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Hernando Today

Local Campaigners Gearing Up For Early Primary

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TONY HOLT

Published: January 6, 2008

Some write e-mails and some slap stickers onto their bumpers.

Others hold signs along busy street corners.

Whatever campaign methods people choose, residents are about to see a lot more of it in the days and weeks leading to the Florida primary.

For the first time ever, Florida's primary will be held prior to February. Voters will hit the ballot boxes Tuesday, Jan. 29.

"I don't think it's a bad idea, but there's an organizational concern," Glen Claytor said of the change in the state's primary date.

Claytor is a Democrat and former county commission candidate who is backing Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. He thinks Florida's size is enough for candidates to make it a priority. Moving up the primary may not give candidates enough time to make the best impression on voters.

"I do not think Florida needs to be early to become more significant," he said.

Claytor also approves of having early primaries in smaller states. He believes residents there pay close attention and can be counted on to make good decisions.

As for his campaigning for Obama, he said he was compiling biographical information about the candidate and e-mailing everyone on his mailing list.

Mary Lou Wright, a supporter of former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, thinks the primary season is worse off now than before because of Florida and other states moving their elections forward.

"What they wanted to do is make Iowa and New Hampshire less important, but they actually made them more important," she said. "It's too much. (Florida) is part of this whole movement that's wrong. They don't give people enough time to learn about the issues."

Thompson, who is running as a Republican, finished in a distant third in the Iowa caucus behind former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and is considered a long shot to finish better than fourth in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary.

Florida lawmakers last spring rushed to schedule their primary for an earlier date. That drew the ire of some national party leaders, who threatened to file sanctions. As a result, Democrats may not send any delegates to next year's convention while Republicans likely will send half of their allotted 114 delegates.

Thursday's Iowa caucuses kicked off the presidential campaign season. Some lesser-known candidates dropped out while winners Obama on the Democratic side and Huckabee on the Republican side got a significant boost heading into New Hampshire. The men won by 8 and 9 percentage points, respectively, over their next-closest opponents.

Candidates already have made public appearances and aired commercials in Florida. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's campaign has made no secret of its emphasis on the upcoming primary, mainly because of Florida's size and high number of New York transfers.

Giuliani is clinging to a narrow lead in most national polls for the Republican nomination, but he had a poor showing in Iowa and is not likely to be a major player in New Hampshire. That makes his Florida showing all the more crucial for his campaign.

Ana Trinque, chairwoman of the Hernando County Republican Executive Committee, had mixed feelings about moving up the Florida primary.

"Whoever wins in Florida is going to be the candidate who wins (the nomination)," she said. "The people in Iowa don't necessarily represent the point of view of most states.

"I know why they did it," Trinque continued. "Florida is a large state … I guess only time will tell whether it was a good decision or not."

Meanwhile, local supporters of Republican candidate Ron Paul are standing at the corner of Spring Hill Drive and Mariner Boulevard every Saturday morning holding signs. They will join forces with other regional pro-Paul groups prior to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers home playoff game Sunday afternoon at Raymond James Stadium.

Spring Hill resident John Besa is one of those Paul supporters. He said there are about 60 people in Hernando County like him who are actively campaigning for the Texas congressman known for his hard-line libertarian streak. He thinks the timing of Florida's primary actually has forced them to organize faster and work harder.

"(Florida) should be a very, very important state in the primaries," Besa said. "That's why we're giving 110 percent effort."

Reporter Tony Holt can be contacted at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.

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