"A solid piece of scholarship and a comprehensive survey of state politics over the past sixty-five years deserving of a place on the
bookshelf of any thoughtful Floridian, or non-Floridian, concerned about
the past, present and future of the state."—Florida Historical Quarterly
 
"Places Florida's gubernatorial politics since 1940 in the context of the
state's remarkable cultural, economic, and demographic transformation.
Recommended."—Choice
 
"Concise, insightful, and readable."—St. Petersburg Times
 
"In this sweeping overview of modern Florida politics, Colburn challenges the country's preconceived notions of the Sunshine State's political leanings. [It] is the result of a lifetime of observing and analyzing a once small and rural state that has transformed itself, in less than fifty years, into a political powerhouse and national weathervane."—Governor Reubin O'D. Askew

"A masterful study of Florida politics."—Gary R. Mormino, author of Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams

"An insightful analysis of how the Democrats lost—and the GOP gained—the most important swing state in the nation."—Cynthia Barnett, author of Mirage


Likely to raise hackles among Democrats and Republicans alike, this dynamic history of modern Florida argues that the Sunshine State has
become the political and demographic future of the nation. David Colburn
reveals how Florida gradually abandoned the traditions of race and
personality that linked it to the Democratic Party. The book focuses
particularly on the population growth and chaotic gubernatorial politics
that altered the state from 1940, when it was a sleepy impoverished
southern outpost, to the present and the emergence of a dominant
Republican Party.
 
David R. Colburn (1942-2019) served in many roles at the University of Florida, including as provost and senior vice president, professor of history, and director of the Bob Graham Center for Public Service. He is the author of Florida's Megatrends, Second Edition: Critical Issues in Florida and Government in the Sunshine State: Florida Since Statehood.

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