Puerto Rico, as a territory of the United States, cannot take part in presidential elections and has little say in the decisions of the federal government. But Puerto Rican voters on the mainland have a great deal of influence. The swing state of Florida in particular could be decided by just a few hundred votes.
So it was good to see a few hundred voters turn out for the Political Salsa gathering last night. Among the speakers:
- Jose Alvarez
- Art Otero
- Congressman John Mica
- State Senator Darren Soto
- State Representatives Bob Cortes
- Mike Miller
- Rene “Coach P” Plasencia
- Victor Torres
- John Cortes
- Orange County Commissioner Pete Clarke
- State Attorney Jeff Ashton
- Aramis Ayala
- Peter Vivaldi
- Carlos Guillermo Smith
- Linda Stewart
- Rick Roach
- Shae Silverman
- Amy Mercado
- Alex Barrio
- Benny Valentin
- Ryan Yadav
- Spike Hopkins
- Tony Fernandez
- Dave Sklarek
- Jose Sanchez
The moderators:
- Scott Powers with Florida Politics
- Guillermo Hanson with the Osceola Star
- Orlando Political Observer Editor and Writer Frank Torres
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were there in the form of cutouts, and their supporters grabbed selfies with their favorite candidate. A straw poll was taken; results have not yet been released.
A party atmosphere reigned even when the rhetoric got heated. See the video at Political Salsa’s Facebook page.
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