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(CNN) – The battle for Florida is at the forefront of Thursday’s presidential race as President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden hold mourning rallies in the marquee state.
Trump is scheduled to hold a rally at 1:30 p.m. ET in Tampa, part of a crucial region in Florida. At the same time, Biden will be in Broward County in South Florida, home to a huge Democratic electorate in which he will aim to get a big advantage on election night. Then at 6:30 pm ET, Biden will also visit Tampa.
The stakes in Florida are higher for Trump, who would have virtually no path to 270 electoral votes without winning the state where he defeated Hillary Clinton by 1.2 percentage points in 2016.
Build Your Own Path to 270 Electoral Votes with CNN’s Interactive Map
For Biden, whose main campaign focus is rebuilding the “blue wall” of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, a quick count victory in Florida would be a sign of strength on Election Night and could bring the contest to an early end. and decisive. .
Trump and Biden compete for a shrinking pool of votes there. By Wednesday morning, more than 6.9 million people had cast their votes in Florida, according to the state Division of Elections, a number that is already approaching the 9.6 million votes cast in the elections. presidential elections of 2016 and is almost half the population of the state. than 14.4 million registered voters.
Recent polls in Florida have shown that Biden has a close career. CNN’s poll poll that tracks the average poll result in the race places Biden at 49% to 45% for Trump.
See the Trump and Biden polls face to face.
Florida is also clear evidence that the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee are feeling a squeeze of cash, cutting planned spending there by $ 2 million.
Biden will spend more than the president and the national party in Florida during the final week of the campaign: The former vice president and the Democratic National Committee have set aside approximately $ 6.8 million in advertising in the state, more than double the $ 2.9 millions currently available to spend by the Trump campaign and the RNC, the data shows.
Biden is also profiting from a $ 100 million bombing by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in Florida through his super PAC, Independence USA. Bloomberg’s PAC recently expanded its advertising efforts to Texas and Ohio, two more states to be won by Trump.
Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott, a former governor and potential 2024 presidential candidate, is doing what Politico reported would be a six-figure ad buy, a small fraction of what Bloomberg spends, in a direct ad to the House of Representatives. his own push to Trump.
This story was first published on CNN.com, “Biden and Trump are heading to Florida to face duels in a battlefield state.”
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