One of the reasons the election is still in doubt is that President Donald Trump was able to decisively win Florida, in a much stronger performance than 2016, especially with Latino voters.
That has led to finger-pointing and an attempt by Florida Democrats and experts to perform an autopsy less than 24 hours later to understand what happened.
Biden won Latinos by only 52 percent to 47 percent, a disappointing drop from Hillary Clinton's 62 percent support four years ago and a major improvement for Trump from 35 percent, according to exit polls. This year, the Associated Press ran its own exit poll, which showed Biden's lead at 54 percent to 45 percent.
Still, the numbers told the story in Miami-Dade County, where Clinton beat Trump by nearly 30 points, but Biden won by only 7.3 percent.
One well-respected Democrat in the state called the Miami-Dade results a "wipeout" for Biden.
"+8 Biden in Miami-Dade is a wipeout," the source told Newsweek in a text message. "Obama '08 was +16, which was my worst case [scenario]."
One factor in Biden's loss of support, Democrats and Republicans in the state believe, was the way the Trump campaign, surrogates and supporters were able to hammer home the allegation that Biden and Democrats are card-carrying socialists and communists.
"The Biden campaign was slow to defend itself from the attacks," former Florida Republican Congressman Carlos Curbelo said on MSNBC. "Of course, the Republican choice of attack here in Florida's Hispanic community was this label of socialism that they used against Democrats, and that scared away a lot of middle of the road Latino voters who have voted Democratic in the past but now believe the Democratic Party has moved too far to the left."
The Biden campaign's view is that they were facing an unprecedented disinformation campaign about the Democratic ticket being socialists or communists, and that it was a tall order to address that misinformation with conservative-leaning Latinos in the state, like Cubans and Venezuelans, and then also get those same voters to support Biden.
The campaign clearly wanted to do better, but they don't believe Clinton-level support would have made a difference in the state.
"You give Biden Clinton's Latino numbers and we still lose Florida," Biden pollster Matt Barreto told Newsweek. "Trump had strength with white people in Florida that people were hoping he didn't have. Losses with white voters is what cost us Florida."
But some in Florida bristle at the narrative that Biden was plagued by misinformation leading to his loss of support with Latinos.
"That's bull****," said a veteran Florida Republican. "It's a little bit insulting the disinformation stuff. I've seen screenshots of what people are talking about. I can't think of too many people I've met in Miami that can't think for themselves. It's a very opinionated, strong city."
The Florida Republican did acknowledge, however, that while Clinton faced socialism attacks, the operation was amplified and more widespread against Biden.
The allegations about Biden and Harris' secret ideologies were disseminated not just on traditional media like Spanish-language radio stations, but also through YouTube, WhatsApp and Facebook.
Fernand Amandi, former top consultant for President Barack Obama's Latino voter polling
Fernand Amandi, the former top consultant for Obama's Latino voter polling, was worried Biden would face these problems come Election Day, and spoke about it in the weeks and months leading up to Tuesday's loss.
"Is it an absurd allegation to call Joe Biden a communist? Yes, but the only thing more absurd than that is for Joe Biden and Democrats not to confront it, refute it and overcome it," Amandi told Newsweek.
The Biden campaign tried to run ads in Florida comparing Trump to strongmen like Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro and addressing the charges against Biden.
"When people tell me 'I'm not going to vote for Biden because he's a socialist,' I tell them you know what? He's not going to turn the United States into what socialism turned Venezuela into," a Venezuelan immigrant said in one Biden ad.
But Amandi said the campaign's focus on Florida in the final two and a half months came too late, because "the Trump operation had been in campaign mode since 2015."
Florida was always central to Trump's plans, Amandi said, from Trump registering to vote there, to bringing Senator Marco Rubio in on Latin America policy, and launching Latinos for Trump in Florida.
"Democrats in Florida have allowed the cardinal sin to happen with the Hispanic electorate," Amandi argued. "They've allowed the Democratic party brand to be defined by socialismso it doesn't matter if it's Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders or Joe Bidenif they perceive the D next to their name to stand for Democratic socialism or communism, then that's what matters.
But others said now is the time for the party to learn the lessons of what happened in Florida, and engage and invest more, rather than pull away from the state that has repeatedly vexed the party.
While the Biden campaign did better with Puerto Ricans in Florida than with Cubans, receiving 68 percent support from Puerto Ricans, Democrats said the understanding of the Latino vote in the state by Democrats must become more sophisticated.
"We need education in Spanish on politics and the election, but we also need year-round research on the subcultures in Florida," said Evelyn Prez-Verda, a Democratic strategist with two decades in the state. "I don't want to see more about Puerto Ricans and Cubans. I want to know how Colombians and Venezuelans think."
