Miami, Oct 19 (EFE).- U.S. President Barack Obama asks in Spanish for people to vote for Patrick Murphy, who is running for a U.S. Senate seat in Florida against Cuban-American Sen. Marco Rubio, in a new advertisement released on YouTube.
“Patrick will fight for immigration reform, better education and higher salaries,” says the president in Spanish in the brief message that showed images of the 33-year-old congressman.
The Democratic candidate is running against Rubio, a Republican, who as a senator from Florida ran for president in the GOP primaries but withdrew on March 15 after losing to Donald Trump, who won the Sunshine State by a wide margin and went on to become the party’s presidential nominee.
Murphy will fight “every day to improve our lives,” says Obama in the ad, which can now be seen on the YouTube video platform.
Florida is a crucial state in the Nov. 8 presidential and legislative elections.
Both Trump and his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, have campaigned in Florida several times to raise funds and look for votes, along with their running mates, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, respectively.
Obama, who is scheduled to campaign in Florida for Clinton on Thursday, in the 30-second ad spot urges people to “go out and vote.”
“Your vote is very important. Thank-you, friends,” says Obama.
Florida is the U.S. state with the third-largest number of Hispanics, who comprise 18 percent of the eligible voters, and at the same time it is one of the most diverse and volatile.
Of the Hispanic voters, 31 percent are of Cuban origin, followed by Puerto Ricans (27 percent), who number 1 million in the state, and Mexicans (9 percent).
As of last August, more than 12.5 Floridians were registered to vote, including more than 4.7 million Democrats, 4.4 million Republicans and 3.2 million independents or supporters of minor parties.