With Florida On The Line Both Political Parties Work To Fire Up Voters

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One of the get out the vote posters used by Real Women Radio, an internet radio station created by and for African-American women in Pensacola.

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Politics
Activists Rally Black Voters In Traditional Red Counties In Florida’s Panhandle

Activists Rally Black Voters In Traditional Red Counties In Florida’s Panhandle

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Kenneth McElroy tells her he’s 43, and has voted in every election since he was old enough to vote. He says there’s a lot on the line in this election, in the middle of a pandemic.

«Health, safety, living, says McElroy, whose home was destroyed by Hurricane Sally so he’s been living out of his car for more than a month. He won’t be voting for Donald Trump.

«He ain’t fit for the part, he says. «I wish him good health, and, you know, always no animosity or bad on him. I just wish him out the office.

Outside the laundromat, Hale-Benjamin expresses a similar sentiment.

«Some of the things that have come out of his mouth as a president, has been very disappointing to me, she says.

She supports Democrat Joe Biden, but doesn’t think he’ll be able to change as much as he has promised.

«But at least we won’t have to hear all of the noise, and we won’t be so divided, Hale-Benjamin says.

The former hairdresser is a registered Democrat and says many of her friends are white, and Republican. This election has strained relationships.

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«They’re scared to talk to me and I’m scared to talk to them because you don’t know what’s going to come out of somebodies’ mouth and all that, she says. «I don’t think we should have to walk around like that.

That political divide by race is evident when you look at voter registration in Florida. Only 1.3% of registered Republicans identify as Black.

«He’s the best president we’ve ever had

«Deep red, is how Clover Lawson of Pensacola describes the local politics. «These people work hard for their money and they want to keep as much of it as possible.

The region voted overwhelming for Donald Trump in 2016, and he’s coming to Pensacola Friday night to rally his base. This part of Florida is in the central time zone so Republican candidates typically get a boost an hour after the polls close in the rest of the state. That can be the difference in razor tight races.

Lawson, 51, is a Second Amendment activist who works for a gun manufacturer, and says she switched her party affiliation from Independent to Republican before the last presidential election because she thought politics needed a reset. Lawson backed Trump and got involved in party politics. She’s currently campaigning for a local state house candidate.

Her parents, Simone and Ted Lawson were equally as frustrated with politics and got behind Trump. They’re sticking with him this year, too.

«My verdict today is that he’s the best president we’ve ever had, says Ted Lawson. He’s Vietnam veteran, who retired from the civil service. Simone Lawson had a screen printing business. The couple practice Catholic Charismatic Renewal, and say their faith informs their vote.

«Freedom of religion is much more open with Trump as president, says Simone Lawson. «Freedom period, right?

They say he’s kept his promise to move ahead with a border wall, and the retirees are big fans of his Supreme Court nominees.

Trump’s personality had given Simone Lawson pause in 2016.

«Oh, I didn’t like him at first, at all, she says.

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His tone irritated her, but not so much anymore. The Lawsons say Trump just tells it like it is.

«Most of the people I know that don’t like him, don’t like him for those very reasons that he’s a braggart. He’s got a big mouth. He’s a bully, says Ted Lawson.

«But he’s our bully, his wife interjects.

«I didn’t vote for Trump because he was a nice, gracious man, Mr. Lawson says. «I voted for him because he got stuff done.

Clover Lawson has two sons who are young adults. In her view, Trump has done some «boneheaded things that are distractions.

«For someone who doesn’t have any experience being a politician, you can tell, she says.

But she thinks he’s getting a bad rap when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic.

«I think he was handed a really bad apple this year, and to judge the other years based on this year would be terribly unfair, Lawson says.

But Trump’s handling of coronavirus is what’s driving many voters.

«We’re in a pandemic right now and it’s chaos, says Sharia Beasley of Pensacola.

She says she’s lost several family members to COVID-19, and wants a change in leadership.

«I think we just need a little break from chaos for these four more years, says Beasley, cofounder of Real Women Radio, an internet radio station created by and for African-American women in Pensacola.

Now the station is focused on the election.

«I’ve been preaching for the last couple of months: Vote. Vote. Vote. Vote, she says. «Get your plan in order. Go do what you got to do. Take your Mama and them, your Daddy and them, your sister and them, your brother. Take everybody. Go vote.

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David Sims (left), Charlotte Nelson and Phyllis Hale-Benjamin out canvassing in Pensacola for Real Women Radio.

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«On both sides they won’t accept it, he says. «If the Republicans lose, they won’t accept that. I won’t accept that.

Simone Lawson says they’ve accepted every election in their lifetime. «A lot of times it wasn’t our choice, but we always respected the office of the president, she says. «But in this case, Trump has to win.

The Lawsons say they will be voting in person on November 3rd. While Clover plans to cast an absentee ballot, something she’s always done as a former military spouse.

Out on the streets of Pensacola, David Sims, a canvasser with Real Women Radio, has been working with ex-offenders re-enfranchised by a constitutional amendment approved by Florida voters two years ago. Advocacy groups say about 67,000 former felons are newly registered this election.

But Sims says the Republican-controlled legislature has complicated things.

«They pass one law saying you can vote and they pass another law saying you have to pay your fines, Sims says. «That’s further disenfranchisement.

Sims believes the system is stacked against encouraging full participation by Black voters, like him.

«If I know you’re gonna vote against me, I’m going to make it where you can’t vote at all, Sims says. «They’re trying to silence us and that’s why we’re out here.