As election night draws near, rallies raising support for President Donald Trump have become increasingly frequent across the state, including in Bay County - a GOP stronghold.
In Panama City Beach, three of the president’s family members have held campaign events over the last several weeks. On Tuesday afternoon, his daughter-in-law Lara Trump held a rally. Donald Trump Jr. visited town earlier this month, and Eric Trump spoke at an event in September.
Trump won Bay County with 70% of the vote in 2016. Registered Republican voters outnumber Democratic voters in the county more than two-to-one. But Trump needs to win the entire state to keep the presidency.
FiveThirtyEight's latest elections forecast model suggests Biden has a greater than 99% chance of winning the election if he takes Florida. And the most recent polling shows Biden has a slight lead over Trump statewide.
Panama City Beach resident Kenneth Hartwig, 51, has attended the last couple of local campaign events, including Lara Trump's indoor rally. “We try to make every one we can,” Hartwig said. “We love Trump.”
Hartwig says he’s already cast his ballot for Trump. “This is one of the biggest elections of all time,” he said. “You need to get out there.”
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