by Howard Campbell
SOUTH FLORIDA – Having migrated to the United States from Jamaica in 1985, Marlon Hill has experienced his share of elections. None, however, bears the significance of the November 3 presidential poll between incumbent Republican Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
“This is one of the most consequential elections in recent times as we battle for the moral core and soul of America and how best to weather dual pandemics of COVID-19 and social justice,” said Hill. “The voter turnout is likely to break unprecedented numbers. With voters of Caribbean numbers well over 500,000 and elections in Florida being decided by an average difference of 1.8 per cent, our community could influence the fight for the state’s coveted 29 electoral votes on the journey to 270 electoral votes to win the presidency,” he added.
Hill, a lawyer and Democrat, is a leading figure in the South Florida Caribbean community. He is part of Florida For Biden-Harris, an organization helping to drive the Caribbean vote to wrest the Sunshine State from Republicans who won there by a whisker in 2016.
On October 11, Florida For Biden-Harris launched its most ambitious lobby to date by partnering with Miami Carnival to energize voters in Orlando, Palm Beach and Lauderdale Lakes.
“The music and culture of the Caribbean are galvanizing forces in community building. The response to the Carnival Caravan was positive and energizing. People are enthused to participate in this election more than I have seen in the past,” Hill stated.
The fact that Biden’s running mate, Senator Kamala Harris’ father is Jamaican, has spurred even greater voter interest among South Florida’s massive Caribbean community. She has visited the region since her nomination in August and given interviews on local radio stations.
Biden has also campaigned in Florida and to show his campaign’s urgency for the minority vote, in September they launched a comprehensive ad campaign in English, Spanish and Creole on local radio and television stations.
In the last presidential election, Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton made multiple stops in Florida. Trump has campaigned in north and central Florida in recent weeks.
A 35-year resident of Florida, Marlon Hill has seen its demographics evolve from vast majority white to include an influential Latin/Caribbean bloc. Tapping into that transformation can give Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Florida for the first time since 2012 when Barack Obama carried it for the Democrats.
“In the state of Florida, the growth of the Black and Asian populations is driven in large part from voters of Jamaican, Haitian, Trinidadian and Guyanese descent, among others. We are targeting and engaging voters especially in the I-4 corridor in Tampa and Orlando and in South Florida from Fort Pierce to Miami Dade County,” said Hill.
