Clinton starts big Florida swing in St. Pete today
Washington – Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton is kicking the week off with a two-day campaign swing through Florida. Today, she starts the day off with a tour 3 Daughters Brewery before holding a mid-afternoon rally at The Coliseum in St. Petersburg.
The Tampa Bay area is one of the key’s to winning the state and Pinellas County, a swing county that was very important to not only getting President Barack Obama elected in 2008 but also his re-election again in 2012. He was able to win Pinellas, in each of his elections. (George W. Bush narrowly won the county in 2004.)
While in the state Clinton is expected to discuss in detail her plans for creating new jobs and improving the economy. She will be in Detroit on Thursday to give a major policy speech on the economy.
Tonight Clinton will continue the Interstate 4 battle with a rally in Kissimmee that is expected to draw a big crowd. She will travel to Miami overnight where she will rest before another big day on Tuesday in The Sunshine State.
Tuesday among her many stops in South Florida, Clinton is expected to visit a health care center in Miami to raise awareness about the threat posed by the Zika virus.
Clinton has surged ahead in all four of last weeks polls nationally as well as built any where from an 8 to a 4 point lead in over her rival Donald Trump. Clinton’s advantage in the state owes largely to her strength with Hispanic voters, many of whom have been turned off by Trump’s hard-line positions on immigration. She also benefits from strong support from the black and Jewish communities in the state.
Clinton also boast a very strong ground game in the state, something she picked up from President Obama. The ground game in Florida is key to winning the state, there is where Clinton has an advantage.
A spokeswoman for the Trump campaign declined to comment to numerous media requests about the all-important ground game in Florida. Trump has spent considerable time in the state — campaigning and otherwise — holding court at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach and calling Florida his second home.
Meanwhile, Clinton has also spent a great deal of time in Florida with the vast majority of time spent along the Interstate 4 corridor from the Tampa Bay area to Daytona Beach. The rest of her attention has been on South Florida’s East Coast from Melbourne south to Miami.
Vice presidential Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, is also expected to spend a great deal of time in the state. He has become a big hit doing a number of interviews throughout the state speaking in Spanish.
Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump is scheduled to lay out parts of his economic plan during a campaign stop in Detroit, Michigan Monday.
Since the parties’ conventions, Florida has become a regular campaign stop for both candidates. Expect to see both of them a great deal over the next 90 days as winning the is key to winning the White House.
