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The Advocate's Big Four Report: Florida

The Advocate continues its coverage of four swing states this week with Florida, which went red in 2004 and infamously decided the 2000 election for George W. Bush. Today’s story is the first of four pieces focusing on the Sunshine State's political dynamics, LGBT concerns, and how it all will play out on Election Day.
An Advocate.com exclusive posted October 14, 2008
The Advocate's Big Four Report: Florida

Target State: Florida

Electoral College Votes: 27

Voted for Bush: 2004

Governor: Charlie Crist (R)

State Senate: 14 Dem, 26 GOP

State House: 43 Dem, 77 GOP

Races to watch: Amendment 2, the gay marriage ban that requires a 60% vote to pass; the four-way 2009 mayoral race in Ft. Lauderdale that includes two openly gay candidates, Earl Rynerson Jr. and Dean Trantalis. 

Florida, with its tangled web of competing interest groups and distinctive regions, is an interesting mix: The ultimate showdown of get-out-the-vote efforts is combined with each party practicing the art of luring voters from the other’s traditional constituencies. 

“You can’t really, in a state like ours, leave any slice unattended,” explains Susan MacManus, professor of political science at University of South Florida-Tampa, “because every group can say, no matter how big or small, ‘Well, if it’s close, it’s up to us.’ And they’re correct.” 

The demographic mix of young, old, Jews, African-Americans, Latinos (Cuban, Venezuelan, Colombian), churchgoers, liberals, gay, straight, renters, homeowners, and so on makes it difficult to get any strategic sense of which group or region to focus on. 

MacManus samples the list: While the Jewish vote has typically gone Democratic in the past, she says Sen. John McCain has some appeal to older Jewish voters who are particularly interested in a strong president capable of protecting Israel’s future; Democrats are picking up some ground with the Cuban vote, but Colombians and Venezuelans are leaning Republican on foreign policy, based on trouble in their own countries of origin; older voters, the most dependable voting demographic, are more inclined to like McCain’s limited tax policies, but the young voters who turn out will overwhelmingly favor Sen. Barack Obama. 

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Keywords:  2008 Election 
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