Florida sheriff invites New Yorkers to relocate after mayoral election

A Florida sheriff is urging New York City residents and NYPD officers unhappy with the results of Tuesday’s mayoral election to move south to the Sunshine State.

“To all New Yorkers, if you’re looking for a better quality of life, from education, to the outdoors, to the beautiful weather, check out Volusia County. We are open for business. Tonight’s election is not the end. It can be the beginning of a new life,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood wrote on Facebook.

Chitwood also invited NYPD officers and business owners seeking a “safe, growing community” to consider relocating to Volusia County — about 30 minutes from Daytona Beach — describing it as a place where law enforcement is “appreciated by the community,” “supported by the elected officials” and a “fantastic place” to raise a family.

Sheriff Mike Chitwood welcomed New Yorkers to Florida following Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral win. (Thomas Simonetti for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Zohran Mamdani was elected as New York City’s 111th mayor, defeating former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in one of Tuesday’s most closely watched elections. Mamdani, 34, is one of the youngest people to lead the Big Apple and its first Muslim mayor.

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“New York, tonight you have delivered. A mandate for change. ​​A mandate for a new kind of politics. A mandate for a city we can afford. And a mandate for a government that delivers exactly that,” said Mamdani in his election night victory speech.

“To every New Yorker — whether you voted for me, for one of my opponents, or felt too disappointed by politics to vote at all — thank you for the opportunity to prove myself worthy of your trust. I will wake each morning with a singular purpose: to make this city better for you than it was the day before.”

Zohran Mamdani delivers a victory speech at a mayoral election night watch party, on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in New York City. (Yuki Iwamura/AP)

President Donald Trump warned Wednesday during a speech at the America Business Forum that New Yorkers could flee to Florida following Mamdani’s win. He claimed Miami could turn into a “refuge for those fleeing communism in New York City.”

Trump has knocked Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, for being a “communist.” On Election Day, the president threatened to contribute the “very minimum” in federal funds to New York City if Mamdani were elected.

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump (Getty Images)

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“It can only get worse with a Communist at the helm, and I don’t want to send, as President, good money after bad,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social.

Still, Trump said after Mamdani’s victory that he wants the city to do well, and that he would “help them a little bit.”