TAMPA, Fla (WFLA) – President Donald Trump formally kicked off his re-election campaign in Orlando on Tuesday, and it’s no surprise why the president chose the Sunshine State to hold the rally.
In the majority of the last five presidents campaign for re-election, Florida has played a crucial role.
Going back to the re-election of Ronald Reagan in 1984, Florida, along with most of the country, overwhelmingly voted to re-elect the sitting president.
Regan won the popular vote in Florida against Walter Mondale 2,730,350 votes to 1,448,816.
However, following the first and only term of his predecessor George H.W. Bush, Florida began to stand out as an important swing state.
The 1996 reelection of Bill Clinton established Florida as an important swing state, starting a trend of tight races and thin margins between the winner and loser of the state’s electoral votes. Clinton won Florida over his Republican opponent, Bob Dole, by 302,334 votes.
Following the controversy of the 2000 election — a controversy that stemmed from the Sunshine State — George W. Bush defeated his Democratic opponent, John Kerry, by a margin of only five percent.
In 2012, even after the Republican National Convention was held in Tampa, President Barack Obama won the states electoral votes by a margin of 0.88 percent.
The I-4 corridor and South Florida have historically has significant voter turnout, which is why Florida residents should get used to a rotating door of presidential candidates, starting with President Trump today and the Democratic candidates who will be at the first debate next week in Miami.
| President | # of votes | # of opponent votes | Did Florida play a pivotal role? |
 R. Reagan | 2,730,350 |
1,448,816 W Mondale | No |
 G.H.W. Bush | 2,173,310 |
2,072,698 W Clinton
| No |
 W. Clinton | 2,546,870 |
2,173,310 B Dole | Yes |
 G.W. Bush |
3,964,522 |
3,583,544 J Kerry | Yes |
 B. Obama |
4,237,756 |
4,163,447 M Romney | Yes |