TAMPA, Fla. — While the country continues to social distance and stays six feet apart, the 2020 election season is rapidly changing. Presidential candidates will have to hold town halls and rallies virtually.
"It is very different because there is no direct voter contact. It's going to be a lot of getting used to in terms of reaching out to people and trying to get them engaged without hand to hand combat basically," 10News Political Expert Lars Hafner said.
Internet issues could overshadow everything and throw voters off. While President Trump already has experience on TV and social media, Biden will have to make a difficult transition. Hafner says his campaign staff will help him through.
The former vice president's first test came Thursday during his virtual rally in Tampa.
"It's so symbolic to come to Tampa first because Florida is always and will always be very important in the presidential race. If the democratic candidate, in this case, Joe Biden wins Florida, game over," Hafner said.
Biden's latest rally was full of technical issues, but Hafner says he's still leading the polls in Florida.
"You win the I-4 corridor you'll probably win Florida. Because President Trump only won Florida by about 100,000 votes last time, it's in play and is very important. The Biden people know it and the Trump people know it," Hafner said.
While it's still unclear what voting will look like in November, Hafner says the candidates will have to win new voters over. Voters will likely vote for whoever they think responds best to the pandemic.
"It may be the candidate that can show the most compassion and come through the mediums that they're using. They'll need to show compassion and lift up as opposed to taking down," Hafner said.
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