Trump Kicks Off Southern Swing in Florida, Warning Voters Against Returning to ‘Dark Age’ of Democratic Rule

President Trump is hoping to energize Republican voters in Florida, where Democrats are increasingly optimistic about their chances of flipping a state that had seemed to drift out of their reach over the past decade.On Friday, Mr. Trump held a rally at Fort Myers, telling an energetic crowd they will have a “great continuation of senator and you’re going to have a great, great governor. I have no doubt about that.”“This is the free state of Florida where people come to escape communists — not to elect them,” he said. “The Sunshine State is not going to send a Marxist maniac to the Senate.”The rally comes as Democrats have, in recent days, started spending on several races in the Sunshine State. On Tuesday, the Democratic Governors Association announced it is spending $1 million to support the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, David Jolly, in his race against Congressman Byron Donalds. “Two years ago, we were living in a dark age, the proud people of Florida will never let that happen,” Mr. Trump said as he recalled the situation at the southern border while President Biden was in office. “Less than two years ago, the Radical Left ‘Dumocrats’ hated us … but we quickly turned it into the Golden Age of America.”Mr. Trump ripped into Mr. Jolly, telling supporters that he has “no heart, no soul” and that “everybody” in Congress “hated” him. With Mr. Trump’s falling approval rating and voters’ frustrations about the cost of living and the economy, Democrats are pouring more resources into the state. On Tuesday, President Clinton campaigned with Mr. Jolly, a former Republican congressman, and helped raise $3 million for his campaign. Meanwhile, last weekend, Senator Bernie Sanders campaigned for the Democratic Senate candidate, Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist who won an upset victory in the primary last August. Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to hold a virtual event to benefit the Senate hopeful as well. Florida was a bright spot for Republicans in the 2022 midterms. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis won his bid for re-election by nearly 20 points, while Senator Marco Rubio won his re-election bid by about 16 points. And Republicans flipped three House seats. Two years later, Mr. Trump carried the state by 13 points and became the first Republican presidential candidate to win the heavily Hispanic Miami-Dade County in 36 years. However, there are warning signs that Republicans’ gains among Hispanic voters may be eroding. An N+ Univision/YouGov poll released this week found that Mr. Jolly leads Mr. Donalds among Hispanic voters, 48 percent to 43 percent. On the generic ballot for House races in Florida, Democrats led among Hispanic voters 48 percent to 44 percent. And for the Senate race, 45 percent of Hispanic voters said they prefer the Democratic candidate while 44 percent chose the Republican. The survey found that 32 percent of Latino voters said they believed the southern border needs to be secure but that the Trump administration’s deportation operations have gone too far. However, the poll found that among all voters statewide, Mr. Donalds leads Mr. Jolly 50 percent to 42 percent, and the Republican incumbent senator, Ashley Moody, leads Ms. Nixon 51 percent to 42 percent. RealClearPolitics’ average of polls shows Mr. Donalds holds an average lead of 5.6 points. And Ms. Moody holds a 7-point lead. Shortly after landing in Florida, Mr. Trump told reporters his message to Republicans in the state is “just get out and vote. If they vote, we’re going to win big.”Mr. DeSantis predicted that Republicans will “do very well in Florida, as we have in recent years.”Florida is not the only traditionally conservative state Mr. Trump will be visiting this weekend. On Saturday, he will hold a rally at Perry, Georgia. The incumbent Democratic senator, Jon Ossoff, was seen as one of the weakest Democrats running this cycle. However, Congressman Mike Collins has struggled to gain traction in that race. RealClearPolitics’ average of polls shows Mr. Ossoff holds an 8.5-point lead over Mr. Collins. Mr. Collins’ campaign has been plagued by concerns about his son-in-law, who was found to have a record of sharing antisemitic content online. And on Friday, CNN’s KFile published a report that resurfaced jokes from the Republican congressman about hanging leaders from helicopters and pushing Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi out of a plane. Polls have also found the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Rick Jackson, is locked in a tight race with the former mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms. On Monday, Mr. Trump will hold a rally at Corinth, Mississippi, to support Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in yet another race where Democrats are suddenly feeling optimistic and spending money. On Thursday, Vice President Harris held a rally in the state with the Democratic candidate, Scott Colom. Several recent polls compiled by the New York Times show that Ms. Hyde-Smith’s lead is between 3 and 6 points — though all six polls the Times lists are either “affiliated” with Mr. Colom’s campaign or sponsored by Democrats. The president will hold two rallies on Tuesday in Texas, where Democrats are pursuing their perennial dream of flipping the state blue. Several recent polls have found the race for Senate in the Lone Star State is statistically tied. Governor Greg Abbott is also locked in a tight re-election bid.

Trump Kicks Off Southern Swing in Florida, Warning Voters Against Returning to ‘Dark Age’ of Democratic Rule

Trump Kicks Off Southern Swing in Florida, Warning Voters Against Returning to ‘Dark Age’ of Democratic Rule

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