WITH just days before elections in the United States, South Florida is flush with election fever. In Lauderhill, known as Jamaica Hill because of its large Jamaican populace, workers were out in their numbers on Saturday with banners and pamphlets pitching their candidates.

Biggest of those candidates is Kamala Harris, the US vice-president who is looking to become the first woman to be president of her country. Harris, a Democrat whose father is Jamaican, faces former president, Republican Donald Trump, on November 5.

There are also a number of Jamaicans running for office in South Florida, including Denise Grant and Mark A Douglas who are bidding to become mayor of Lauderhill and Sunrise, respectively.

Marlon Hill, a Jamaican attorney in South Florida, is part of RallyForKamala, an organisation helping to bring out the vote for Harris. He feels good about her chances.

“The campaign continues to build positive energy and a broader coalition of Americans across a number of key demographics. This will bode well in the final days,” Hill told the
Jamaica Observer.

Hill disclosed that RallyForKamala’s greatest activity is in so-called battleground states where polls consistently show Harris and Trump in a tie.

“Our group has targeted primarily Caribbean-American families, first-time voters, and a base of likely voters from previous cycles. Voters of Caribbean descent hold some influence in states like Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia and Texas. In an election on close margins we believe these additions will help Kamala Harris and [vice-presidential running mate] Tim Walz to be the first at the Electoral College tape,” he said.

The US presidential election is determined by the candidate who achieves 270 electoral votes, and not the national tally as is the case in most countries. Trump lost the popular vote in 2016 to Democrat Hilary Clinton but won the Electoral College.

Winston Barnes is a long-standing commissioner in Miramar, another South Florida city with a strong Jamaican presence. He is counting on the majority of that region’s diverse pockets to support Harris, who has not campaigned there.

“Hopefully, South Florida will make a difference in the election, especially considering it is home to so many Haitian-Americans and Puerto Ricans — that is as long as they vote in their own best interest, and if English-speaking Caribbean-Americans vote in their own best interest as well,” Barnes said.

In Lauderhill, popular broadcaster John “John T” Hodgson and Richard Campbell are among the Jamaicans running for city commissioner.