Visit link:
Florida Democrats Assess What Went Wrong For Biden With Latinos in the State - Newsweek
- 6 Things New York Attorneys Need To Know About The New Surrogacy Law - Above the Law - February 16th, 2021
- Is Scarlet Witch Really In Control? Every Theory | Screen Rant - Screen Rant - February 11th, 2021
- The third wave that pushed Irish hospitals to the brink - RTE.ie - February 11th, 2021
- Candidates, Experts Discuss Potential Positives and Pitfalls of Ranked-Choice Voting Amid New York City Implementation - Gotham Gazette - February 4th, 2021
- One Year Of Fight Against Coronavirus, Has India Passed Its Peak? What To Expect Now, Dr Randeep Guleria Explains | Coronavirus Outbreak - Swachh... - February 4th, 2021
- Surrogacy reform is spreading in the rich world - The Economist - January 31st, 2021
- As teams prepare for Super Bowl Sunday, CDC says NFL's COVID-19 mitigation strategies are effective - Yahoo! Voices - January 31st, 2021
- The unregulated, All-Star-driven world of open enrollment loopholes in Texas high school football - The Dallas Morning News - January 15th, 2021
- The Twitter presidency is over. Or is it? - Vox.com - January 15th, 2021
- Peaceful transition of power is the American dream right now - Modern Diplomacy - December 28th, 2020
- News industry must seize opportunity restore trust | TheHill - The Hill - December 18th, 2020
- The GOP Hopes This Issue Will Tarnish Warnock's Pastor Image - The Daily Beast - December 18th, 2020
- The real US failure when it comes to globalization is not having a 21st century, social safety net - The Times of India Blog - December 18th, 2020
- Prevent your guacamole from browning with this airtight container - Yahoo! Voices - December 18th, 2020
- How Trump Won One of America's Most Diverse Counties By a Lot - POLITICO - December 14th, 2020
- Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton holding off on wedding due to COVID-19 - Yahoo News Canada - December 14th, 2020
- Trump May Be Leaving, But 'Fake News' is a Part of All Our Lives Now | Opinion - Newsweek - November 30th, 2020
- Concerns over Thanksgiving gatherings continue as U.S. marks deadliest day in pandemic in months - Yahoo News - November 30th, 2020
- Will Biden administration be a repeat of Obama years? - Yahoo News - November 30th, 2020
- Fontana Residents 'Fed Up' With Possible Thanksgiving Day Planned Power Outages - Yahoo News - November 30th, 2020
- The Next Administration Should Bring the Shadow Wars into the Light - Defense One - November 26th, 2020
- Dan and Ray's traditional Thanksgiving meal will be curbside - Yahoo News - November 26th, 2020
- Thanksgiving 2020 At Home: Reasons We're Thankful - Yahoo News - November 26th, 2020
- Invisible campaign and the specter of socialism: Why Cuban Americans fell hard for Trump - Tampa Bay Times - November 26th, 2020
- Eagles fans, experts split on what to do with Carson Wentz - Yahoo News - November 26th, 2020
- The Damage Of Trumps International Anti-Abortion Policy Wont Be Easy To Undo - HuffPost - November 26th, 2020
- Painting the town: Murals meet the moment | Oregon ArtsWatch - Oregon ArtsWatch - November 11th, 2020
- Jill Biden: a chance to transform the role of first lady - FRANCE 24 - November 11th, 2020
- The Dem Hid From a Scandal. The Republican Attended Super-Spreader Events. Guess Who Racked up the Votes? - Mother Jones - November 11th, 2020
- Trump probably 'cant steal the election' but here's why you should be 'alarmed' anyway: conservative - AlterNet - November 11th, 2020
- The Trump Era Is Over. Our Leaders Want To Take Us Back To 2015 - Jacobin magazine - November 11th, 2020
- Opinion: The future of Fintech marketing - ETBrandEquity.com - November 11th, 2020
- Biden sleepwalks to the White House - Spectator.co.uk - November 11th, 2020
- Letters to the Editor 11/5/20 | Letters to the Editor | Bend - The Source Weekly - November 5th, 2020
- Whats at stake in Arizonas 2020 election - Cronkite News - November 5th, 2020
- HOW DUVAL SHAPED PAST ELECTIONS: Why Jacksonville is critical to winning the presidency - FirstCoastNews.com WTLV-WJXX - November 5th, 2020
- Jill Biden: A Chance To Transform The Role Of First Lady - NDTV - November 5th, 2020
- Election 2020 Live Blog - 90.5 WESA - November 5th, 2020
- 2020 Watch: Is Biden remaking the Democratic coalition? - Minneapolis Star Tribune - November 1st, 2020
- HOW DUVAL SHAPED PAST ELECTIONS: Why Jacksonville is critical to winning the presidency - The Florida Times-Union - November 1st, 2020
