Can a Florida Man Lead the GOP Out of the Wilderness?

You know all those “Florida Man” stories? “Florida man arrested for throwing alligator through drive-thru window,” “Florida man learns the hard way he stole laxatives, not opioids,” etc.?

There are several theories for why Florida men stand out so much, starting with the fact that Florida is just weird. The most interesting involves the “streetlight effect,” a logical fallacy inspired by the old joke about the drunk who looks for his lost car keys only under a streetlight because that’s where the light is good—something you could definitely see Florida Man doing.

The Sunshine State has robust “sunshine laws,” making it easy to get arrest information quickly. Hence, according to this theory, Florida Man is no more outlandish than, say, California Man; it’s just that we can see Florida man under the media’s streetlight.

Interesting theory. Let’s test it out.