GOP senator jokes Mamdani is now 'Florida's realtor'

Florida Senator Rick Scott joked that New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will be the state's 'realtor of the year' as nearly 2.2 million residents consider fleeing the Big Apple under his leadership. The 34-year-old Democratic Socialist became the first Muslim and South Asian mayor of America's largest city on Tuesday night with 50.4 percent of the vote. Before election day, a Daily Mail poll found that at least 765,000 New Yorkers would 'definitely' leave the city, and a whopping 2.12 million residents would 'consider' fleeing if Mamdani won.

Now, southern states are bracing for a mass migration of New Yorkers, with the Florida senator even joking that Mamdani could win a 'realtor of the year' award for all the residents he will be sending to the Sunshine State. 'Mamdani will be the realtor of the year for the next four years for Florida,' the Republican senator said on Fox Business on Tuesday. 'The wealthiest people are getting out, and they take their income with them . They take jobs with them, they take their charitable giving with them.

'And so who gets hurt? The poorest people in New York , the people that need a job or maybe need some support from a charity. That's what people care about. So they're going to continue to move even faster.' Scott echoed his 'realtor of the year' message on X, writing, 'People want to get a good-paying job and raise their kids in a safe community, which is why freedom-loving New Yorkers are already fleeing NYC and moving to Florida!'

Mamdani has promised several things , including freezing rent, free bus fares and tax hikes on the rich, which has some New Yorkers eyeing moves to tax haven states like Florida. The Daily Mail's poll revealed widespread alarm at the prospect of Mamdani taking over City Hall and highlighted the colossal economic impact of his victory. If anywhere near that number were to leave New York, it would crater the city's economy and send shockwaves across the rest of the country.

Experts told the Daily Mail that wealthy New Yorkers are already selling their apartments in anticipation of Mamdani's win, and others are pulling the plug on their purchases. 'These people are not thrilled about the possibility of Mamdani winning,' said New York realtor Jay Batra. 'They don't want to hear about Mamdani and the rent freeze he is proposing.' 'Two weeks ago, I had a couple of buyers in the $3 million, $4 million and $5million price point range - one I was selling a building to - who are no longer interested in buying,'

Real estate agents in the South Florida neighborhood of Palm Beach say there has been an influx of affluent New Yorkers looking to purchase in the town . This widespread migration out of the city is so prominent that realtors have coined the term 'the Mamdani effect' to describe the trend. 'Most of my New York clients tell me it's about lifestyle first,' Johnny DelPrete, an agent with The Exclusive Group at Douglas Elliman in Palm Beach County, told Realtor.com.

'The weather, the beaches, the ability to be outside all year. Of course, taxes play a role, too. But, it's really about the quality of life they get here without giving up easy access to New York.' Even Texas Governor Greg Abbott has warned New Yorkers looking to flee to the Lone Star State that they will face a 100 percent tariff.

'After the polls close tomorrow night, I will impose a[n] 100 percent tariff on anyone moving to Texas from NYC,' the Republican wrote on X. It's unclear whether there's a legal avenue for Texas to treat people like imported goods and impose an additional tax on them. While many states currently have an 'exit tax' for residents leaving, they do not have a 'moving tax' for those arriving.