Sean Hannity urges others to move to ‘Free State of Florida’ if Mamdani is elected

Fox News host Sean Hannity has claimed there will be a “mass exodus” out of the state of New York if Democrat Zohran Mamdani is elected as the city’s mayor in November—warning that many companies will choose to relocate to Florida in order to avoid “burdensome regulations and high taxes.”

Hannity, 63, who himself moved to the Sunshine State from New York in January, made the claims during an appearance on his fiancée Ainsley Earhardt’s show, “Fox & Friends,” during which he discussed the Democratic party’s plummeting approval rating.

According to a new poll by Quinnipiac University, 72% of voters disapprove of the Democrats in Congress, while just 19% gave the party a positive rating. However, the numbers were not much better for congressional Republicans, who received a 62% disapproval rating from voters.

While sharing his views on the rating—which he noted is at an all-time low—Hannity suggested that it may be related to the political party’s choice of spokespeople, mocking the likes of Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the other members of a group known as “the squad,” before taking aim at Mamdani.

Mamdani, 33, who won the Democratic mayoral primary in June, is now being largely viewed as one of the leading new voices of his political party—however, Hannity claimed that his policies will likely lead to many New York residents fleeing the state, suggesting that his fellow Fox News hosts may want to get ahead of the trend by joining him in Florida.

“If they want to go with Mamdani as the Mayor of New York City, I invite you all to come and broadcast your show as I do, originate your show in the free state of Florida,” he said. “Because there is going to be a mass exodus out of the state of New York the likes of which we have never seen.”

Addressing the impact on New York City’s economy, the Fox News host went on to warn that many businesses have already made the decision to set up bases in Florida—and will likely turn even more attention to the Southern state in the event of a Mamdani victory in November’s mayoral election.

“What a lot of people don’t know—and it’s a pretty fascinating phenomenon—is that Wall Street South is already here,” he added. “All these companies, they don’t just have offices in Southern Florida, no, they’ve got half their companies down here now.

“The reason is because of burdensome regulation, high taxes, they’ve chased them out. And they’re just going to pick up and leave completely now.”

When asked about Mamdani’s fellow mayoral candidates, Hannity urged Fox News viewers not to count out Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, claiming that there may still be a “lane” for him in the election, particularly given that independent runner Andrew Cuomo is closing in on Mamdani in the polls.

“So, Mamdani’s numbers have been going down. It looked like it might have been a slam dunk in the beginning—I’m not so sure,” he said, before calling attention to the fact that there are three other left-leaning politicians in the race: Cuomo, Eric Adams, and Jim Walden, which may prove to be of benefit to Sliwa.

“Cuomo is definitely leading in terms of coming into second place. But you’ve got three leftists on the ticket besides Mamdani and, sorry, Eric Adams is not polling particularly well, [although] I know there’s going to be a lot of money thrown in his direction,” Hannity said.

“But if all three of them stay in the race and Mamdani stays in the race, I do believe—it’s an outside shot—but it does create a lane for Curtis Sliwa, who has been a longtime friend of mine. He really is Mr. New York, he loves New York City.”

Hannity went on to describe Sliwa as a “Giuliani 2.0,” referring to Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump’s disgraced former attorney who served as Mayor between 1994 and 2001.

The conservative pundit noted that Sliwa has a “very hard” road ahead of him, given New York City’s long-standing affiliation with the Democratic party, but insisted that if the left is split between multiple candidates, the Republican candidate could still have a shot at a win.

Earhardt and Hannity went on to discuss Mamdani’s “socialist, Marxist” policies, with the latter describing them as “madness” and “insanity.”

Though Hannity believes that a Mamdani victory in the election would prompt a “mass exodus” from New York, real estate experts have insisted that it’s too early to begin making those kind of predictions—particularly when it comes to the city’s wealthiest residents.

Luxury real estate broker Donna Olshan told Realtor.com® earlier this month that, while she has received some “nervous calls” from her clients, she believes it’s highly unlikely that long-term residents will simply up and leave New York and move elsewhere.

“It’s way too early to see how this will affect the luxury market in Manhattan,” Olshan said earlier this month. “Have I gotten nervous calls? Yes, but at the end of the day, most people are not going to pick up roots and move somewhere else because they don’t like the mayor and are afraid of the direction the city will go in.”

Still, Mamdani’s policies are already influencing the New York City real estate market, with Olshan revealing that right after the primary, a buyer submitted a low offer on an apartment she was representing—in an attempt to secure a “Mamadani discount.”

“I thought this was ironic,” Olshan adds. “They were perfectly happy to live in New York City—even with Mamdani—if they could get a discount on an apartment.”

And while Manhattan residents may have previously looked to places like Palm Beach as an alternative home base, figures show that these trends have changed.

Instead, city dwellers who want to leave the Big Apple are now seeking alternative residences in places much closer to home, like Suffolk and Nassau.

“It appears that more Manhattan residents are interested in staying within the New York City metro, but outside the city proper,” Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner said.