Democrats are worried that blacks in Florida will not come out to vote in high enough numbers to help give Hillary Clinton the edge she needs to defeat Donald Trump in the crucial swing state, Politico reports.
Part of the problem is that it is very difficult to recapture the excitement in the black community surrounding the 2008 and 2012 campaigns of Barack Obama, the nation's first black president. The black community's thronging to the ballot boxes on Election Day in overwhelming numbers helped propel him to a close victory in Florida.
To offset the perceived lack of enthusiasm for Clinton's campaign among black voters, the party is pulling out all the stops to increase excitement in the community for her White House bid, as Florida is again tight in the polls.
The Sun Sentinel reports that Obama has called in to a Miami radio station with a large black audience to pitch Clinton, and plans to make appearances in the Sunshine State, as does First Lady Michelle Obama.
Black celebrities such as Olympic sprinter Carl Lewis and former NBA star Grant Hill have also been hitting the state to boost interest in the election.
Clinton herself, as well as former president Bill Clinton, who is immensely popular in the black community, are also planning more campaign stops, as is vice presidential running mate Tim Kaine, who recently stumped at a rally at historically black college Florida A&M.
A recent CBS News poll shows Clinton with overwhelming black support in Florida at some 70 percent, and other surveys shows black support even above 80 percent, but that still pales in comparison to the 95 percent Obama garnered, and that was with increased turnout due to the feeling of a historic moment.
The Clinton campaign knows it needs as many black and other minority votes as possible in the state to offset Trump's popularity among whites. Minorities comprise about a third of Florida's voters.
Democratic African-American Women Caucus president Leslie Wimes, who is based in South Florida, told Politico that too much of the black vote in Florida is anti-Trump, rather than pro-Clinton.
"In the end, we don't vote against somebody. We vote for somebody."
Others have said part of Clinton's problem is her attempts to woo black voters comes across as pandering.
Palm Beach County Republican Party chairman Michael Barnett told the Sun Sentinel that Trump is making enough inroads into the black community to make a difference on Election Day, saying that Trump "doesn't need to win every black vote, he just needs to convince black voters that Hillary is not their candidate. If they're undecided, if they're on the fence, if they don't come out and vote for Hillary, that's just as good as voting for Trump."
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