In what many political analysts are calling the 'Donald Trump Phenomenon,' over 7,000 Florida voters have left the Democratic Party in the last six months leading up to the deadline to register to vote in the Florida Presidential Preference Primary, according to figures released by the Florida Division of Elections.





From August 2015 to February 16, 2016, 7,779 Florida registered voters left the Democratic Party. In the same time period, Republicans gained 104,131 voters. As of February 2016, there are now 4.2 million registered Republican voters in Florida and 4.5 million Democrats. Non-Party-Affiliated voters also grew by 5,000 voters in the last six months.





The deadline to switch parties and/or register to vote for the Presidential Preference Primary in Florida was February 16, 2016.





Although Florida's Presidential Primary Election is on March 15, 2016, over a half million voters have already voted by mail and Early Voting begins March 5, 2016 which gives newly-appointed establishment favorite Florida Senator Marco Rubio little time to gain enough momentum to catch up with Donald Trump in his home state where Trump leads Rubio by 44% to 28% among likely Republican primary voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.



