Florida Seniors Rally for Kamala Harris in Donald Trump’s Backyard

Hundreds of seniors rallied to support Kamala Harris on Sunday at The Villages, a sprawling retirement community in Florida and a stronghold for Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
The event, held at Democratic headquarters in Wildwood, attracted more than 600 people according to Villages-News, forming one of 40 statewide events aimed at galvanizing support for the Harris-Walz ticket.
Once a swing state coveted for its 30 Electoral College votes, Trump won his home state of Florida in both 2016 and 2020. He currently leads polling there by an average of 4.6 percent, according to aggregator FiveThirtyEight. In 2020, he carried The Villages by more than 30 points.
Sumter County Democratic Party Chairman Bob Berg told Villages-News that the large turnout surpassed expectations, with many volunteers signing up hours before the 3 p.m. event.
“We all came together to celebrate the convention,” said Cris Andersen, vice chair of the Sumter County Democrats, who was busy registering volunteers.
Kari Molinares, Florida communications manager for the Harris campaign, shared a video of the event on X, formerly Twitter, showcasing the strong turnout of seniors.
“The Villages is out in full force for Team Harris-Walz,” she wrote, noting that they expected over 500 seniors to participate.
The video shows hundreds of seniors holding Harris/Walz signs and wearing campaign merchandise forming a queue outside the campaign office. It had been viewed more than 436,000 times by Monday.
Paulette Mapson, a resident of The Village of Hemingway, told Villages-News that “Trump doesn’t have a chance.”
This is the second large scale Villages campaign event for Harris since Joe Biden stepped aside. The vice president campaigned there in July, with videos of golf carts—decked out in American flags—lining up for the event going viral on social media.
Democratic candidate Barbie Harden Hall shared a video showing hundreds of golf carts participating in the rally, in an unexpected show of support for Harris in a traditionally pro-Trump community.
The videos, widely reshared, garnered millions of views.
Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison remarked on the energy of the event, likening it to the enthusiasm seen during Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.
The Florida Democratic Party noted that Harris’ campaign has energized the base, with nearly 10,000 new volunteers joining, including many from conservative areas like The Villages.
Newsweek has contacted the Florida Democratic Party for further comment via email outside of normal business hours.
Meanwhile, one recent poll by Emerson College found that more seniors support Harris than Trump, a surprising result given that older people often tend to vote Republican.