Miami, Nov 6 (IANS) US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump asked on Saturday in Tampa, Florida, for the Hispanic and African American electorate's vote in this vital state, where polls show him in a technical tie with rival Hillary Clinton.
"What the hell do you have to lose?" Trump asked Latino and African American voters, and at his first rally of the final sprint to next Tuesday's elections he promised to fix what is wrong with the country.
Before the elections he will visit eight states, including another visit to Florida next Monday, EFE news reported.
Trump said that African Americans and Latinos are suffering in Florida's cities and all over the country from high crime rates, the worst education and no jobs, problems that he vowed to remedy if he wins the November 8 election.
He also said that Democrats always forget about these minority voters once the elections are over.
These segments of the electorate, which polls indicate massively support ex-Secretary of State Clinton, could be vital for determining who will win Florida's 29 electoral votes - which Trump needs to obtain the total of 270 that will give him the key to the White House.
Latinos represent 16 per cent of Florida's registered voters, while African Americans make up 13 per cent, and their vote is crucial in these Florida elections, where surveys point to the Democrat having a minimal lead, EFE news added.
In Florida, 4 per cent more Latinos have come out for early voting or have voted by mail than in 2012, while African American participation has dropped 7 per cent compared to the last presidential election when the candidate was President Barack Obama, who finally won the state.
Trump said he felt good about the voting results up to now, which on Saturday showed a difference of less than 7,300 between the registered Democrats and Republicans who have already voted, out of a total of 5.7 million registered voters in Florida.
The real-estate magnate said the final vote of African Americans and Hispanics will be very different from what people think.
He said Clinton is the candidate of the past, while his is the movement of the future, and it's time for change, for new leadership.
According to a poll taken by the website Real Clear Politics, Clinton leads Trump by less than 2 per cent nationwide.
