Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania on November 4, 2016. PHOTO: AFP
MIAMI: Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton entered the last three days of campaigning with competing events on Saturday in Florida, a swing state that could prove decisive in Tuesday's US presidential election.
Clinton and Trump are making their closing arguments to American voters, crisscrossing the United States in hopes of convincing last-minute undecided voters and rallying their bases to turn out enthusiastically on Election Day.
Opinion polls show Clinton still holds advantages in states that could be critical in deciding the election, but her lead has narrowed after a revelation a week ago that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was looking into a new trove of emails as part of its probe into her handling of classified information while she was secretary of state.
The state opinion polls have found Florida as one of the most competitive among the swing states - those that are hotly contested because their voters can swing either to Republicans or Democrats. The 2000 presidential election was decided in Florida after a dispute over votes and recounting of ballots went to the US Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of Republican George W. Bush over Democrat Al Gore.
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The Real Clear Politics average of Florida polls found Clinton with a lead of about 1 percentage point - indicating the race there is a virtual tie.
Trump held a morning rally in Tampa, Florida, where he continued to criticize Clinton for supporting the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, in the wake of announcement that premiums are going to rise next year.
"It's not going to matter because if we win I'm throwing it out anyway," Trump said.
Trump will also campaign Saturday in North Carolina, Nevada and Colorado. Trump told the crowd he will also hold a campaign event in Minnesota this weekend, although one had not previously been scheduled. His campaign confirmed a rally scheduled for Wisconsin on Sunday has been canceled. Minnesota has not voted for a Republican since 1984.
Trump repeated an attack against Clinton that he is more aggressively campaigning because she lacks "stamina."
"Look, I'm here I'm doing five or six of these a day, and Hillary goes home, she goes to sleep. If she wanted to do it, which she doesn't, she doesn't have the energy to do it, believe me," Trump said in Tampa. He had four events planned that day.
Clinton started the day by stopping by the West Miami Community Center, a Cuban American neighborhood, with telenova star Jencarlos Canela.
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Clinton will hold an afternoon rally in southern Florida then head to Philadelphia, where she will appear with pop singer Katy Perry for an evening rally. Clinton has leaned on her celebrity supporters to draw large crowds in the final days of the campaign. On Tuesday night, she appeared in Cleveland with rapper Jay-Z and singer Beyonce.
Nationally, Clinton has held her slight advantage in the opinion polls in the closing days of the campaign.
Clinton leads Trump by 5 percentage points, according to a Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll released on Friday, maintaining her advantage in the national survey even as the race tightens in several crucial swing states.
The YouGov polling estimate released on Saturday found Clinton with a 3 percentage point lead and estimated she would win 293 electoral college votes, more than the 270 needed to win the White House.
The Washington Post/ABC daily tracking poll showed Clinton ahead of Trump by 4 percentage points.
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