Both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris seek to flip Latino voters to their side, and Harris hasn't visited Florida since she became a candidate.
Both candidates look to court Latino voters in dueling events
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are spending Tuesday taking different approaches to appealing to Latino voters as the 2024 presidential election draws to a close.
In an interview with Telemundo on Tuesday afternoon, Vice President Harris plans to highlight how her agenda would create more opportunities for Latino men — a strategy born out of roughly a dozen focus groups and polling.
Trump, meanwhile, hosted a roundtable at his Miami-area golf club with Latino elected officials and business leaders, where he made the case that his presidency was much better for the Hispanic community than that of President Joe Biden, his successor.
The Trump and Harris campaigns see what could be an election-deciding opportunity with Latino men, who could swing the outcome in states such as Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada. Trump believes he's made inroads with the Latino community, while Harris' campaign is looking to shore up support.
According to a recent New York Times-Siena College poll, Harris still leads Trump among Latino voters, 56-37, though support for Republicans among the crucial voting bloc has grown since 2016.
Harris hasn't been in Florida as a candidate for president
Florida is one of the biggest prizes in the presidential race, with 30 electoral votes, more than any other state except Texas and California.
But since she became the Democratic nominee for president, Vice President Kamala Harris has not campaigned in the state.
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff is heading to South Florida Wednesday to rally voters ahead of the Election, but Harris hasn’t traveled to the Sunshine State since the spring.
Harris has been to Florida 12 times as vice president, most recently in May, when she visited Jacksonville before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race to denounce the state’s six-week abortion ban going into effect.
Last month the Harris campaign launched a Reproductive Rights bus tour from Florida, and Emhoff rallied at the Villages.
But Harris has not been to the state herself since replacing Biden atop the Democrats’ ticket.
Political analyst Casey Burgat says her decision not to campaign there reflects Florida’s shift to the right.
“That signals, the fact that she hasn’t gone to Florida, is that the upper echelons of the Democratic Party, her best advisors, and maybe even her herself, don’t see Florida as in play as other states, because everything’s a trade off game. You spend time here, you can’t spend time there,” Professor at The George Washington University Casey Burgat said.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton repeatedly visited Florida when she ran for president in 2016, and her campaign advertised heavily in the state.
But Clinton lost Florida, and no Democrat has won state-wide since 2018, when Florida Democratic Chair Nikki Fried narrowly was elected agriculture commissioner.
Since then, the Republicans have built a commanding lead in voter registrations. Two years year ago, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio breezed to re-election, and Republicans won super majorities in the state legislature.
Still, the Democratic National Chairman, Jamie Harrison is in Florida this week, rallying voters and campaigning with Democratic Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.
He’s touting the state Democratic party’s recruitment of 150-thousand volunteers.
“You are going to show the nation that they don’t know how to count because if they count you out, you are going to show them on Election Day that you are going to win some races up and down this ballot,” Harrison said.
Emhoff will be in the Democratic strongholds of Miami-Dade and Broward counties Wednesday where he will deliver remarks and make a push for Democrats to participate in early voting. But as of now, a visit by Harris has not been scheduled.
Early voting turnout numbers across Central Florida
Early voting started in most counties across Florida on Monday, Oct. 21, with local Supervisor of Elections' offices reporting big turnout numbers for the first day.
Voters have until Sunday, Nov. 3, to cast their ballots ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5.