Won’t work forever, but can forestall the inevitable.
If the GOP ever loses control of Texas and/or Florida, then their Electoral College paths to victory basically disappear.
These big states also happen to be two states where Republicans are currently doubling down on passing the most retrograde nonsense targeted against women, LGBTQ, racial minorities, and educated people in general (all core Democratic constituencies).
If even a small percentage of Democratic voters move out of the state in protest, then it keeps FL/TX in the GOP columns for awhile to come. The states won’t grow as quickly, so they won’t be adding many EC votes, but the winner-take-all system means they at least get to win all those votes.
Are Republicans really this cruel and bigoted or are they also doing some of this strategically? In the short run, at least, it seems like a plausible strategy. Till they finally lose FL/TX for good and the house of cards comes tumbling down.
My point is our peculiar countermajoritarian and geographically-handicapped system of political representation creates some weird incentives for the minority party. In every other functioning democracy in the world, it would be political suicide to deliberately kneecap people who might vote for you. Not here.
