TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Like thousands of other Americans, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton abruptly upended their plans Thursday in Florida, where Hurricane Matthew threatened to wreak havoc on final-stretch presidential campaigning in a critical swing state.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Like thousands of other Americans, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton abruptly upended their plans Thursday in Florida, where Hurricane Matthew threatened to wreak havoc on final-stretch presidential campaigning in a critical swing state.
The campaigns rushed to move staff and volunteers, close offices and cancel events in the path of the storm. And as many Floridians heeded calls to evacuate, both candidates began the delicate task of pursuing votes during a crisis.
Clinton’s campaign asked the state for more time to register voters — a request Florida Gov. Rick Scott rejected — and the Trump team pulled its negative TV ads.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of your family,” Trump said in an unusually restrained statement. “Please stay safe.”
The hurricane is expected to hit Trump’s prized Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach. Campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said, “Mr. Trump spoke with employees yesterday to ensure they are safe and following instructions from local officials.”
Clinton tweeted: “Hurricane Matthew is a major storm. … Stay safe Florida.”
Both stayed far away, preparing for their second debate, a town hall-style faceoff on Sunday in St. Louis. Trump was holding a dry run town hall in Sandown, New Hampshire, while Clinton was speaking at fundraisers in New York.
Along the Southeast coast, Matthew was expected to bring dangerous conditions to Georgia, South Carolina and, possibly, North Carolina. But it was the impact on vote-rich Florida, a must-win state for Trump, that had the campaigns on high alert. The hurricane closed in just as both sides ramped up their early-vote push and just days before a voter registration deadline.