Manny Camargo
Credit: Rozina Sabur for The Telegraph
Mr Camargo is part of a rare group of voters whose endorsement of Mr Trump is significant. Unlike the white Evangelical Christians and older 65s whose allegiance secured his 2016 victory, but whose support now appears to be falling, the president can rely on a cohorts of Hispanic voters to increase the level of support they gave him at the last election.
The president’s inroads with Hispanic voters have been credited with closing the gap on Joe Biden’s lead in Florida — the state that will likely decide the presidential election.
The nation’s largest swing state is once more on a knife edge — Mr Biden’s previous 6-point lead is now down to just two points, with polling averages showing Mr Biden’s support at 48 per cent and Mr Trump’s at 46 per cent.
Mr Trump is currently mulling his Supreme Court replacement for Ruth Bader Ginsburg. One of his favourites is federal judge Barbara Lagoa, a Cuban-American pundits believe could help the Trump campaign seize Florida.
Trump vs. Biden 2020 polling live
The figures have rattled the Democrats, who fear Mr Biden has a major problem on his hands. Some strategists privately complain that the 77-year-old has focused too much energy on courting African Americans and white working class voters in the Rust Belt states, while neglecting to address the issues concerning Hispanics.
A record number of Hispanics — 32 million — will be eligible to vote this year, making them the most influential ethnic minority group in this election and likely to play a decisive role in Florida and several other battleground states.
In light of the recent polls, the campaign has scrambled to Florida. Earlier this month Kamala Harris, Mr Biden’s running mate, made an unscheduled stop at a popular restaurant in Doral, dubbed “Doral-Zuela” because of its large Venezuelan-American population, introducing herself to voters over arepas, South American corn cakes.
Actress Eva Longoria has been a high-profile surrogate for the campaign
Credit: AFP
Mr Biden himself travelled to the state last week, vowing to "work like the devil to make sure I turn every Latino and Hispanic vote”.
Biden campaign officials say they are aggressively expanding their Hispanic outreach, hiring field staff from within the communities here and tailoring their Spanish-language adverts to their audiences: Puerto Rican speakers are targeted in Orlando and Tampa, and Cuban and Venezuelan speakers in Miami.
The Democrats’ best chances of winning Florida rely on a strong performance in Miami, the state’s most populous county and a Democrat stronghold, where more than half the population is made up of immigrants from Latin America.
Joe Biden arriving in Florida this week
Credit: Patrick Semansky /AP
But polling suggests Mr Biden’s support here is much lower than Hillary Clinton’s was in 2016 — a worrying sign.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has been furiously pushing the idea that Mr Biden and his party are driven by radical socialists — a message that has won the president support among Miami’s Cuban Americans, as well as the city’s large Venezuelan diaspora.
Andreina Kissane, president of the Venezuelan American Republican Alliance
Credit: Rozina Sabur for The Telegraph
Among them is Andreina Kissane, a 45-year-old art gallerist, who left Venezuela when she was 19 years old. Ms Kissaine said she had become disillusioned with the Democratic Party over the years and was particularly angered by Mr Obama’s willingness to work with Cuban leader Fidel Castro and his decision to shake hands with former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.
Last year she helped found the Venezuelan American Republican Alliance in Miami, recognising that it could help the Republican Party bring more Latino voters into the fold.
"We’re helping Hispanics understand exactly what Trump is doing and how he has helped the Venezuelan people", she said, citing the low unemployment rate among the group and climbing home ownership rates.
"Venezuelans want to live here because they want capitalism. They don’t want big taxes, they don’t want big government, they want to work hard. They want President Trump."
Donald Trump has made overtures to the Hispanic community during the campaign
Credit: Ross D. Franklin /AP
It is a sentiment echoed by Mr Camargo, a retired international sports promoter. Speaking from his home in Brickell Key, an upscale gated island community close to downtown Miami, he says the country has proved to be the "land of opportunity" since he fled Venezuela a decade ago, something he largely credits to Mr Trump.
In Little Havana, the heart of Miami’s Cuban-American community, Anton, an Uber driver, grabs a sandwich at one of the area’s small cafes and explains why recent events have swayed him in favour of the president.
"There’s a lot of trouble here with the riots," he says, citing the recent attacks on police officers. "That’s never happened before. In our countries, maybe, but not here in the US."
"People have to respect the police, we need law and order," he says, echoing a favourite soundbite of Mr Trump’s.
A supporter of Donald Trump cheers as the president participates in a Latinos for Trump Coalition Sept. 14, 2020
Credit: Ross D Franklin/AP
Maria-Elena Lopez, First Vice Chair of the Miami Dade Democratic Party, admits that Mr Trump has been "very effective in putting that message across".
"It is easier to be swayed by a guttural fear and that’s what the Republican message has been, especially this year. A fear that you’re going to lose your home to the rioters… and, for Latin Americans, a fear that this country is going to turn to communism.
"That is what [Trump] is working on: fear. And when you work on fear, logic goes out the window."
But Ms Lopez remains optimistic about the Democrats’ chances here in Florida, citing the local party’s aggressive drive to make sure supporters are registered to vote and its recruitment efforts.
"There’s a lot more Hispanic outreach that has been hired recently… and we only hire people from inside the community," she says, drawing a contrast with previous years. Has Mr Biden left it too late to win over Hispanics here? "I don’t think it’s ever too late," she says.
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