By Ilene Prusher

CORAL SPRINGS, FLORIDA

Its not that often that one finds grandmothers at political rallies with their grandchildren.
But for Marilyn Leeds, who lives in Miami, the main reason she felt so strongly about
coming to a Hillary Clinton rally in a gymnasium in this South Florida suburb is that
shes worried about the future of the country for her eight grandchildren. And so Leeds
brought along her granddaughter Rachel, a local 10th-grader who was excited to see the
woman who may be president, but also to test out her budding photography skills.
Six months ago, Leeds, a travel agent, was in a different place. She voted for Bernie
Sanders in the primary, and was hopeful that the unconventional senator from Vermont
would be the Democratic nominee. Shes come around, at first somewhat reluctantly, but
now with increasing steadfastness, to support Hillary Clinton.
Shes not my favorite candidate. But I do believe shell work for the country. She was
very ambitious. Is that a bad thing? Leeds muses as she and her granddaughter wait on
gym bleachers for Clinton to ascend the podium. In the months since Bernie dropped out
of the race and announced his support for the former Secretary of State, Leeds has grown
more impressed with Clinton, and more baffled by friends including many women
who say theyre voting for Donald Trump, the Republican candidate.
When Trump says she doesnt look presidential, what does he mean by that? Shes not
beautiful enough? Leeds says as Rachel grimaces. We hold women to a different
standard than we hold men to and women are sometimes more critical of women than
anyone else.
Rachels still too young to vote, but many seniors in her high school can. She says lots of
her fellow students were feeling the Bern a few months ago, but are so turned off by the
leading candidates that theyre planning to blow off the Nov. 8 election. But thats like
voting for Trump, she says.
Florida is the quintessential swing state, so divided between Republicans and Democrats
that some pollsters call it purple. The Sunshine State has 29 electoral votes, which is 5.4
percent of available votes in the 538 electoral college and 10.7 percent of the 270
electoral votes needed by any candidate to reach the White House. But unlike most states
that carry hefty numbers of electoral votes, Florida is almost as unpredictable as its
famous hurricanes. George W. Bush beat Al Gore here in 2000 by 537 votes. Barack
Obama won the state in 2008 and 2012, although by uncomfortably thin margins.
Today, given Floridas high proportion of immigrants and minorities, pollsters say
Clinton ought to be showing much stronger numbers here than she is. And among women
voters, who might be assumed to be natural Clinton supporters even before Trumps most

recent twitter-storm about a beauty queens weight gain and many other comments
perceived as insulting to women, Clinton is far from a shoo-in.
I think it is probably wrong to say that women do not like Mrs. Clinton. She is leading
among women in most polling by a significant margin, says Dr. Kevin Wagner, a
political scientist and public opinion expert at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.
However, it is fair to wonder why the first woman presidential nominee of either major
party has not drawn a greater degree of support, especially among younger women.
Although the data on this issue isnt particularly firm, he has three theories as to why that
might be the case:
One, younger women who were not alive during the push for equal rights may not be as
invested in the success of Mrs. Clinton. They may not identify with the gender equality
struggle, he explains in an interview via e-mail. Two, Clinton has been more moderate
on some issues and that has hurt her with younger voters, both men and women. Three,
many women do not see themselves as defined by gender in their voting choices.
According to a recent Monmouth University poll, Trump leads among white women
without a college degree 49% to 32%, but Clinton still leads Trump among women who
have at least a bachelors, 57% to 27%. And even among more educated female voters,
there are women who are skeptical of Clinton, if not outright disdainful of her.
Im an MBA, and I think this country needs to be run like a business, says Kathryn
Schwartz, 50, of Miami, who held up a Make American Great Again along with a
gaggle of Trump supporters outside the Clinton rally. Thats really what matters most to
me not that shes a woman.
Activists and campaign volunteers in this part of the state acknowledge that theyre most
concerned about getting millennials voters aged 18-35 out in force on election day.
Heidi Herborn, one of the volunteer organizers of the Clinton rally on Friday, says
younger voters are her biggest push right now, alongside Hispanics and new citizens a
term she prefers to immigrants.
Not only are we reaching out to new citizens, but theyre reaching us, says Herborn,
who is originally from Chile. We feel that Trump is making fun of us, and this is driving
many people to want to vote for the first time. Though she couldnt provide numbers,
she said women are more likely to respond positively when she and other volunteers are
out in public places, trying to convince people to register.
Sameerah Hingoo, a college freshman, came to the Clinton rally as part of her volunteer
work for the local fire and rescue department. Hingoo says that since Trump declared his
candidacy last year, things got more uncomfortable in her community.
Im a Muslim and Im terrified of Trump, says Hingoo. In my senior year of high
school, after Trump said there should be a ban on Muslims, kids in school starting saying

Yeah, lets put Muslims in concentration camps. Meanwhile, in recent months her
family started to see many friends in their neighborhood and social circles who support
Trump, and they found it startling. She also worries that her boyfriend, who is in the
Marines, will be more likely to be deployed in war overseas due to what she views as
Trumps belligerent attitude.
Expressing what she finds worrying about Trump seems an easier topic than what she
likes about Hillary. But when Clinton takes the stage, Hingoos eyes light up. I cant
wait for her to be my president, she says. But lots of kids of my age wont bother to go,
or are going for the third-party candidates. They feel like they dont have good choices. I
hope we can convince them.
ENDS