Why Is Doug Emhoff Campaigning in The Villages, Florida?

The second gentleman and local Democrats in the largest retirement community in the country see a blue opportunity.

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff Friday campaigns for his wife, Kamala Harris (the current vice president and Democratic presidential nominee) in The Villages, Florida. The community, known as the largest retirement community in the United States, historically leans Republican. (Credit: Jennifer Taylor)

On a rainy afternoon, four women seated around a table in the Lake Miona Pool & Recreation Center in The Villages, Florida, went about their weekly card-playing routine, shrugging off the crowd of people, growing by the hundreds, filtering in around them.

Armed authorities and a police K-9 stood nearby monitoring the line winding out the center, around the building and into a packed parking lot.

“Who’s coming?” one of the women, who is not a Democrat, asked sarcastically then smiled and continued with the game.