The bolt of panic shot through liberal America within minutes of the polls closing in Miami.
Democrats had calculated that as the first results came in from Florida cities, they should expect Joe Biden to take an early lead. After that it would be a close fight as votes piled up for Donald Trump in more conservative parts of the state.
Still, Democrats were buoyant. Opinion polls had Biden with the edge in Florida. If the former vice-president could nail the state, the election would probably be settled before California even finished voting. Trump had almost no path to victory that did not include Florida.
Then Miami-Dade county declared the result of nearly one million early votes shortly after 7pm.
Biden was nine points behind the president in a county that Hillary Clinton won by a 30-point margin in 2016. Far from fighting from behind, Trump was ahead right out of the starting gate.
Eventually, Biden pulled off a slim victory in Miami-Dade but the result was still a huge swing to Trump that helped deliver him Florida. The former chair of the county Democratic party, Joe Garcia, called it “a bloodbath”.
Twitter churned with expletives. Alarmed messages flew on social-media groups speculating as to what it meant that Biden was performing worse than Clinton, with the ever-present nightmare of her 2016 defeat hanging over proceedings. Permutations were calculated and recalculated. In bars not shut because of coronavirus, stunned Democrats ordered stiff drinks and settled in for a long night.
Meanwhile, Trump and his more excitable followers took it as an omen and readied themselves to declare victory.
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
