Many Puerto Ricans fleeing to Florida felt sidelined by Trump after the federal government’s insufficient response to Hurricane Maria
Marta Rivera was an avid voter in Puerto Rico – one who enjoyed researching political candidates each election cycle in the US territory. Then, in 2017, Hurricane Maria swept through the island, destroying homes, killing thousands of people, and leaving millions of others stranded. Rivera became one of the tens of thousands of storm refugees who moved to Florida in the following months to try and build a new life.
Now Rivera and the other hurricane refugees have become a vital voting bloc coveted by both the Democratic and Republican parties in the swing state, where elections are often won by just tens of thousands of votes. While the last census data counted about 50,000 in the group, later estimates say there could now be more than 130,000 people who have resettled in Florida.
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Source: Elections - theguardian.com
