With the election heating up and voting day drawing closer, some residents of Florida may have noticed that there are more rallies in Florida compared to other states such as Georgia or Illinois but may not know why this is true.

In the United States, most states tend to vote a certain way—Democratic or Republican—every election. For example, most southern states such as Georgia, Alabama, or Mississippi tend to vote Republican. On the other hand, states such as New York, Connecticut, and Illinois tend to vote Democrat. However, exceptions to this do exist in what are called “swing states.” Most recent data, according to Politico, indicates that current swing states are Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Florida.

Part of the campaign strategy for presidential candidates is always to visit swing states most often. Although candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will have rallies in other states as well, they mostly tend to campaign in the swing states, especially Florida. Florida is one of the most populated states in America, and because it tends to have a somewhat even ratio of Democrats and Republicans, it is possibly the most visited state for presidential campaigns.

On Tuesday, October 25^th, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump held a rally in Sanford, Florida, just a few minutes from Winter Springs High School. At the event, he discussed the policies and goals he would work to achieve in office if he wins the election. One topic he brought up specifically for his Floridian audience was the proposal of further action for space exploration. Because NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is located in Cape Canaveral Florida, just 47 miles from Sanford, and employs 13,000 Floridians, Trump’s promise to “refocus on space exploration,” and “lead the way into the stars” was a highlight for many attendees.

Democratic presidential candidate Clinton’s campaign strategy differs slightly from Trump’s. She is still targeting Florida greatly because of its swing state status, but unlike Trump, she is not relying on high-profile rallies and television appearances. Trump currently has one campaign office in the state of Florida, while Clinton has a total of 67.

“We are within the communities where the people are that support this campaign,” Clinton’s Tampa-based campaign director Simone Ward said. “You’ve got to build a strong ground game, and you can’t wait until the last minute to do that.”

Another contribution to Clinton’s Florida campaign is coming from the current president of the United States. On Friday, October 28th, President Obama visited UCF’s CFE Arena and made a speech on the 2016 election, throwing his support behind Clinton.

“In almost every measure, we are significantly better [off] than we were eight years ago,” he said during the speech. “All the progress made over the last eight years goes out the window if we don’t win this election.”

Even though the majority of students at Winter Springs cannot vote yet, going to a rally, whether it be for Trump, Hillary, or another third-party candidate is a great way to experience politics in an immersive way, as opposed to just watching the news.

Junior Tanner Waters attended the Trump rally on Tuesday and said it was “super educational” and a “good experience.”