Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are locked in a nail-biter in Florida as returns roll in Tuesday night.
Florida was a must-have state for Trump and he clings to a narrow lead there over the former secretary of state. The state had voted in the past two elections for President Obama, including a narrow victory over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in 2012.
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In recent weeks, Trump spent a significant amount of time campaigning in the Sunshine State, including over the final week. Trump held a campaign event in Sarasota on Monday and spent all of last Wednesday campaigning throughout the state.
Trump also holds notable property in Florida, including his Mar-a-lago estate in West Palm Beach, where he held multiple campaign events during the GOP primary contest. Florida was also the site of one of Trump’s biggest primary victories, where he handily defeated home state Sen. Marco Rubio, winning all but one county, and forcing him to withdraw from the race.
The GOP nominee also made waves in the state in late September after a report emerged alleging that he violated the Cuban embargo after one of his companies conducted business there in the late 1990s. Trump pushed back against the allegations, although he was criticized it drew blowback from many within the state, including Rubio, a staunch opponent of opening relations with the Castro regime.
Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign saw Florida as a prime opportunity to deny Trump any chance of him reaching 270 electoral votes and campaigned there hard in the final weeks. Outside of Clinton herself, who held multiple events there over the final week, the Clinton camp dispatched President Obama, Sen. Tim Kaine, Vice President Joe Biden and former President Bill Clinton to the state to stump on behalf of the former secretary.
The campaign heavily courted Hispanics in the state, attacking Trump for his repeated comments about immigration and his plans to build a wall.
Heading into Election Day, Trump and Clinton were in a virtual tie, with the real estate mogul leading by 0.2 points, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.
Florida’s extremely close race in 2000 led to an extended recount battle that ultimately sent Republican George W. Bush to the White House.
