ORLANDO, Fla. — Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Florida) is in the fight of his life against Republican Gov. Rick Scott, and on the final day ahead of the midterm election, he's sticking to an old school method of campaigning — sign waving on street corners.
- Sen. Bill Nelson does sign waving in Orlando, Melbourne
- Senator has been sign waving since 1972
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As candidates across the state are making the final push to Election Day with multiple rallies and events, the three-term incumbent Senator campaigned his way until the very end.
From a corner in Orlando, to a median in Melbourne, the 76-year old continued his 40-year plus tradition.
“I’m the first one to have ever done it," Nelson said as he waved a sign. "First one in Brevard County."
The senator has been sign waving since 1972, when he was running for Congress in a district that included Melbourne and parts of Orlando. He even wore the same boots on Monday that he did all those years ago.
“I’d go to every door, knocking on doors, and those boots, they are kind of worn now," he said with a grin.
The senator doesn’t have any big rallies planned less than 24 hours until the polls open, like his opponent Gov. Rick Scott. After crisscrossing the state over the last few weeks, he said he's already put in the hard work.
"Two-thirds of the vote, has already voted. That’s a phenomenon that’s come along later," he explained. "One-third of the vote has yet to be cast. Of that group that will vote tomorrow, a lot of their minds are made up as well, but there's still a certain segment that have not made up their minds, and that's where we see the upward movement."
In a number of recent polls, Nelson is clinging to a slim lead against his Republican challenger, typically within the margin of error:
Florida's senior senator acknowledges the upward shift in polling could be correlated with the excitement surrounding Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum.
“Andrew and I have appeared together on a number of rallies, and he helps me, and I help him," Nelson said.
While the veteran Democrat has never faced an opponent quite like Gov. Rick Scott, he said he’ll continue to campaign the way he believes works best.
“They like to see a candidate coming out there, with the people, asking directing for their votes," he said.