“To prepare for this influx of hundreds of thousands of Americans to Florida, we believe it is vital that the state responds proactively to ease the impact on state and local governments and reduce the challenges that evacuees themselves will face,” Florida Rep. Amy Mercado, a Democrat, told the press.
This is a tall order for a state that has had a Republican majority for two decades. Republican Gov. Rick Scott has emphasized helping our fellow Americans—the huddled in masses and surrounded by destruction—down there, not up here.

Scott’s language is not-so-subconsciously geared toward letting Puerto Ricans know the Sunshine State’s resources are being rallied in true American fashion: by deployment.
Every sentence of a statement issued by Scott’s office on Monday had “Puerto Rico” in it at least once. Key words intoning a “help-is-on-the-way” message were generously sprinkled throughout the governor’s comments.
“As Puerto Rico continues to respond to and recover from Hurricane Maria, Florida stands ready to deploy all available resources and personnel to our neighbors to help in these efforts,” Scott said in the statement. “The crisis in Puerto Rico is unlike anything we have seen before and Florida is going to do everything in our power to help everyone impacted by this storm get back on their feet. I will continue to make sure that our state leaders are in contact with officials in Puerto Rico. The State of Florida stands with Puerto Rico and will keep working to make sure they have everything they need.”
But will the real impact be to local, county and state agencies on economic, social or political issues?
Puerto Ricans have played an outsized role in shifting the state’s politics toward the center. Are Gov. Scott or President Trump—whose home away from home away from home is Florida—worried about a wave of Democratic voters coming to throw a wrench in next year’s election cycle?
Scott’s definitely looking busy trying to help the recovery effort.
Trump, on the other hand, seems aloof about the seriousness of the potential for political change in Florida, which is now the third-most populated state in the country, with more than 20 million citizens.
To emphasize the point, he dedicated a golf trophy of a 20-year-old, PGA-founded tournament round recently to the people of Puerto Rico. In the process, he reinforced the misnomer among more than half of Americans that Puerto Ricans aren’t U.S. citizens. (They are; they just don’t have presidential voting rights.)
The president’s scheduled trip to Puerto Rico is still a go, too, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday morning.
Trump announced last week that he would head to Puerto Rico on Tuesday to oversee the recovery efforts after Hurricane Maria swept over the U.S. territory.
Trump will seek reelection in three years, and Scott is running for U.S. Senate in 2018. How much they help Puerto Ricans in dire need will be remembered come election season.