WASHINGTON, 25 September 2007 — The Florida Democratic Party announced Sunday night that it will move ahead with its plan to conduct its presidential primary Jan. 29 despite the national party’s decision to block the state delegation from the 2008 Democratic convention.
The state’s decision to stick with Jan. 29, a date originally set by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature, came amid strong pressure from national party leaders and the candidates themselves.
The decision, less than a month after the Democratic National Committee stripped Florida of its 210 delegates unless it changed the primary date, is likely to embolden other big states that have threatened to rebel against Democratic Party rules that allow only a handful of state primaries and caucuses before Feb. 5.
Michigan also has challenged the party’s schedule, setting Jan. 15 for its primary.
It also will change the calculus of the Democratic contenders as they vie for the party’s nomination.
The party’s major candidates already have agreed they will not campaign here, though they are still free to raise money. That means millions of dollars that would have been spent in Florida on television ads and organizing will be available to spend in other states.
Some Democrats worry that the decision by the national party will allow Republicans to organize earlier than Democrats in a state that was critical in both the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections.
The major Democratic candidates have pledged that they will not organize get-out-the-vote operations or run television commercials in Florida until after the primary and that they will forego the state party’s convention in Orlando, a showcase for the most motivated grass-roots activists.
One Republican contender, Mitt Romney, is already airing commercials here, however, and all the major Republican contenders will receive national TV exposure in an Oct. 21 debate staged during the state GOP’s convention.
Florida’s party leaders said they were united in not bending to the will of the national party, which had set up a primary schedule that allowed only New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada to select delegates before Feb. 5.
Florida’s Democratic leadership said they want their key swing state to play a bigger role in choosing the party’s nominee. In past years, the presidential nomination has already been decided before many states held their primaries or caucuses to choose delegates to the major parties’ national nominating conventions.
State party leaders said even if none of the state’s delegates is seated at the Democratic presidential convention, the earlier primary still would help determine the nominee.
Karen Thurman, the party chairwoman, said they decided to stay with the January date to ensure the largest possible turnout and to avoid accusations of disenfranchisement from Democrats still bitter about the 2000 recount, which resulted in George Bush being named president.
“The 4 million Florida Democrats will be enfranchised,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said, according to the AP. “We will make sure Florida Democrats have a voice and that voice will be heard.”
