At least in terms of presidential elections, Florida has fallen a long way since its heady days as a swing state. Seven cycles after the 537-vote cliffhanger in 2000 that was finally resolved when the U.S. Supreme Court placed George Bush in the White House, Florida is so reliably red, and Donald Trump is so sure of getting his 30 electoral college votes , who has barely campaigned here.
For the same reason, the Sunshine State has not figured on Kamala Harris' agenda either. So it raised some eyebrows when Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, the vice president's husband, arrived Wednesday to rally Democrats in Fort Lauderdale and Miami, on a break from their campaigns in northeastern battleground states.
Emhoff believes, at least publicly, that the state is still in play. “We can win Florida. We should win Florida! he told a lively gathering of supporters at an early voting rally at the OB Johnson Center in Hallandale Seaside, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale in the Democratic stronghold of Broward County.
Polls would suggest otherwise: Trump leads Harris by about six points in the latest FiveThirtyEight.com average in a state he won handily in both 2016 and 2020.
But even under the specter of a Florida loss in the presidential race, Democrats at the national and state levels see additional value in their visit because of a tighter U.S. Senate race in Florida between incumbent Republican Rick Scott and his Democratic rival, former Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.
Much of the fighting in that race has focused on women's rights to health care, and especially Amendment 4, the ballot initiative that will overturn Florida's draconian six-week abortion ban if passed by a majority of the vote. 60%.
It's an issue that has sparked outrage among advocates in large part because of Florida's ultraconservative Gov. Ron DeSantis' efforts to interfere. He has been accused of sending law enforcement officers to the homes of people who signed a petition of support, illegally spending taxpayer money on television ads that opposed it, and threatening legal action against the networks that aired them. .
Emhoff, as expected, had thoughts. Attacking Trump as the architect of the downfall of Roe v Wade, he said: “Make no mistake, Donald Trump is no friend of women. He has proven to be a threat to women. Now he claims to be a friend of women. Would he protect you? Of course not. “Trump is proud of it, he brags about overturning Roe v Wade.”
His comments sparked chants of “Yes on 4!”
Mucarsel-Powell was among the speakers and also addressed the topic. “I will protect healthcare and people with pre-existing conditions. “I will stand up for women and children to make sure we protect them against attacks on their reproductive freedom,” she said.
Also on Emhoff's agenda were gun violence, the economy and immigration, as well as the extremist agenda of Republicans' Project 2025. He laid out how Harris would address these issues from the White House and expressed disappointment that polls, less than two weeks before Election Day, showed a close race.
“I shouldn't be this close,” he said.
Some had thought it would address back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton, which ravaged parts of Florida in recent weeks. Harris argued with DeSantis about the storms, and the governor reportedly refused to take her calls because, he said, “they seemed political.”
But Emhoff covered a number of other recent and well-known Democratic topics in his half-hour speech, including Trump's alleged admiration for Adolf Hitler's military generals, which, as he noted, Harris addressed earlier on Wednesday.
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“We really need to listen to what Donald Trump says, what comes out of his mouth. We lived through it when he was president, somehow we overcame it. “This time it represents an even greater threat: to the economy, women and our own lives,” she said.
“We can't take our eyes off this. This is as current as it gets. This is right in front of our faces. He is completely incapable, unhinged and un-American. “We need to turn the page on this chapter of American history.”
He also referred to Trump's “strange” references to Arnold Palmer and the size of his genitals. “What's that?” Emhoff said.
Following his speech in Hallandale, Emhoff addressed a rally and fundraiser Wednesday night at Coral Gablers in Miami, near where Trump spoke directly to Latino voters earlier this week. Both sides are desperately courting South Florida's sizable Hispanic community in the final stages of the race.
Supporters who spoke before the event at Hallandale Seaside welcomed Emhoff's visit. Democratic voter Anthony Hill of Lauderdale Lakes said it showed Democrats had not given up on Florida.
“Every weekend, Trump supporters are here on the corners with their flags, it gets depressing,” he said. “I don't think Kamala is going to win here, but if we can win some of the negative elections we can show that we are still alive.”
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