Florida has come a long way since its heyday as a swing state, at least when it comes to presidential elections. Seven cycles removed from the 537-vote cliffhanger finally resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000 that put George Bush in the White House, Florida is so convincingly red, and Donald Trump is so confident of winning its 30 Electoral College votes. , which he didn't. t campaign here.
For the same reason, the Sunshine State is also absent from Kamala Harris' agenda. Few people were surprised when Doug Emhoff, the vice president's husband, arrived Wednesday to rally Democrats in Fort Lauderdale and Miami during a break from their attacks on battleground states in the Northeast.
Emhoff believes, at least publicly, that the state is still in the game. “We can beat Florida. We have to beat Florida! ” he told a cheering crowd of supporters at the Get Out the Early Voting rally at the Opie Johnson Center in Hallandale Beach, a Fort Lauderdale suburb in the Democratic stronghold of Broward County.
Polls would suggest otherwise: Trump leads Harris by about six points in the latest FiveThirtyEight.com average in a state he won easily in both 2016 and 2020.
But even with fears of a Florida loss in the presidential race, Democrats at the national and state levels see added value in his visit. The close U.S. Senate race in Florida is between incumbent Republican Rick Scott and his former Democratic counterpart, Debbie Mukarsel-Powell.
Much of that race revolves around women's health rights and specifically Amendment 4, an electoral effort to repeal Florida's strict six-week abortion ban if passed by a 60% majority.
That has sparked outrage among defenders of Florida's ultraconservative governor, Ron DeSantis. Try to intervene. She has been accused of sending law enforcement officers to the homes of people who signed a petition of support, illegally spending taxpayer money on television ads opposing her, and taking legal action against networks that aired ads supporting her.
Emhoff, as expected, had ideas. Attacking Trump as the architect of the consequences of Roe v Wade, he said: “Make no mistake, Donald Trump is no friend of women. He has proven to be a threat to women. Now he claims to be a friend of women. Will he protect you? Of course not. Trump is proud of it. He boasts about overturning Roe v Wade.
Their comments were “Yes on 4!” Incited songs of
Mucarsel-Powell was one of the speakers and addressed the topic. “I will protect people with pre-existing health and conditions. “I will defend women and children and ensure they are protected from attacks on their reproductive freedom,” she said.
Emhoff's agenda also included gun violence, the economy and immigration, and the Republican extremist plan agenda for 2025. He noted how Harris would address these concerns from the White House and expressed disappointment that polls showed a close race less than two weeks before election day.
“I shouldn't be this close,” he said.
Some thought there would be a solution to Hurricanes Helen and Milton, which devastated parts of Florida in recent weeks. Harris clashed with DeSantis over the storms, and the governor reportedly refused to take her calls because he said they sounded “political.”
But Emhoff covered several recent and familiar Democratic topics in his half-hour speech, including Trump's admiration for Adolf Hitler's military generals, which he noted Harris addressed earlier Wednesday.
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“We really need to listen to what Donald Trump says and what comes out of his mouth. We lived it when he was president. Somehow we did it. This time, it poses an even greater threat: to the economy, to women and to our lives,” she said. .
“We can't take our eyes off this. That's how real it is. It's right in front of our faces. He is totally incompetent, unhinged and un-American. We must turn the page on this chapter of American history.
He also addressed Trump's “weird” comments about Arnold Palmer and the size of his penis. “What is it?” Mhoff said.
Following his speech in Hallandale, Emhoff held a rally and fundraiser Wednesday night in Coral Gables in Miami, near where Trump spoke directly to Latino voters earlier this week. Both sides are heavily courting South Florida's sizable Hispanic community in the final stretch of the race.
Supporters who spoke before the event in Hallandale Beach welcomed Mhope's arrival. Lauderdale Lakes Democrat Anthony Hill said it showed Democrats haven't given up on Florida.
“Every weekend, Trump supporters come here to the corners with their flags. “It's depressing,” he said. I don't think Kamala will win here, but winning some down-ballot elections can show that we're still alive.
