Do we have a chance to win Florida?

[NJSecularist]

I look at the 2004 results and say we don't have much of a chance - we lost by 5%. But that was when Jeb was governor. We lost by, what, 500 votes in 2000.

Does anybody believe we have a chance to win Florida?

Or is it inevitable that it will go red in November?

[usregimechange]

1. We can win in Florida, 2000 was very close.

[MADem]

2. Not if the DNC shows them the back of their hand. And depending on running mates. NT

[jody]

3. Probably not. n/t

[SoFlaJet]

4. it's really hard to tell at this point NJS

I can tell you that we are getting inundated by ads from congressional candidates against Tim Mahoney, Ron Klien and Robert Wexler. You can't go by democratic voter turnout either because in my family alone half of the eligible voters didn't even bother b/c of the mess

[NJSecularist]

7. I guess it depends on the nominee

But perhaps we would be better off just ignoring Florida for the most part and putting all our eggs in the Ohio/Colorado/Wisconsin/ Virginia basket. We could win the White House without winning Ohio if we win Colorado, Wisconsin and Virginia.

[slick8790]

5. No. They're a lost cause. Let the repubs have it.

We'll be taking Ohio, Iowa, Nevada, Colorado, and Virginia to make up for it.

[LiberalFighter]

22. We should still contest it to make sure the Repugs can't pool their funding

into other states.

[Hugabear]

6. We still have a rethug for governor

Even though Charlie Crist is a "moderate", he's still 100% behind McCain. The rethugs still control the elections in this state. Don't be surprised to hear a lot of stories coming out of Florida on election day.

[UALRBSofL]

9. I don't know if florida will go blue or not

Christ is popular and he will campaign hard for McCain. Martinez is popular in the southern part of the state. The Hispanic Cubans aren't real happy with Obama right now. Then we have the DNC/FDP mess with the votes not counting. Florida is a pro-military state with quite a few bases here and McCain did his pilot training here. So, I don't know what will happen. The polls have shown McCain with double digit leads over Obama and Clinton.

[Hugabear]

12. I am really afraid that Crist will be McCain's running mate

You're right, Crist is quite popular in this state, even appealing to quite a few Democrats also (not this one). Too many people have forgotten the "Chain Gang Charlie" image from yesteryear. If Crist is on the ticket, we'll have to worry about a lot more than just winning Florida.

[UALRBSofL]

18. Paint It Black, I hate to admit it but

I voted for Crist for governor. He's the only republican I have ever voted for. He's pretty moderate. He's liked and he's popular. And, I think he's gay. I'm not kidding. :)

[BlueManDude]

8. No. Forget FL.

[Orangepeel]

10. No. Neither Clinton nor Obama can win Florida.

To win Florida, a candidate has to win Central Florida -- that's the swing part of the state. McCain will be very popular there and Governor Crist will carry him over the top.

Ohio is much more important.

[NJSecularist]

17. Brevard County is one of the areas that killed Kerry

I wonder if Hillary or Obama will have better success there.

[Orangepeel]

19. against McCain? I doubt it.

sadly.

[cooolandrew]

11. I think anything is possible with Obama excelling all polls.

[Ravy]

13. I don't think we have much of a chance. Sadly. nt

[caledesi]

15. I agree! NT

[Perky]

14. Only with Bob Graham on the ticket in my view

[pbca]

16. Don't count on Florida

I think it could go either way but in 2000 Florida tried and failed to have a general election, in 2008 they tried and failed to have a primary - Obama could take it but who knows if Florida will even be capable of having an election - Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

[Zynx]

20. It's worth an early effort to see if we can drum up anything approaching

winning numbers, but after that focus on Virginia, Arkansas, Missouri, Ohio, etc. Florida is just a very hard nut to crack.

[NJSecularist]

21. If we can approach close to 5% in pre-elecction polls there

It's worth dumping money there. Other than that, I'd just focus on Virginia, Ohio and Colorado.

[AndyTiedye]

23. It is Hard to Imagine ANY Southern State Voting for Obama or Hillary

It all comes down to Ohio again, and then only if we can hold all the states Kerry won, which will be difficult.

[NJSecularist]

24. If we can win Virginia and Colorado, we won't have to worry about Ohio

[MadBadger]

25. I can see Obama winning virginia

[AndyTiedye]

28. Last Time Virginia Voted for a Dem for Prez was 1964 (LBJ vs Goldwater)

Seems like a bit of a long shot for us.

[MadBadger]

30. Well, ive already seen one poll showing him with a lead vs McCain

Plus, you are going to have most likely in January, two dem senators, and a deocratic governor. So why cant we win the state in the presidential election?

[VolcanoJen]

26. Nothing against Floridian DUers....

... but this is one DUer that is really sick of kissing Florida's ass.

I say we've got a much better chance at taking Ohio, especially after the '06 election in which Ohio made a sharp, left turn.

Let's go after Ohio, Iowa and Virginia. That trifecta would allow us to leave Florida alone. :-)

[dansolo]

27. Bob Graham on the ticket might help

Otherwise, I think we may be hard pressed to get FL. It's not impossible, especially if any McCain scandals gain traction.

[jpak]

29. Obama will mobilize the African-American vote - especially in the Panhandle

Many -that is, a lot - of Florida African-Americans sat out the 2004 election.

Obama will turn that around big-time...