Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Kaine, Trump rally support in S. Florida
As early voting kicked off Monday in South Florida, Sen. Tim Kaine took shots at Florida’s Republican incumbent senator and made it clear the Sunshine State will play a decisive role in deciding the next president.
And Donald Trump made a campaign stop Monday at Bedner’s Farm Fresh Market in West Boynton, where he called the Environmental Protection Agency “a disaster” and said with the North American Free Trade Agreement “we get nothing but the drugs.”
Carrying Florida on Election Day would be “checkmate” for Hil-
lary Clinton, Kaine said during a rally at the Meyer Amphitheater on the downtown waterfront in West Palm Beach.
“You really are a checkmate state,” he said. “That’s more than a battleground state . ... If we win for Hillary here, it’s over. She’s going to be president.”
The Democratic vice president candidate’s visits Monday to West Palm Beach and Miami-Dade County were part of a blitz by the Clinton campaign to lock up support in the mustwin battleground state. Early voting started Monday in most of Florida’s counties, including Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade.
Polls show Clinton leading in key battleground states, and the campaign is seeking to widen that gap. Kaine said he likes the polls he’s been seeing, but he urged voters not to get complacent.
“We can’t take anything for granted because this is the season of surprise,” Kaine said, adding that few pundits thought Donald Trump would secure the GOP nomination.
He said the nation is in “uncharted waters” with Russian hackers trying to influence the election and told the crowd early voting numbers show the Clinton campaign is off to a promising start.
Trump is also vying for votes in Florida, making a three-day swing through the Sunshine State. As well as his campaign stop in West Boynton, he held rallies in St. Augustine and Tampa.
During a roundtable discussion with dozens of farmers at the Boynton pumpkin patch, Trump declared that the Environmental Protection Agency “has been a disaster” and blasted the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Trump said of Mexico: “We get the drugs, they get the cash.”
At Florida International University, Kaine took a shot at Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who is seeking re-election against U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, DJupiter.
If someone can’t condemn Trump, “you’ve got to ask the question whether they’re the right person to represent you,” Kaine said. Rubio has been a lukewarm supporter of Trump and has said the Republican is a better option than Clinton.
Kaine blasted Trump’s comments on immigrants, women, climate change and the “rigged” election system. He told the crowd he has won all of his eight elections and plans to win his ninth.
“You can beat me at Scrabble,” he said. “You can beat me in Trivial Pursuit. You are not going to be beat me in an election.”
Kaine met with voters in Miami and West Palm Beach after each rally. At the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office, he shook hands and posed for selfies, greeting some voters in Spanish.
Clinton will campaign Tuesday in Coconut Creek and on Wednesday in Lake Worth, and President Barack Obama will rally voters Friday in Orlando. Trump has campaign stops planned Tuesday in Sanford and Tallahassee; he’s also expected to meet with Cuban exiles in Miami.
Shirley Herman, 74, a Democratic Party volunteer who attended Kaine’s rally, said she knows the stakes are high in Florida. She wore a “Stronger Together” shirt with Clinton’s photo emblazoned on the front. South Florida, which historically votes Democratic, will play a critical role, she said.
“If we bring out the vote, we can carry the state,” Herman said.
A few protesters shouted “Donald Trump” and “lock her up” during the speeches. One held a sign that read, “Deplorables Unite.” The crowd yelled back, “I am with her.”