Hillary Clinton Sets Tampa Rally

TAMPA, FL — Tampa Bay area residents who want to see Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton live will get their chance to do so Wednesday. Clinton has set an “Early Voting Rally” at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.

Clinton’s Oct. 26 rally is set to coincide with the opening of early voting polls in most counties in the Tampa Bay area. Voters in Pasco County will see early voting open this Saturday.

Clinton has maintained an edge in national and statewide polls ever since a video was released that showed Republican challenger Donald Trump making lewd remarks about women. Since then, a number of women have come forward to accuse the New York businessman of inappropriately touching them.

Clinton’s campaign has also been on the defensive since WikiLeaks dumped emails allegedly written by or sent to her staff members. Among some of the revelations to come out of the WikiLeaks dumps are supposed excerpts from her Wall Street speeches. One email reportedly noted Clinton as saying, “you need to have a private and public position on policy.” Another spoke about open borders and open trade.

The WikiLeaks dump has also brought a $12 million donation from Morocco’s King Mohammed VI to the Clinton Foundation under scrutiny. The Clinton campaign has denounced the WikiLeaks email release, saying the hack represents an effort by the Russian government to influence the American election.

Scandals aside, Clinton holds a strong lead in the polls. The RealClearPolitics average gave the Democrat a 6.1 percentage point lead nationally on Monday, down slightly from polling last week. In Florida, RealClearPolitics gives Clinton a 3.8 percentage point lead.

Clinton is scheduled to take the stage at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, 600 N. Ashley Drive, at 2:45 p.m. Oct. 26. Doors to the event open at 12:15 p.m. To RSVP for free tickets, visit the Clinton campaign online.

Patch file photo via Rick Uldricks