Hispanic voters fueled President-elect Donald Trump's historic victory in Florida, helping him become the first Republican presidential contender to carry Miami-Dade since 1988. 

Why it matters: Miami-Dade County had in recent years already begun shifting to the right, with the Hispanic vote carrying Gov. Ron DeSantis to victory in 2022. 

• But Trump winning the majority-Hispanic county underscores the inroads Republicans have made in courting this group of voters, particularly Cuban Americans. 

Driving the news: Latino voters shifted heavily toward Trump across the country, with 54% of Latino men supporting the president-elect this year, compared to just 36% in 2020, an exit poll by Edison Research showed. 

• That's because Democrats failed to give Latinos a clear economic message while Trump focused on it in all his rallies and commercials, University of Houston political science professor Jeronimo Cortina tells Axios Latino. 

Between the lines: A Florida International University poll prior to the election found that 68% of Cubans in Miami-Dade planned to vote for Trump. 

• The 2024 Cuba Poll indicated the economy, immigration and access to health care were the top issues for Miami Republicans.  

Zoom in: In Florida, Trump earned 58% of the Latino vote, per an NBC exit poll, with 64% of Latino men supporting him. 

• In Miami-Dade, he earned more than 54% of the vote overall. Hillary Clinton won the county with 63% of the vote in 2016, and President Biden won it with 53% in 2020.

Read more: Miami-Dade GOP official reacts

The Florida Democratic Party (FDP) and its chair, Nikki Fried, puffed in speeches and in tweets that the Sunshine State was "in play" this year.

• It wasn't even close.

Why it matters: Florida Democrats fielded candidates in all congressional and legislative races on the ballot — a feat that hadn't happened in decades — yet still ended up with fewer seats than last cycle.

• Party stakeholders told Axios in July that Fried's FDP leadership had resulted mostly in cosmetic changes, and the results of this election do little to suggest otherwise.

Fried did not respond to questions from Axios on Wednesday.

Driving the news: We asked Fried in April for a yardstick to gauge her success as chair — outcomes in Tuesday's results that would provide evidence of the "clear resurgence" she said the FDP had undergone.

• None came to fruition.

Scorecard: She wanted to break the party's super-minority in the Florida House (No); reclaim state Senate District 3 (No); reelect the party's 56 incumbents (No); and pass Amendment 4 (No).

• Instead, Florida Democrats lost hundreds of thousands of active registered voters, lagged Republicans in cash and turnout and watched as once-blue strongholds went red.

The intrigue: Party insiders sounded the alarm months ago.

• Axios interviewed over a dozen people who work for or with the FDP — and almost all said Fried's prioritization of marketing over voter registration was misguided.

The bottom line: The road to relevance for Florida Democrats is a long one.

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🏈 The undefeated University of Miami football team was ranked fourth in the first first College Football Playoff rankings released this week. (CBS Miami)

🫦 The Museum of Sex Miami finally opened over the Halloween weekend more than a year after its intended opening date. (Miami New Times)  

🫢 A Pompano Beach city commissioner lost re-election to her own cousin. (Sun Sentinel)

Miami-Dade County is demanding that Miami Beach pay its "fair share" to fund countywide homelessness services after the city repealed a referendum calling for a tax to support those efforts.

Why it matters: Referendum 8, a 1% food and beverage tax on restaurants and bars that sell liquor, would have funded an estimated $10 million a year for county homelessness and domestic violence programs.

• The City Commission's decision to repeal the vote means the county now has a budget gap to fill, local officials say, as a new state law bans municipalities from allowing the unsheltered to sleep in public.

Driving the news: During a confrontational meeting Wednesday, the County Commission condemned the city for canceling a ballot question while voting was already underway.

• The county board voted to divert several million dollars from the Miami Beach Community Redevelopment Agency to fund services for the unsheltered and victims of domestic violence.
• The sponsor of the proposal, County Commissioner Eileen Higgins, estimated it would amount to about $8 million. She also proposed diverting future funds related to the construction of the Miami Beach Convention Center hotel.
• The funding proposal still requires Miami Beach approval, commissioners said.
• "Miami Beach is not paying its fair share," Higgins said.

Read more: Miami Beach officials respond

Unhappy with election results and interested in moving? It's a common sentiment after elections.

Zoom in: In the South, roughly 1 in four people say local or national politics influenced their decision on where to live, according to a recent survey from Realtor.com.

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