Local campaign offices get help from Alabama volunteers

JACKSONVILLE, Fla---It's a race against time and the Romney Jacksonville Victory Office has called in reinforcements.

"We've actually had volunteers from different states come in. Just yesterday we've had about 35 people from Alabama come in, we've had South Carolina, Texas is down here as well, and we're just trying to pick up as many people as we can," says William Sexauer, the Canvassing Director for the Romney/Ryan Jacksonville Victory Office.

Alabama volunteers are in town helping Duval County campaign offices this week by knocking on doors and making phone calls; the goal - to get voters to the polls early.

"It's important to get them to vote early because we need to for one, get the numbers up and we have a lot of elderly people in Florida obviously and we just want to make sure that every single person has the opportunity to vote and just make their voice heard," says Sexauer.

Dorel Elliott from Birmingham, Alabama joined the campaign trail about two weeks ago and she's putting all of her efforts into Florida.

"I guess historically if you haven't won Florida, you don't win the election, so that's what we're looking for," says Elliott.

Local volunteers like Kenneth Turner have been getting the word out since early spring and he says campaigning for the Republican Party in Duval County could a difference for the entire state.

"Up in Duval County we have to win by a substantial amount to offset the Democratic vote in Southern Florida . So it's very important," says Turner, a Jacksonville resident.

Obama campaign headquarters in Jacksonville are stepping up their game too. They say the volunteer numbers continue to increase and they are working towards getting Obama supporters to vote early as well. This weekend the 'Gotta Vote Bus Tour' rolled into Jacksonville and is still making stops in Florida through the end of the week.

Early voting begins October 27th.

First Coast News