Union workers worried Trump has edge over Biden in key races in Nevada and Florida

Biden's struggles with Hispanic voters has some questioning if he can win Nevada and Florida

Sep 13, 2020

Union workers in battleground states are worried about former Vice President Joe Biden’s chances to defeat President Donald Trump.

As polls are beginning to show that Biden’s advantage over Trump gets narrow in key states, Democratic union workers are worried about Biden’s chances of victory.

Biden had a 5-point advantage or a “likely Democrat” odds of seizing Nevada over Trump, according to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Lee Business School poll and the Cook Political Report, respectively. As time goes on, however, the very same Cook Political Report went from likely to “lean Democrat.”

Florida, another battleground state with more delegates, went from leaning Democrat to a toss-up.

At the beginning of summer, Biden once predicted 308 to 187 lead in the electoral college against Trump. However, the former vice president’s advantage has slimmed down to 279 to 187 for Trump, the Cook Political Report shows.

For battleground union workers in Nevada, the state’s local election is shaping up to be in favor of Trump.

Florida Primary Ballots Are Tabulated At Miami-Dade Election Headquarters — Poll workers at the Miami-Dade County Elections Department deposit peoples’ mail in ballots into an official ballot drop box on primary election day on August 18, 2020 in Doral, Florida. Voters casts ballots in Miami-Dade to elect Miami-Dade’s mayor, School Board seats, Miami-Dade state attorney and Judges. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

“I think Nevada could end up very much like Michigan did in ‘16,” said D. Taylor, the head of Unite Here, the powerful Culinary Workers Union’s national organization, Bloomberg reported.

Trump won the state over Hillary Clinton in 2016 by less than 1% in the electoral college.

Although the state of Nevada awards six electoral college votes out of the 270 needed to secure the presidency, Biden’s loss of the “likely Democratic state” is a blow to momentum.

It also a suggestion that his favorability among Hispanic people is dying down, considering that his campaign has not specifically targeted them.

Hispanic Democratic voters in Nevada make up about 17% of the state’s eligible voters, Bloomberg reports. Former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders defeated Biden in the Nevada caucuses after his Vermont challenger won half the Hispanic vote, according to CNN’s entrance polls of the January caucuses.

Only 17% of Hispanic Democratic voters supported the eventual Democratic nominee.

Florida, which Trump won over Clinton in 2016, is another state where the Latino vote is crucial.

Trump has his Miami-Dade Cuban supporters, though they are skeptical of him. They like his tough position against socialism, Cuba, and Venezuela, and his emphasis on having a good economy with tax cuts, Cook Politics Report found.

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