A.G. Gancarski
Going into Friday, Duval County Republicans are still — for now — outperforming Democrats in turnout.
Through Thursday, 97,768 Republicans had voted, compared to 95,227 Democrats and 34,553 NPA voters.
This translates to a meaningful gap between the parties in terms of percentage of turnout: 44.3 to 39.5 percent.
The Republican edge is noteworthy given the Democratic registration advantage: 240,923 to 220,742.
Republicans lead the vote-by-mail battle: 31,220 to 23,956.
Democrats lead the on-site early voting race: 71,214 to 66,499.
Thursday saw Donald Trump campaigning for himself on Jacksonville’s Westside, in a rally space that was half-full yet had people turned away because of insufficient parking and a failure on the campaign’s part to plan for contingencies, such as providing off-site parking and shuttle bus transportation.
And Thursday saw President Barack Obama in town under the Hillary for America banner, campaigning for Secretary Clinton at the University of North Florida.
The Obama appearance got national publicity via the Rachel Maddow Show and the Boston Herald, each showcasing the president doing the iconic UNF “swoop” at his Jacksonville appearance, which had an overflow crowd and won the local news cycle.
The question for the next three days, meanwhile: will the appearances of Trump or Obama translate into a meaningful bounce?
The three lowest-performing early voting locations in Duval County thus far — the Bradham & Brooks Library, Gateway Mall, and the Legends Community Center — are all Democratic strongholds.
With Souls to the Polls on Sunday, an expected Marco Rubio visit on Saturday, and the distinct possibility of surrogates for each major party presidential ticket dropping in, both Republicans and Democrats will do whatever resources permit to drive turnout ahead of Sunday, the final early voting day in Duval County.
