The Tampa Bay Times has identified six counties to watch for this year’s presidential race:
1. Pinellas County: “Barack Obama won it by nearly 8 percentage points in 2008 and nearly 5 in 2012 — but Trump stands to do especially well with working-class Pinellas voters.”
2. Pasco County: “Mitt Romney won it by nearly 6 points four years ago, and Trump at various times this year has been remarkably strong even in areas where Democrats win elections.”
3. Hillsborough County: “Obama won it by nearly 7 percentage points in 2012. If Trump leads early on in Hillsborough, or is even close behind Clinton, it could be a bad night statewide for Clinton’s Hillsborough-based Florida campaign.”
4. Miami-Dade: “Obama crushed Romney in Miami-Dade by nearly 24 percentage points — more than 208,000 votes in a state he won by 74,000. If Clinton isn’t way up in Miami-Dade — at least 20 percentage points — Trump is probably having a very good night.”
5. Duval County: “Romney in 2012 won by nearly 4 percentage points, and George W. Bush in 2004 won by 16. If it looks like a 15-point margin for Trump, Clinton fans should worry.”
6. Volusia County: “Romney narrowly won the county on the eastern end of the I-4 corridor, which has been leaning toward the GOP lately. If either side is comfortably ahead in Volusia early on, that bodes well for them statewide.”