Kamala Harris Hits Florida Trail With a Message: Vote Early

The vice presidential candidate will participate in an early vote launch drive-in rally in the key battleground state.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris visited Orlando on Monday, Oct. 19, the first day of early voting in Florida. The California senator is scheduled to visit Jacksonville as well.

Harris’ visit comes as President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence escalated their campaigning in the decisive battleground swing state, where polls have shown either a dead heat between Biden and Trump, or a slim Biden lead.

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Harris—who visited Miami-Dade County last month to talk to the Venezuelan community in Doral—participated in an early vote launch drive-in rally in Orlando to encourage Floridians to vote early. Early voting begins on Monday, Oct. 19 and lasts until the weekend before Election Day. Although Election Day is Nov. 3, 2.4 million voters have already sent in mail ballots.

During the event, Harris spoke to Floridians about the important role the key battleground state plays in this election.

“Today, I had to come here, on the kickoff of #earlyvoting in Florida, ’cause y’all are gonna make it happen…what you will do, here in Florida, by early voting, is you will be the first to put our country back on the right track,” said Harris, who took the opportunity to address some of Floridians’ major concerns: “Justice is on the ballot in 2020. Economic justice is on the ballot in 2020… Everything is on the ballot in 2020. Joe Biden is on the ballot in 2020.”

She also called out President Trump on what has been called his administration’s negligent handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

“[Trump] had an opportunity to deal with [this virus] but denied fact, denied science, and lied to the American people—so, we know we need a change. And a change is coming,” she promised.

This is Senator Kamala Harris’ first trip to Central Florida this year, an area often said to be the critical swing section of Florida. Former Vice President Joe Biden has visited the area as well. 

Harris’ Husband on the Campaign Trail

Also on Monday, Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, will make a stop in South Florida, where he is scheduled to visit Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Broward Counties. More details still to come.  

Emhoff’s “Early Vote Bus Tour” starts at 12:15 p.m. in Lake Worth. This will be followed by a 1:45 p.m. event in Plantation and a 2:45 p.m. stop in Aventura. The campaign is only sharing venue details with those who RSVP. 

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The Biden Campaign Rallies On

Parallel to the Harris/Emhoff events, the Biden campaign also has early vote kick-off events.

Gainesville: Press conference with City Commissioner David Arreola, House District 21 candidate Kayser Enneking, and University of Florida campus leaders at 11:30 a.m.

Tallahassee: “Early Vote Block Party” with Rep. Ramón Alexander, City Commissioner Jack Porter, and Florida A&M University and Florida State University campus leaders at 1 p.m.

Fort Myers: Kickoff event with mayoral candidate Jacquelyn McMiller and first-time voters at the Stars Complex starting at 4 p.m.

Full event details are disclosed upon RSVP.