Trump campaign adviser @JackKingston on battle for Florida: It is a tough state, but I'm confident Trump will win. https://t.co/tzmjIIstU4
— New Day (@NewDay) October 25, 2016
An adviser to Donald Trump says he can still pull out a victory in the crucial swing state of Florida.
“I am,” former Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) said Tuesday on CNN’s “New Day” when asked if he is confident Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, can win the Sunshine State. “Part of it’s going to be this ObamaCare issue.
{mosads}“ObamaCare premiums are absolutely skyrocketing, but everybody’s very frustrated with it in general,” Kingston told host Alisyn Camerota.
“They don’t like the idea of a bureaucrat being in between them and their doctor, and that’s exactly what ObamaCare has brought. In a state like Florida, that is an important issue.”
Kingston also predicted Hillary Clinton’s Medicare proposal could hurt her with Florida’s senior voters.
“Hillary’s also talking about lowering the age for Medicare to 55,” he said of the Democratic presidential nominee. “How in the world is she planning to pay for that?
“The seniors who are in Florida, they’re smart enough to know that if you decrease the eligibility age by 10 years for Medicare, you’re going to drive the system broke.”
Kingston acknowledged that Trump’s campaign expects an uphill battle in Florida, but said it is ramping up its ground game ahead of Election Day.
“Florida is a tough state; it’s a diverse state. We hope to get 25 offices open in Florida. We do have an aggressive ground game, but it’s a tough state.”
Data released Monday said the price of the most popular plan under ObamaCare will increase an average of 25 percent on the federal marketplace next year.
Trump declared “it’s over” for ObamaCare later that evening, citing its large premium hikes in Tampa, Fla.
“One in five Americans trapped on ObamaCare will only have a single insurer to choose from, and boy are those insurers going to have a good time with you,” he said.
Clinton leads Trump by about 4 points in Florida, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average of polls.
The former secretary of State’s lead is wider nationally, with Clinton topping Trump by about 5 points in the same index.