Hillary Clinton campaigns in pivotal Tampa
TAMPA – Hillary Clinton did not veer from her campaign stump speech promises of raising the minimum wage, building a clean energy “super power,” and being a nation of immigrants, one “stronger together,” should voters choose her between now and Nov. 8, Election Day.
What may have mattered more than what the Democratic presidential candidate said, on her 69th birthday, was where she said it.
Clinton spoke for about 35 minutes Wednesday at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, overlooking the Hillsborough River, a few long baseball tosses from the University of Tampa’s Sam Bailey Field, which was named for the late Sanibel Island native and Fort Myers High School graduate.
Tampa and surrounding Hillsborough County have 840,000 registered voters, about 39 percent of them registered Democrats, 32 percent Republicans and 29 percent with no party affiliation. Winning the county would help secure Florida’s 29 electoral votes, which are pivotal in attaining the 270 required to win the electoral college and the presidency.
Hillsborough: The Florida county that may decide this election
Clinton urged the supporters to vote not just early but immediately after the rally. There were dozens of volunteers who walked with many in the crowd to a nearby, early voting precinct.
“I’m proud to have support of Republicans and independents,” Clinton told a crowd of about 2,500, with at least 500 more waiting outside the gates because of the small, sealed-off, outdoor venue.
Clinton also spent much of her speech railing against her opponent, Republican candidate Donald Trump. She mentioned he took time off the campaign trail Wednesday in order to promote his new hotel, in Washington, D.C.
“If you are casting doubts, you want to keep people in suspense,” Clinton said of Trump’s stance during the third debate that he might not accept the outcome of the election unless he won. “As to whether you will respect the outcome of the election, that is contrary to who we are as Americans.
“We have our elections. We have had them since George Washington forward, and we’re going to keep having them and show what democracy looks like to the world.”
Clinton joked that over the course of three presidential debates, she spent four and a half hours on stage with Trump, and that was enough for her.
“I just find it so intolerable,” Clinton said of some of the things Trump has said while campaigning. She missed Trump in Tampa by two days, as he spoke in front of a crowd of about 15,000 people Monday at an amphitheater.
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“Look at Tampa,” Clinton said, motioning around her. “It’s a cosmopolitan city. We need to be lifting each other up, not sowing seeds of hatred and bigotry. One of my biggest tasks will be unifying Americans.”
Clinton urged the crowd to reach out to Trump supporters. Many booed at that suggestion. She quieted them.
“No,” she said. “I’m serious. We need to reach out to others.”
The former First Lady, senator and secretary of state stood about 132 miles from Fort Myers and 167 miles from Naples. It’s as close as she’ll likely get to the Republican stronghold of Southwest Florida on the campaign trail, although she dispatched her husband, former President Bill Clinton, on Oct. 11 to Fort Myers.
A long and diverse line of surrogates preceded Clinton at the podium. They included Bob Henriquez, a longtime football coach at Tampa Catholic High and now Hillsborough County’s property appraiser; Congresswoman Kathy Castor; Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, actress Angela Bassett and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.
“Do you want a leader who divides us or unifies us?” Nelson asked the crowd. “Do you want somebody who insults everybody else? Or do you want somebody who includes everybody else?”
Jose Andres, a celebrity chef who recently backed out of a job offer at Trump’s new hotel, introduced Clinton. Andres, a U.S. citizen who immigrated from Spain, injected energy into the crowd, using words like “inclusion instead of exclusion.”
“Today, I could be in a certain hotel in Washington, D.C., opening a restaurant inside,” Andres told the crowd. “But here I am. I would rather be here with you in Tampa today.”
Andres, who is being sued for breach of contract by one of Trump’s companies and has filed a countersuit, said he would not mention the Republican candidate by name until he apologizes to “every Latino, to every Mexican, to every woman, to every veteran” and everyone else Trump has offended.
Outside the venue, a carnival-like atmosphere could be seen with a variety of Clinton T-shirts being sold, and a few handfuls of Trump supporters and Clinton protesters on hand.
Those included the theatrical, like John Arnold, 69, of Oldsmar. He carried a sign that said “Hillary = more lies, more crime, more taxes, more corruption, more hate.” He danced while holding his sign in front of the line of Clinton supporters.
The Trump supporters also included David Womersly, 52, of Tampa.
“Every day, I find out about more and more corruption,” said Womersly, who works on offshore oil rigs. “The corruption in Washington now is at an all-time high. On both sides.”
Sharon Millen, 54, planned on voting for Clinton after the rally. Her comments mirrored those of Womersly. She just decided Clinton would be better to fix them than Trump.
“I’m tired of all of his rhetoric, it’s just too much for me,” Millen said. “I listen to both sides. Especially now. But a president is just a figurehead. You can’t do anything, because you need the Congress and the Senate to work together. You can only do so much as president.”
Womersly and Millen, also a Tampa resident, said they wanted the same thing – a government that works. Between now and Nov. 8, the people of Hillsborough County will have had their say on which candidate is better suited to accomplish what their shared desire.
Connect with this reporter: David Dorsey (Facebook),@DavidADorsey (Twitter).