On Saturday, March 1, 2008, Democrats throughout the State of Florida will hold a caucus in each Congressional district, to select delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Of course, many of you may remember that the Democratic National Committee has ruled that none of these delegates will be allowed to participate. Nevertheless, the Florida Democratic Party has decided to proceed with delegate selection tomorrow.
The practical impact of tomorrow is that many more delegates pledged to Senator Hillary Clinton will be selected than delegates pledged to Senator Obama. Senator Clinton won the Florida primary on January 29, after each candidate declined to campaign in this state. Former Senator Edwards also won delegates.
I live in the 13th Congressional District (Home of the 18,000 under-votes in the Christine Jennings-Vern Buchannon Race). Tomorrow, my fellow Democrats will be electing three delegates pledged to Senator Clinton, and one delegate each for Senators Edwards and Obama.
I am the Democratic candidate for Public Defender in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit. I am trying to qualify for the ballot via the petition method. Therefore, I will be at the caucus tomorrow that is being held in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. I know most of the people who are running for delegate positions. Some of the Clinton delegates are running on the platform that they will vote for Senator Clinton, no matter what, if they are seated. Other Clinton delegates are running on the platform that they are "persuadable." There have actually been paid advertisements on local radio stations for the delegate selection process.
Following the caucus tomorrow, I will report on my observations of the process and the winners. The Florida caucus has received little attention in the media, but has the potential to be pivotal at the national convention, particularly for Senator Clinton. Since Florida anticipates no other delegate selection process, the persons selected on March 1 could be the subject of a floor fight in Denver.