As the U.S presidential race gets increasingly tight and a new opening of an old controversy haunting her in the last week of campaigning, getting her supporters to vote appears to be a challenge for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the crucial state of Florida.
“If you get out and vote, we win. If you don’t, we lose,” she told a crowd of enthusiastic supporters at this waterfront city by Lake Monroe in central Florida. That was her third stop on Tuesday in the State. President Barack Obama will do two rallies in Florida on Wednesday.
The Democratic Party has its iconic African American Congressman John Lewis, who marched with Martin Luther King in the Civil Rights Movement in 1960s, and Sheila Jackson Lee, African American Congresswoman from Texas campaigning for Ms. Clinton in the State.
“I have never seen a campaign like this, and therefore we must vote like we never did to protect what our forefathers fought hard for,” Mr. Lewis said, speaking before Ms. Clinton and specifically addressing the African American voters.
Florida, with its 29 electoral college votes, can dramatically twist the outcome of the elections – in 2000, George W. Bush won Florida by 573 votes, took all the 29 electoral college votes and won the U.S presidency against Democratic opponent Al Gore who had more popular votes nationally. All opinion polls indicate that the race is neck and neck in the State.
The focus on African Americans in Florida — and elsewhere — follows the latest assessment of the early voting trends, which suggest they are not as enthusiastic as they were for Mr. Obama in 2008 or 2012.
Overall, early voting trends are reportedly favourable for Ms. Clinton, but African American participation is less than optimal according to latest analysis. “Those who would vote have already voted. I know many others who are not planning to vote. They are not keen,” said Earle Powell, a 50-year old African American at Ms. Clinton’s rally.
