Since Zohran Mamdani won last week’s Democratic primary and put himself in pole position to become New York City’s next mayor, a fresh cohort of Gothamites seems to be eyeing the exit ramp toward the Sunshine State.This Floridian says: Sorry, we’re full.For more than five years now, Florida has been the top destination for fleeing northerners, émigrés seeking something more than milder weather and lower taxes.These new Floridians arrived to join a freedom movement led by Gov.Ron DeSantis, escaping the insane blue-state policies that the COVID-19 pandemic brought to a head.The newcomers — myself included — made the state redder than it had ever been before.

In the 2024 election, President Donald Trump romped in the formerly deep-blue Miami Dade County and turned Palm Beach County purple, losing it by just a single percentage point.Pundits pointed to the increasingly Republican Hispanic vote, and that was a factor.But the energized newbies made the shift a GOP tsunami.To this day many Floridians habitually send real-estate listings to their ideologically aligned friends up north — those who longed to join the “Great Migration” but whose work or family obligations made them stay put.When those friends complained about their deteriorating schools, the congestion tax or rising crime, we’d send back an alligator gif, a Florida flag emoji or a video of tough-talking DeSantis describing the fate of protesters who dare to block Florida traffic.Come join us, we’d say.Now a different group is looking in our direction — and we’re not feeling so encouraging.These people didn’t think the COVID restrictions that kept NYC children in masks outdoors through 2022 were too much.They were fine with cashless bail and New York’s sanctuary city status.Boys in girls’ sports? Who cares! They vote blue, no matter who.But even these Democrats find Mamdani to be a bridge too far.They were OK with the city’s leftward drift and the accompanying chaos — yet t...