PRESIDENTIAL RACE | Florida again? In final campaign days, state may be pivotal

MIAMI (AP) — After a year crammed with political shocks and head-scratchers, the contenders find themselves in the final days in a most familiar swing state. That's Florida.

Donald Trump has relentlessly campaigned in the state and was embarked today on his third multiday visit in recent weeks. Hillary Clinton has also been a frequent visitor in the campaign's closing days, spending last weekend in the Sunshine State and then returning Tuesday.

In Miami, Trump touted his rise in Florida polls before warning his supporters not to take anything for granted.

"Pretend we're slightly behind. We don't want to blow this," Trump said, urging his backers to cast early ballots. "OK, ready? Pretend we're down! We're down! We're down!"

Trump can't win without carrying Florida, so Clinton can deliver a knockout blow if she captures the state's 29 electoral votes.

But Democrats are increasingly concerned about black voter turnout after some early-voting numbers showed a drop-off from 2012, when president Barack Obama was on the ticket. If that decline holds true, it complicates the party's path in other states, too, including North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Clinton's campaign has announced plans to campaign in Detroit and Cleveland on Friday, two cities where African-American turnout is crucial. While Obama carried Michigan by comfortable margins in both 2008 and 2012, polls have shown Clinton with a single-digit lead over Trump.

Obama, meanwhile, was hosting a rally with singer-songwriter James Taylor in Chapel Hill today, the first of two visits he's planned this week. Early voting in North Carolina shows a 5 percentage point drop in ballots from black voters.