Florida Democrats Get Boost From President Obama In Miami

MIAMI, FL — Saying "this Tuesday might be the most important election of our lifetimes," former President Barack Obama campaigned for Florida Democrat gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum and incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator Bill Nelson Friday in the final days leading up to the Nov. 6 election.

"In the closing weeks of this election we have seen repeated attempts to divide us with rhetoric designed to make us angry and make us fearful," Obama told the crowd of several thousand at Miami's Ice Palace Film Studios in the Overtown section of the city.

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The former president said politicians often stress the importance of elections but this one is different.

"Politicians will always say that, but this time it's actually true," Obama insisted.

As of Friday, a total of 1,689,457 Republicans in Florida had already cast votes by mail or at early voting sites across the state compared to 1,630,927 for Democrats. That translates into a Republican advantage of 58,530 votes if Floridians stay true to party lines.

Meanwhile, Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis and Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott, got a boost Wednesday night from President Trump, appearing at a rally in Estero, Florida.

"I'm thrilled to be back in this great state, the great state of Florida with thousands of hard-working American patriots," the president said amid chants of USA.

He said his supporters were part of the greatest political movement in the United States and encouraged them to get out and vote.

"If you want low taxes and low crime, vote Republican. This election is truly a choice between results and resistance," the president said. "It's a choice between an economy that is going strong and setting records at every level and the Democrats who are going absolutely crazy folks."

Gillum continued to lead DeSantis by 2.7 points on Friday while Nelson's lead over Scott narrowed to 1.9 points, according to political website RealClearPolitics. The website rated both the Florida governor's race and U.S. Senate race as a political "toss up" as of Friday. The RealClearPolitics numbers are based on a statistical average of multiple polls.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

President Obama is pictured with Democrat gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum (left) and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images).