Florida votes to raise its minimum wage to $15

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

published 4 November 2020

Florida is projected to side with President Trump in the 2020 election — but it also supports a very progressive policy change.

With more than 10 million votes counted late Tuesday night, nearly two-thirds of voters have agreed with a constitutional amendment to raise Florida's minimum wage, The New York Times and The Associated Press project. The state's current minimum wage of $8.56 will rise to $10 by September 2021, and will grow another $1 per year until it hits $15 an hour in 2026.

Progressive groups and political candidates have made a $15 minimum wage a key part of their platforms, with former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) bringing it to a national level. Democrats officially adopted the $15 minimum wage as part of their 2020 platform thanks to Sanders' advocacy. No other Southern states have raised their minimum wages to $15, but Florida will be the eighth state in the U.S. to raise the wage.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.