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The Villages<\/a> is a 55-plus retirement community located in Sumter County, Florida that has not voted for a Democratic candidate in a general election since 2000. In 2020, Donald Trump<\/strong> won<\/a> 67.8% of the vote compared to Joe Biden<\/strong>\u2019s 31.7% in the county. In 2016, Trump won<\/a> 68.8% to Hillary Clinton<\/strong>\u2019s 29.5%. In 2008 and 2012, when Barack Obama<\/strong> carried the state, 63% of ballot castors in Sumter voted for John McCain<\/strong><\/a> and 67.2% for Mitt Romney<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong> respectively. In other words, it\u2019s an extreme Republican-stronghold\u2014which makes new enthusiasm for Kamala Harris<\/strong> there not great news for Trump!<\/p>\n Over the weekend, hundreds of golf carts paraded<\/a> around the Villages in support of Harris’s candidacy, reportedly<\/a> creating a traffic jam as they showed their excitement for the VP. \u201cYoung people are energized and so are we,\u201d resident Joyce Wiegand<\/strong> told Villages-News. Said her friend Karen Wink<\/strong>: \u201cKamala isn\u2019t just for young people, she\u2019s for all of us. She supports Social Security, Medicare and health care. That matters to us.\u201d<\/p>\n This content can also be viewed on the site it originates<\/a> from.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Diane Ruggiero,<\/strong> a registered Republican, told the outlet Harris \u201cgives us all hope,\u201d adding: \u201cShe is someone to be positive about. I\u2019m tired of all the negativity\u2014who we don\u2019t want and who we don\u2019t like. Now we have someone to like and be happy and excited about. I\u2019m trying to be less negative and it\u2019s great to be for something instead of against so many things.\u201d While the Villages residents are a whopping 97.4% white<\/a> according to the Census, when asked about voting for a person of color, resident Jim Guy<\/strong> said, \u201cThat\u2019s not a problem. What matters is she is a high-quality, experienced individual, and she cares about working people.\u201d<\/p>\n While Florida may remain a long shot for Democrats, Aubrey Jewett,<\/strong> political scientist at the University of Central Florida, told<\/a> the\u00a0South Florida Sun Sentinel<\/em> the excitement about Harris\u2019s candidacy is clearly noteworthy. \u201cIt\u2019s been a while since anyone could whip up enthusiasm like that,\u201d he said. Also noteworthy: the fact that Florida governor Ron DeSantis<\/strong> felt the need to comment on it, claiming it is much ado about nothing.<\/p>\n This content can also be viewed on the site it originates<\/a> from.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Speaking to Politico, South Florida Democrat representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz<\/strong> declared<\/a>: \u201cDon\u2019t sleep on Florida. Kamala\u2019s candidacy just woke a sleeping giant.\u201d<\/p>\n GOP senator\u2019s attack on Kamala Harris does not receive the response from Fox News he thought it would<\/strong><\/p>\n This content can also be viewed on the site it originates<\/a> from.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nX content<\/h4>\n
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