Florida under spotlight as polls near

Florida: it’s the holiday destination with guaranteed sunshine, the home of Mickey Mouse and Disney World, Cape Canaveral’s space launches, and the art-deco cool of Miami Beach.

At least, that’s the version in the brochures.

It is also a fiercely contested battleground in every US election, and this year’s rancorous race to the White House is no different.

The Florida of the elections is not the one in travel agents’ windows.

It is fought in the wide open spaces of agricultural land, endless interstates and murky swamps.

This state is home to a crucial 29 electoral college votes.

It’s usually close here; Barack Obama got the nod over Mitt Romney by a single percentage point last time around.

The demographics add a layer of intrigue.

It is a retirees’ paradise with the largest percentage of seniors in any US state, lured by cheap land and endless sun.

Latin America and the Caribbean are close by; Hispanic voters, a large and growing proportion of the state’s electorate, are a big talking point in this year’s contest.

I’ve travelled the length of Florida this week, in a bright red open-top Mustang.

From the traditionally conservative ‘panhandle’ bordering Georgia and Alabama, down to Miami and the liberal south.

Among our first stops was Florida A&M University, a traditionally African-American college playing a major role in the advancement of the state’s black community.

Young voters here were unimpressed with the candidates. “I’m disappointed,” one 18-year-old woman told me, “it’s my first time to vote and it’s just not like what I expected or I’ve seen in previous elections.”

They would be voting nonetheless, and not for Donald Trump.

A group of female students at Tallahasee’s Florida State University told me they wanted someone who could be ‘a role model’. They would all be voting for Hillary Clinton.

But at nearby Poor Paul’s Pour House, a rowdy bar and grill, Trump held sway. “Donald Trump is much better than Hillary, so we don’t have much choice,” one woman told me. “Get her out of here,” growled another, “get Hillary out of here.”

In the citrus groves of central Florida we found a family of farmers with simpler concerns: they just wanted someone prepared to advance their agenda in the Supreme Court. Like the young women of Florida State they also wanted to see more civility. “We hope we can have leaders who actually inspire us at the end,” one said.

Down in Miami, I met hip-hop star DJ Irie, a Clinton supporter with positive personal experience of Trump. “He was one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met,” Irie told me. “When I see him on the campaign trail, this is not the same person that I spent time with.” He believes Trump’s new following has irreparably damaged his brand. “These aren’t the folks that are going to go to the suites at his hotels,” he said. “Right now, Trump as a luxury brand, it just doesn’t fit.”

Both Clinton and Trump have visited Florida twice in the last week.

With just days remaining, polls put the state firmly in play. However, with around 1.5 million early votes already cast, this particular orange cake may already be baked.

The author is a journalist and an anchor with CNN International.