Bugle Miami

Obama, Luis Fonsi to hold election eve rally in Miami as Democrats rally for Latino votes

Former President Barack Obama and “Despacito” singer Luis Fonsi will hold a closeout rally in South Florida on Monday night on the eve of Election Day, hoping to rally Latino voters in a critical battleground state where the two presidential candidates are in a dead heat.

Florida’s two-week early voting period ended Sunday. More registered Democrats have cast ballots so far than registered Republicans—over 108,000 more, according to figures from the Florida Division of Elections.

 

Florida, with 29 electoral votes, is usually won by razor thin margins. Obama won the state in 2012 by 74,000 votes and Trump carried it in 2016 by about 112,000.

Obama won the Florida Hispanic vote 60 percent to 39 percent. Since then, Latino eligible voters have grown to make up 17 percent of the state. But alliances have shifted since then. While Obama won the Cuban American vote, President Donald Trump’s deluge of messaging attacking Democrats as socialists has been effective in winning over that voter group. Trump has also won the backing of Venezuelan Americans, who are smaller in numbers, and has made inroads with Colombian Americans.

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