Biden takes Duval, 1st time in decades county goes blue in presidential election

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For the first time in decades, Duval County turned blue in a presidential election.

The last time a Democratic candidate took Duval in a presidential election was President Jimmy Carter. That was back in 1976.

President Donald Trump led Democrat Joe Biden in the battle Tuesday -- with about 93% of the votes counted by 10 p.m., the Republican president had more than a three percentage-point advantage over his Democratic rival, prompting Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida GOP leaders to declare Trump the winner.

The Associated Press and TV networks waited hours and until 99% of the Florida vote was counted to declare Trump the winner despite the president having a 3-point and nearly a 400,000-vote lead out of more than 11 million votes cast.

With 100% of the precincts in Duval reporting, Biden took Duval with 250,942 votes. Trump received 232,846 votes.

Notably, Rep. John Rutherford, a Republican, was re-elected to serve District 4, which includes Nassau, and most of Duval and St. Johns counties. Among Duval County voters, Rutherford got 57.49% of the vote compared to Democratic challenger Donna Deegan, who received 42.40% of the vote.

It’s also worth noting that during the gubernatorial race in 2018, Andrew Gillum carried Duval County with more than 51% of the votes cast. Gov. Ron DeSantis narrowly defeated Gillum to take the state.