The Slatest

Hillary Clinton Has to Like Where She Stands in Florida

Hillary Clinton greets supporters during a campaign rally at Palm Beach State College at Lake Worth on Oct. 26 in Lake Worth, Florida.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

After a few unexpected hiccups earlier today, our VoteCastr visualizations—which combine both early vote totals and live turnout data—are now up and running. So now’s a good time to take a look at where things stand in perhaps the most important state on the map this year: Florida.

The Sunshine State is essentially a must-win for Donald Trump. If Hillary Clinton were to win the 19 states (plus the District of Columbia) that have voted for the Democratic nominee in each of the past six presidential elections, she could clinch the presidency simply by claiming Florida’s 29 electoral votes. Right now, things are looking pretty good on that front. (Numbers current as of 4:12 p.m. EST.)

Again: VoteCastr is not saying Clinton will win Florida, only that she appears to be leading at this moment based on early voting and today’s estimated turnout, which has already exceeded the state’s 2012 vote total. It’s entirely possible that Trump could make up ground later in the day, particularly given that Florida’s traditionally conservative panhandle is in the Central time zone, and is therefore an hour behind the rest of the state. Still, Clinton’s camp is likely celebrating the fact that her estimated Florida vote total has already topped Obama’s total from 2012, when he beat Mitt Romney there by less than a percentage point.

One reason the Clinton campaign is likely optimistic about her chances in Florida is the strong showing of Hispanic voters in the state, which was evident during early voting. As the New York Times points out, Florida voters who indicated they were Hispanic on their voter registration forms cast as many early ballots this year as they cast total ballots in 2012, when they accounted for 12 percent of the Florida electorate. That enthusiasm seems to have continued on Election Day.

According to VoteCastr, Clinton currently holds a lead of 600,000-plus estimated votes in the five Florida counties that are predominantly nonwhite.

That advantage more than offsets Trump’s current advantage in predominantly white counties:

See more of Slate’s election coverage.