Rain cuts short important Clinton stop in Florida

Hillary Clinton was forced Saturday to quickly cut short a Florida rally after heavy rain prematurely ended her only event for the day in the critical swing state.

Logistics for the speech, which ended seven minutes after it began, amounted to a significant time commitment for the campaign. After headlining a concert with Jay Z and Beyoncé on Friday night in Ohio, Clinton and her press corps traveled to Florida, arriving after 1 a.m. ET.

In addition to the rally, Clinton visited two early voting sites around Miami.

It had been raining on-and-off at Clinton’s rally in the Broward County, but as Clinton took the stage, the rain appeared to stop.

But minutes into her speech, a drizzle began and by the time she finished, the rain was falling sideways, including onto the Democratic nominee.

“My friends, you are a hearty bunch standing out here in the rain. I don’t think I need to tell you all of the wrong things about Donald Trump,” Clinton said near the close of her speech. “I want to be the president for everybody, everybody who agrees with me, people who don’t agree with me, people who vote for me, people who don’t vote for me.”

With that, Clinton closed her speech.

The short speech did not dampen the mood of people in the audience, and many were laughing as they sought shelter after Clinton stopped speaking. But the shortened event will change the way the event gets covered Sunday in Florida, a way Clinton’s campaign gauges the success of each visit.

The event is Clinton’s last on her schedule in Florida, her most-visited state since she claimed the Democratic nomination in July, though it’s still possible she could return before Tuesday.

Clinton has spent 13 days campaigning in Florida since the July convention, including seven in the last two weeks.

The state, aides say, is critical to Clinton’s success on Election Day. If Clinton wins the Sunshine State, Trump’s path to victory is significantly limited.

A CNN/ORC poll released earlier this week showed Clinton and Trump statistically tied in the state.

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