People are flocking to Florida. I'd love for progressives moving there to influence the politics

Correction & clarification: The column has been updated to say that Florida's abortion ban is 15 weeks.

I was not surprised when Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio were reelected this past week. I was in South Florida the week before, and everyone I met, many of who were new to the state, was voting for them.

When I lived there a decade ago people would tell me they were in Florida for the weather, or to retire. I, myself, fled the frigid winters of Chicago for the Sunshine State's well...sunshine. But that doesn't seem to be the main reason why people are moving there anymore. I'll get into that later.

I have one request for any Democrats and socially progressive independent voters relocating to the Sunshine State. Go for the tax laws, but please, stay and influence the social politics.

The reasons they move to Florida

According to reporting by the Tampa Bay Times, Florida had 221,000 more residents arrive from other states between July 2020 and July 2021 than left. That’s the state's largest increase since 2005. In fact, Florida was second only to Texas in population growth from out of staters this past year and is the third largest state in the country according to data from the 2020 U.S. Census. According to Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis, they're leaving "tax hell" states and bringing their investments and retirement wealth with them.

It's hard to know why everyone is moving to Florida, but the state has no income tax, no intangibles tax (meaning no taxes on investments, no capital gains tax), and no estate tax.

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That makes it a really good place to make money, save that money, or invest that money. For less wealthy families the low taxes also makes it more affordable to live there, and the business-friendly environment means there are jobs to be had.

Miami has always been a millionaire's playground, but when I lived there ten years ago it was hardly a hotspot for venture capitalists. Florida's pro-business environment is enough for some people to make that move from blue states like New York, in spite of any disagreement with DeSantis's social policies, such as his "Stop WOKE Act," the so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill, and his 15-week medieval abortion ban.

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Good for business, bad for social progress

That reputation as a pro-business state is a big part of what helped DeSantis win his gubernatorial race against former Gov. Charlie Crist, who was governor when I was in law school in South Florida ten years ago. My former home, which was once the nation's largest swing state, is now solidly red.

The growing number of registered Republicans and the rapid growth of people relocating to Florida from blue states serves as a reminder that money talks, and if people are looking for a place to grow their business, they may be willing to overlook backward social politics.

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I do not see this as a total failure, or as people giving up on their values. This is, instead, an opening for opportunity. It won't be easy to make these changes, of course. Any inroads to social policy change will be an uphill battle.

Going blue little by little

But it can be done in small corners of the state where Democrats have more influence, like Florida's 10th Congressional District of Orlando where Gen Z progressive activist Maxwell Frost just won his election.

Given the number of people who are moving to Florida, there must be a percentage of those people who hold socially progressive views but want to invest in places where the taxes are low. This is a chance to influence local politics and make progressive voices heard as influential business owners over time.

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Any progressives and moderate Democrats relocating to Florida can get involved locally from city councils to school boards while looking for statewide impact. These newly arrived Democrats have a great opportunity to tell Republicans like DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio that they want to stay, but that state GOP leaders need to chill on some of the culture war politics that Democrats just finished beating back across the country.

Money makes the world go 'round. So, they might actually listen if the transplants were to speak up. That's my hope.

Carli Pierson, a New York licensed attorney, is an opinion writer and a member of the USA TODAY Editorial Board. Follow her on Twitter: @CarliPiersonEsq.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florida is firmly Republican. Can Democrats moving there change that?