- How Joe Biden May Have Outmaneuvered Donald Trump On Energy, Climate, and the Economic Recovery - TIME - November 1st, 2020
- Presidential race shaping up to be tight in northern Maine - CBC.ca - November 1st, 2020
- Kamala Harris Urges Democrats To Keep Their Foot On The Pedal In Late Texas Visit - Patch.com - November 1st, 2020
- Emo-truthful Trump-Biden 2020: another post-truth election | OUPblog - OUPblog - November 1st, 2020
- Early Voting May Change the Impact of Last Week Blitz Campaigning - WOUB - October 29th, 2020
- Lagging in the Polls, Trump Team Predicts Win Based on 'Enthusiasm' - Newsweek - October 25th, 2020
- Network, GPS Will Be Jammed In Project Convergence 2021 - Breaking Defense - October 25th, 2020
- Surrogate Carrying Twins Shocked When Parents Say They No Longer Want The Babies - BabyGaga - October 25th, 2020
- Biden needs Black voters to turn out better than '16, in Florida and across nation - Sarasota Herald-Tribune - October 25th, 2020
- Trump vs. Biden: Here's how every region of the state plays its part in the race - Detroit Free Press - October 25th, 2020
- Weekly jobless claims fall to 787K | TheHill - The Hill - October 25th, 2020
- Wisconsin Democrats Are Organizing Like Mad. Will It Be Enough? - Vanity Fair - October 25th, 2020
- How Fox News analyst Arnon Mishkin will call the election - Los Angeles Times - October 25th, 2020
- My Wild 2 Weeks Inside the Trump Campaign Bubble - POLITICO - October 25th, 2020
- A burning planet: Why we must learn to live with fire - National Observer - October 25th, 2020
- Will Americans vote against Trump's behavior or for his achievements? | TheHill - The Hill - October 25th, 2020
- Salem 'Witch City' Massachusetts to triple fines over Halloween weekend amid coronavirus pandemic | TheHill - The Hill - October 25th, 2020
- Queensland election: has Palaszczuk helped defeat the politics of gender? - The Guardian - October 25th, 2020
- It's time to end employment discrimination for people with disabilities | TheHill - The Hill - October 25th, 2020
- Akufo-Addo Is The Most Serious Threat To Our Country And Democracy - We Change Him On December 7 Or We Suffer - Modern Ghana - October 25th, 2020
- Trumps top health official lies and says the US is doing as well as the rest of the world on COVID - AlterNet - October 25th, 2020
- Strategist on stimulus: the market has already priced it in - Yahoo Money - October 25th, 2020
- Cooper and Forest clash over masks, schools, and COVID-19 response in NC Governor debate - The Fayetteville Observer - October 16th, 2020
- Trump needs North Carolina in 2020 election, but the swing state is a toss-up - Citizen Times - October 16th, 2020
- 'All hands on deck': Stabenow works to build another blue wave in Michigan - Michigan Advance - October 16th, 2020
- Tom Stevenson In the Grey Zone: Proxy Warfare LRB 22 October 2020 - London Review of Books - October 16th, 2020
- Gentlemen against Trump - The Week - October 16th, 2020
- Battleground state of Wisconsin clashes over Trump and beyond - Anadolu Agency - October 16th, 2020
- Trump barely won Pennsylvania in 2016. His 2020 election may depend on keeping this swing state. - The Times - October 16th, 2020
- Somewhere in Whitehall a defence review is taking place - TheArticle - October 16th, 2020
- Air Force to Test Weapons Swarming Software in October - Air Force Magazine - September 23rd, 2020
- Improvised Mode: The Army Network Evolves In Project Convergence - Breaking Defense - September 23rd, 2020
- Biden Will Beat Expectations in the First Debate - Election Central - September 23rd, 2020
- On the trail: Visits part of Trump push in key battleground state - Concord Monitor - September 21st, 2020
- What's causing Western wildfires and how to stop them | TheHill - The Hill - September 21st, 2020
- Office working was already on the way out, Covid-19 has just hastened its end - iNews - September 21st, 2020
- Putin is about to turn his attention to the American way of life | TheHill - The Hill - September 21st, 2020
- Does the DHS Whistleblower Report Reveal an Election Interference Scandal? - Lawfare - September 21st, 2020
- Obituary of the Supreme Court justice - Sports Grind Entertainment - September 21st, 2020
- Buying power: Author warns democracy is for sale as parties put a price on influence and access bought and sold - The Sunday Post - September 21st, 2020