Friday the 13th was extra freaky for conservatives in The Villages last week, thanks to the sight of Doug Emhoff, the Second Gentleman—aka husband of Vice President and presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
The 59-year-old rallied Democrats inside and then joined the crowd of supporters and golf carts outside.
His party has a lot of work to do in the Sunshine State, however, as polling and political website Fivethirtyeight has the vice president trailing former president Donald Trump by more than four points.
But there are signs of the Central Florida retirement hub turning less red.
Gail Costello told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay photographer Dave Decker that she's been handing out blue light bulbs to fellow Democrats. The Chicagoan, now based in Florida, added that it's catching on like wildfire.
"There are so many homes, in a subtle way, that tell each other we're all in support of Harris-Walz," she said, noting that she and her Democrat friends used to gather outside of The Villages bubble to talk politics. Now they're canvassing, writing postcards and hosting small rallies.
"We did not feel comfortable supporting this in the bubble. But now more and more of us are here, things are changing, and now we're inside, and we're doing so much more," Costello said. "It's been very exciting, and I really think that good chance of flipping the state."
