Democrats’ Florida closer: Bill Clinton

Former President Clinton is jumping in to the highly competitive special House election in Florida with a robocall for Democrat Alex Sink.

{mosads}Sink also released a new ad in the race, which features shots of her throughout the district, meeting with voters.

Democrats are making their final push ahead of Tuesday’s vote for the seat, which became more competitive for the party after the passing of the late Rep. Bill Young (R).

Public and private polling has shown Sink and Republican David Jolly within low single digits of each other, and outside groups have poured $8.1 million into the race to sway the outcome, by one tally.

In his robocall, Clinton reminds voters of the election date, March 11, and says, of Alex Sink, they can “send a proven leader to Congress, someone who will work across the aisle to get things done.”

He urges listeners to volunteer for her to get out the vote, and the call offers an option for them to sign up to volunteer. Turnout will be crucial for Democrats, as they’re expecting a drop-off from presidential-level turnout, and in 2012 Obama only won the district by a little over 1 percentage point.

In Sink’s ad, she makes her closing pitch, speaking direct-to-camera about her credentials for the seat and framing herself as a bipartisan problem-solver.

“We’ve got big challenges and we need people who can work across the aisle to take them on: Protect Social Security and Medicare, cap flood insurance and stand up for our veterans,” she said.
 
“Bringing Republicans and Democrats together, that’s what I’ve always done, and I’ll do that in Congress.”

On Wednesday, Jolly met with volunteers at his campaign headquarters in Clearwater, Fla.