Democrats in The Villages, a Republican stronghold, came out in support of Vice President Kamala Harris as part of her presidential campaign’s Weekend of Action.
They did it the way Villagers love to express their political views: a golf cart caravan.
Two weekends earlier, it was the Villages MAGA Club organizing a golf cart parade to show support for former President Donald Trump following the Pennsylvania assassination attempt that targeted him, but killed a supporter and wounded two others at a rally.
At this event Saturday, it was the Democrats’ turn - with hundreds of golf carts decked out in flags and signs. Since the vice president’s presidential campaign was just a week old, a lot of those are homemade.
Organizers said Democrats in The Villages are very excited about Harris' campaign. The event was one of 33 planned around the state, marking 100 days until the Nov. 5 election.
Lynne Smith was wearing a blue T-shirt she got for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign with the word “POTUS” on it, featuring the female symbol in place of the “O.” Trump defeated Clinton, who was vying to become the first woman U.S. president.
"And this time we’re going to do it," she said shortly before getting back in her golf cart and joining the parade. "Look at this, the enthusiasm in The Villages is mind-boggling. It’s gobsmacking. I’m so excited."
The caravan traveled twice in a loop from the Barnes & Noble parking lot to the Sumter Landing Town Square.
Dozens of Harris supporters were there to welcome them and so were about 20 Trump supporters, including Jeannine Daly, who was holding a red Trump flag.
"I think 90% of The Villages is for Trump;10% for Harris, seriously" she said.
Trump, 78, won Sumter County, where most of huge retirement community lies, with 68% of the vote in 2020, when he carried Florida but lost to President Joe Biden, 81, who announced a week earlier he would not seek reelection and endorsed Harris.
Daly believes the enthusiasm for Harris is “a honeymoon” that will dissipate as people learn more about her.
As golf carts came to square, 87-year-old Rosemarie Alexander, a Black woman visiting from North Carolina, made a point of thanking some drivers and shaking their hands.
Alexander said she worries a second Trump term could take America back to the days of segregation -- or worse.
But seeing the parade in support of Harris filled her with emotion.
"I have been so distraught," she said. "And I have hope again. I’m just happy to see these people. ... We need them. We need them. We can’t go back.
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