MIAMI, Fla. — As President Trump holds his ninth rally in the state of Florida since he was elected to office, the race to win the state’s 29 electoral votes in 2020 is heating up, a little less than a year until the general election.
- Republicans confident with well-established operation throughout state
- Democrats feel they've learned from mistakes in 2016, 2018
- RELATED: Democrats Question Report on How Much Trump Campaign Will Spend in Florida
After visiting the state 36 times since Election Day 2016, it’s clear winning Florida in 2020 is personal to Trump. The state is not only his new official residency, but also the key to another four years in the White House.
“We have the tools, we have the resources, we have the ground game,” said Danielle Alvarez, a spokeswoman with Trump Victory, based in Miami.
Alvarez said the campaign isn’t taking any chances and has teamed up with the Republican National Committee to work seamlessly throughout the state. With an already well-established operation in this battleground state, not only are they registering voters, they’re reaching out to them individually based on compiled data.
“If you're in South Florida, that's a completely different place than if you're in one of our coastal communities, whether you're in rural Florida or north Florida,” Alvarez explained.
“We really want to be able to talk to folks on an individualized basis,” she added.
This upcoming election year will be a major test for Democrats. After-back to-back statewide losses in 2016 and 2018, they believe they have learned from their deficiencies.
“We needed to start early, and we are doing that. We are building the infrastructure this year so we are ready for 2020,” said Luisana Perez, who does Hispanic outreach for the Florida Democratic Party.
While the sprawling field of Democratic presidential hopefuls have yet to make themselves visible in the state, the party is stepping in. Perez said their aim is to register hundreds of thousands of new voters in addition to recruiting this region’s sizable and diverse Hispanic community.
“Puerto Ricans, Venezuelans, Cubans, we’re hiring organizers in those communities talking to them,” Perez said. "We want our nominee to get to Florida and understand that the Florida Democratic Party did the work that needed to be done in order to win next year.”
The outcome in Florida is a simple numbers game. The party that energizes the most supporters will win the state’s 29 electoral votes, and the results will likely be razor thin.