Reports: Republicans outpacing Dems in Florida early voting
Republicans have a slight lead over Democrats among early voters in the battleground state of Florida.
{mosads}According to numbers released by the Tampa Bay Times, Republican voters have cast 17,000 more ballots than Democrats as of Wednesday. The newspaper notes that at this same time in 2012, Democrats had cast 39,000 more ballots than Republicans.
CNN compiled data that also shows Republicans with a slight edge. As of Tuesday, Republicans were up 8,800 votes over Democrats. CNN notes that at this time in 2008, Democrats were leading Republicans by about 50,000 votes.
And the Republican National Committee (RNC) said in a release Wednesday that while Republicans are behind in early voting, they are turning in more absentee ballots than Democrats, for a total advantage of about 18,000 votes.
Both parties have expanded early-voting efforts in Florida. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton campaigned in the Sunshine State last week, while Republican nominee Donald Trump hosted rallies across Florida on Wednesday.
President Obama will campaign for the Democratic nominee in Florida on Thursday, while Clinton’s running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), will make several stops there on Friday.
Trump is currently leading Clinton in the RealClearPolitics Florida poll average by less than 1 percentage point. The candidates have taken turns leading each other in various polls throughout the past week.
Florida is also home to an important Senate race, with Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy hoping to unseat GOP Sen. Marco Rubio.
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