Trump campaign to open Cape ‘Victory Office’
As the country continues to inch closer towards the fall elections, efforts are ramping up in Cape Coral when it comes to the presidential race.
This Saturday, the Trump Victory Office will hold its grand opening at 11 a.m. at 111 Del Prado Blvd. N, hosted by the Trump Victory Team SWFL.
The campaign office, located in the Coral Commons plaza, will serve as place for campaign officials and volunteers to provide information to the public on President Donald J. Trump and the election.
Speakers on Saturday include Republican Party of Lee County Chair Jonathan Martin; Rep. Spencer Roach and others. Steve E. Martin will serve as master of ceremonies.
“There is a good amount of our community that obviously supports the president, but also a tremendous amount of the community that needs to know that the president is working hard,” said Martin. “I think having the office here will definitely increase the visibility of his work and that he cares about the people in Cape Coral specifically and Southwest Florida at large.”
Martin said the office will be following CDC guidelines when it comes to staffing and social distancing, as well as taking direction from the governor when it comes to Florida policies.
“This office will be following CDC guidelines and whatever the governor tells us to do, but it’s also going to be a hub and home base for support to the people that are in charge of the operations and the logistics and the technology we’re using.”
Martin said the office also will be a place for local candidates to drop off campaign signs and information. He said the office can serve to bridge the gap between candidates and the public – whether that’s answering questions, assistance with voting and connecting the people to the candidate.
For Cape Coral, this is the first time in a long time that local elections will be held in the same year as statewide and national elections. Martin said this is an important caveat for local voters, who can become informed of local candidates through this office.
Many of the staffers hired, as well as volunteers, will have local roots, including Republican Party of Florida Regional Field Director and Cape Coral resident Missi Lastra, who heads the Cape Coral office on behalf of the Trump campaign.
“There’s been such a tremendous amount of support for Donald Trump here locally, that they didn’t have to look outside of Southwest Florida,” Martin said. “It’s good that we have local Cape Coral residents, Lee County residents, working hard for the president in 2020.”
Martin said volunteers make up the majority of office workers. With COVID-19 guidelines in place, they will make phone calls and are hopeful to eventually be out on foot knocking on doors.
The office aims to serve residents in many different ways when it comes to information.
“(Residents) know if they need anything, that there’s certainly going to be a person on the other end of the phone that they can call if they need support, if they’re having issues with getting ballots or if they’re having trouble getting in touch with candidates for questions or raising money,” Martin said. “They know that physically, in their neighborhood, they’re going to have that office.
“Even though we’re not going to be necessarily pushing lots of people through the office until it’s safe to do so, knowing that it’s there provides that enthusiasm for their candidate and also provides them and opportunity to have questions answered or issues fixed.”