After a long, chaotic year, the whirlwind election season of 2016 is finally coming to a close, and presidential candidates are hitting Florida hard before they call it a wrap.
Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have both been touring the Sunshine State this week while making last-minute efforts to make sure they’ve spread their message far and wide to get out and vote to send them to the White House next year.
Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence made his rounds in Florida earlier this week, appearing in Cocoa, Maitland and Clearwater to promote Trump and to urge voters to turn the Sunshine State red next week.
All candidates know what Florida means for their presidential aspirations. It’s a make-or-break state and without it, victory is nearly impossible.
"I'm telling you, where we are now, we are coming out of the fourth turn, it's wheel-to-wheel, it is hammer down to the White House, and Florida's going to lead the way," Pence told the crowd in Cocoa Sunday.
Trump, meanwhile, hit each major part of the state, making appearances in Miami, Orlando and Pensacola Wednesday. On Thursday, he swooped into Jacksonville to round out his regional tour of Florida.
"We don't want to blow this," he told his supporters in Miami. "We gotta win. We gotta win big."
Clinton’s campaign has relied on surrogates from the Democratic Party to hit key areas of the state this week.
Her husband, former president Bill Clinton, spoke on her behalf in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, telling voters that this year’s election was about far more than simply declaring victory and calling it a day.
"This is a bigger election than that,” he said to the enthusiastic crowd. “This is a monsoon generation election where we find out what it means to be an American."
President Barack Obama also came to Florida, stopping in Miami Thursday -- the same day Trump was in town -- condemning Republican presidential candidate for disparaging remarks and questioning his seriousness as a candidate.
"This isn't 'Survivor,'" Obama said. "This isn't 'The Bachelorette.' This counts. This has to do with what's going to happen in your family, in your community, to soldiers and veterans, the safety of our kids."
Trump fired back at the president, criticizing him for campaigning for Clinton in the midst of his presidential duties.
“Why is he campaigning instead of creating jobs & fixing Obamacare?” he tweeted. “Get back to work for the American people!"
Clinton’s running mate, Tim Kaine, will also be campaigning on her behalf this week. On Saturday, he will head to St. Petersburg for an official “Get Out the Vote” concert with famous rock musician Jon Bon Jovi.
Recent polls have shown a tightening race between Clinton and Trump in the Sunshine State, with most leaning slightly in her favor. Voter turnout, however, has been slightly higher with Republicans in Florida, who had cast around 12,000 more votes than Democrats at the time of this article’s publication.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
