I remember being interested years back when I first started looking into details of gerrymandering.

My initial assumption was that politicians would tend to gerrymander to favor their party (like, you want to win, but win by narrow margins). But as I learned to my surprise, that...isn't actually what happens. In general, they gerrymander to make seats safe, to win by comfortable margins, so that they don't really have to compete for them.

So of all the times to do a switch in tactics to a "win by narrow margins to maximize party influence" strategy, this was an exceptionally poor time.

EDIT: That is, a poor time for the Republicans. The Democratic counter-gerrymandering, like in California, worked well.

Florida is probably always (well, okay, maybe climate change might make it a little less appealing) gonna be a retirement destination for more-northerly East Coast Americans. People like retiring to warm places.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/median-age-by-state

Like, it has one of the most elderly populations of US states.

So that's always gonna favor whichever party in the current party system is more popular with elderly voters.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retirement_to_Florida

Retirement to Florida is a phenomenon in the United States beginning in the 1950s in which retirees have, during certain periods, disproportionately chosen to move to the state of Florida to live out their retirement.

In the 1950s and 1960s, migration into Florida was localized, with retirees from places like New York City moving to Miami Beach in large numbers.[5][6] A 1958 newspaper article identified factors making Florida increasingly popular as a retirement destination in the postwar era, arguing that no single factor explained the trend, but that retirees were drawn by the state's warm climate, mild winters, abundant sunshine, comparatively inexpensive housing, and favorable tax structure. It was noted that many retirees from northern states could sell higher-priced homes and purchase less expensive residences in Florida while retaining cash reserves, with two-bedroom homes in Florida costing "between 20 and 40 per cent less than homes in most of the rest of the country". It also emphasized the absence of a state income tax, relatively low property taxes, and generous homestead exemptions. It also noted limitations, observing that the overall cost of living was difficult to compare with other states and that employment opportunities for retirees seeking supplemental income were relatively limited.

Retirement communities, which are often built in warm climates, became common in Florida, as well as other warmer states such as Alabama, Arizona, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, and Texas. In 2011, The Villages, Florida became the largest of these communities,[9] approaching a population of 80,000 residents by 2020. Some of the characteristics of these communities typically are: the community must be age-restricted or age-qualified,[10] residents must be partially or fully retired, and the community offers shared services or amenities.[10]

Florida also contains a number of niche retirement communities targeting retirees who "share a common interest, hobby or trait".[11] By 2011, niche retirement communities or "niche senior communities' - known as "affinity retirement communities" by industry professionals - [12] had become "one of the biggest trends in retirement living." These communities attract those over 55 who want to be in communities of like-minded individuals from the same ethnic background.