Pence to hold Kissimmee rally
Vice president to visit Jan. 16 for a “Latinos for Trump” event.
Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to visit Kissimmee on Jan. 16 for a “Latinos for Trump” event for President Trump’s reelection campaign.
The rally will be the second campaign event of that day for Pence along the all-important I-4 corridor between Tampa and Orlando, the key swing area that has long been the key to victory in Florida in presidential elections.
According to the campaign, Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence will appear at the Nación de Fe church at 4555 West Irlo Bronson Highway in Kissimmee. Doors are scheduled to open at 4 p.m. for the 6 p.m. event.
Tickets are available at the Trump campaign website.
Earlier that day, Pence is scheduled to appear in the Hillsborough County community of Wimauma, southeast of Tampa.
The group Latinos for Trump, announced in June at a Pence event in Miami, is aimed at shoring up Hispanic support for Trump in Florida as well as other key states.
It held an event called “Vamos for Victory” in Orlando in October featuring Pence’s nephew John Pence and conservative radio host Manny Mulet.
Trump won about 35% of the Latino vote in Florida in 2016, according to Pew Research, but the Trump-Pence ticket only got 26% of the vote among non-Cuban Latinos.
The campaign hopes to build
on U.S. Sen. Rick Scott’s 48% support from Florida Hispanics in 2018.
The president has been
wooing Venezuelan Americans in Florida by supporting the opposition to disputed president Nicolas Maduro in that country’s chaotic political situation, though many in the community have been frustrated
by the slow progress on protections for Venezuelan refugees.
But Trump has been criticized by Florida’s Puerto Rican community for his comments and actions following Hurricane Maria hitting the island in 2017, and his border policies including family separation have also come under fire from Hispanic groups.