WFLA
- A sheriff welcomed new transplants to the Sunshine State, as long as they vote the right way.
- "Don't register to vote and vote the stupid way you did up north," the Polk County Sheriff said.
- His comments drew laughter from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who just signed an "anti-riot" bill into law.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Weighing in on the debate of what effect new residents have on Florida politics, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd proposed a simple solution on Monday.
"So we only want to share one thing, as you move in hundreds-a-day," Judd said, with Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to his left. "Welcome to Florida. But don't register to vote and vote the stupid way you did up north, or you'll get what they got."
-Travis Akers (@travisakers) April 19, 2021
"There's a reason that this place is fun," the sheriff continued. "There's a reason why we have a 49-year low crime rate. And the same people that don't think we should have an anti-rioting bill – or a rioting bill – are the same ones who think we ought to let more people out of prison."
Judd was referring to H.B. 1, a hallmark piece of legislation championed and recently signed by DeSantis that classifies a riot as three people, grants civil immunity to motorists who run over protesters, and prevents those accused of rioting from posting bail until their first court appearance.
The governor was seen laughing when Judd made his remarks about voting.
As Insider's Natasha Solo-Lyons reported in February, executives and companies fleeing to Miami from Wall Street and Silicon Valley are fueling a real estate boom.
Florida has seen more transplants during the pandemic than any other state except for Texas, according to a News 4 Jacksonville analysis of a Pew Charitable Trusts report.
The Sunshine State has also remained a Republican stronghold despite hundreds of thousands of new arrivals over the past decade, with former President Donald Trump winning Florida by more than three percentage points in the 2020 election.